Witchcraft – 1964 | 78 mins | Horror | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Modest and uncommonly gripping horror film from a tight Harry Spalding screenplay. Director Don Sharp is an old hand at low-budget horror and conjures up an eerie atmosphere with the aid of good black and white photography courtesy of cinematographer Arthur Lavis. Fading American star Lon Chaney Jr, in one of the last roles in which he was called upon actually to act, was struggling with alcoholism and his dialogue scenes had to be completed by lunch.

When property developers desecrate a cemetery to make way for a modern housing estate it reopens ancient wounds between the Whitlock and Lanier families. The bulldozers disturb the grave of a witch buried alive 300years earlier, Vanessa (Yvette Rees), who rises and joins her warlock descendant,Morgan Whitlock (Lon Chaney Jr.), to carry on again seeking revenge on the Laniers.

The first victim is ruthless property developer Myles Forrester, who is mysteriously discovered drown in his bath. Vanessa’s next victim is Helen Lanier, who, whilst under the influence of a trance, drives straight over a cliff edge. Then on the night before the Witches Sabbath, Tracy Lanier (Jill Dixon) is taken captive by the Whitlock coven and prepared as a human sacrifice for the following evening. After they return from a business trip, Bill Lanier (Jack Hedley) and his brother Todd (David Weston) race to the family crypt to rescue Tracey.