Devils of Darkness / Witchcraft (Double Feature)

Love both these movies!

I adore these multi-discs.It's a grand opportunity to catch up on old 'friends' without breaking the bank.Witchcraft is a particular favourite of ours - nicely constructed and with a suitably fiery ending.Chaney Jnr was wonderful and the ensemble did him proud.Devils of darkness was a Sunday-for-one-day-only at the movies, with an occasional airing on TV.Nice to own it now - and what a beautiful print.

Put that together and you come up with a 4 star rating for this 2 DVD offering. I had read about WITCHCRAFT (1964) for years in anthologies about British horror films but I had never seen it until I purchased this set a few years back. While undeniably low budget, it was definitely a quality example of the less is more school of filmmaking. It also happens to be the last in the all too brief subgenre of British black & white modern day occult thrillers that began with NIGHT/CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957) to be followed by CITY OF THE DEAD/HORROR HOTEL (1960) and then NIGHT OF THE EAGLE/BURN, WITCH, BURN (1962). It's also the only one not to have its name changed for American release. Watching it again for my traditional May Day Eve horror movie viewing, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is still as good as the first time I saw it. Although Lon Chaney Jr seems out of his element in this setting, the rest of the British cast is rock solid and Yvette Rees as the resurrected witch is terrifying and she never says a word.It then occured to me that I might not have watched the second film in the set, DEVILS OF DARKNESS (1965), and as it turned out, I hadn't. Originally released on a double bill with CURSE OF THE FLY, the third and final installment in that series until Jeff Goldblum came along many years later, DEVILS is lacking in everything that WITCHCRAFT possesses. The color photography is good but not evocative, the script is rather flat and full of inconsistencies, and the performances by mostly unknowns are generally lukewarm.. The principal villain, despite his character's name, is hardly sinister at all which is a serious handicap. The film does score points for the then contemporary beatnik scene parties (full of "lesbians" who smoke pot) and for a few striking images that linger afterwards. Nevertheless this is not even a poor man's Hammer offering and it isn't surprising that Planet, the production company, quickly went out of business. Still it's a definite curio and along with WITCHCRAFT, this disc is of value to old school horror afficionados.

Oh, I love these Midnight Movie titles. These two pair are great! Movie night has never been so much fun. Fire up the popcorn, sit back and enjoy a cool set of vintage cinema! Ah, the good old days!

Much better than often reported, this beautifully photographed British horror is a well upholstered turn down the familiar vampire path, enlivened by some delicious tongue in cheek. Directed by cult director Lance Comfort, (see Brian MacFarlane's monograph on his career) the film opens with a dazzling dance sequence set amidst a mid forest gypsy encampment, interrupted by the first burst of horror--accompanied by a swooping bat and a gust of wind.These forest sequences are visually arresting, and include an eerie torch light parade photographed in reflection from a lake's surface.As for the story, it concerns a modern day male vampire, (equipped with Louis Jourdan accent and beautifully cut suits) who turns out to be reincarnated from the ancient past.Despite some dull detective sequences, (of the type that slow down Bava's "Blood and Black Lace") the picture manages an effective array of diverse settings including forest sequences, a country manor house, a catacomb lair, a jammed to the rafters antique shoppe, an artists' atelier, the reading room of the British Museum and a groovy bachelorette pad that is host to one of the screen's all time campiest cocktail parties.Indeed, this sequence, replete with the Watusi, and Frug, and featuring an array of cigarette puffing (with holders!) extras that seem to have been recruited between takes from the sets of "Darling" and "A Taste of Honey", (one keeps looking for Julie Christie to appear) is guaranteed to elicit howls. And if that doesn't catch you, please note that Diana Decker's wardrobe had the female audience cooing at a recent screening.Moreover, the climax, featuring a cave in which destroys the vampire clan, is well staged and shot.Picture seems influenced by Don Sharp's superb "Kiss of the Vampire," and while it doesn't hold a candle to that stellar feather in Hammer's cap, it does emerge as an interesting and zesty contemporary take on the same theme.

I liked the fact I could find a great 2 for 1 deal at such a good price. The DVD was shipped fast and I was quite pleased to add this to my horror film collection.

After seeing Burn Witch Burn, I thought these two British witcheries might be as good. Not so. Both plodded on requiring a great effort to stay awake. My wife alternately fidgeted and napped. Burn Witch Burn was far superior to either of these shows in every way -- acting, suspense, and terror without gore. I won't watch either of these again and will try to return them to Amazon.

I bought this movie for Devils of Darkness. This movie is a great classic. It has gypsys and is very gothic and atmospheric.

This Midnite Movies edition features two lesser-known horror films of the mid-1960s, Witchcraft (1964) and Devils of Darkness (1965). Both these films came from minor British production companies, but were distributed in the USA by 20th Century Fox; this Midnite Movies edition is from 20th Century Fox's home video branch.Witchcraft is a mediocre horror film, a late Lon Chaney Jr. vehicle, with an otherwise non-famous cast. It's worth somewhere between a 6 and 7 out of 10. It is worth watching once, but you probably won't want to watch it a second time for a few years afterwards; it isn't bad, but just doesn't make much of an impression. Devils of Darkness, on the other hand, is a good horror film, very atmospheric, shot in colour but still spooky. It has no absolutely gigantic stars, but William Sylvester and Tracy Reed will be recognizable to 60s TV and movie fans, and the leading villains are all quite good in their roles. It is a vampire film, and arguably the best of those vampire films which do not feature Dracula or an obvious Dracula clone. I would give it between 7 and 8 out of 10.The plot is a bit off-beat, because this vampire is also the head of a group of Satan-worshippers, so the witchcraft and the vampire motifs are mixed. Nonetheless, if normal people can be Satan-worshippers, I suppose vampires can be, too. :-) This particular Vampire, Count Sinistre, has a Louis Jourdan sort of look and French accent, and a drop-dead beautiful vampire wife (Carole Gray), but he plans to throw her over for non-vampire Tracy Reed, Sylvester's new girl friend. The costumes, sets, and set pieces in this film are very good. The opening gypsy dance number is stunning, worthy of a 40s Universal gypsy scene, and the sets in the curio shop, the country manor of the devil-worshippers, the cave and grotto scenes, the London flat where the kooky 60s "mod" party is held, etc. are very good. The party scene will make you feel you are right back in the 60s. The contrast between the shallow silliness of the party and the sinister goings-on behind the scenes is very effective. There is also a plot twist or two; you can't assume that all those who seem to be good guys are actually good guys. (To say more would give away too much.)There are some minimal special features -- trailers and stills.Considering that this set of films originally sold for only $10, it was definitely worth the price. But be warned! I have bought two copies of the set, from dealers hundreds of miles apart, and in both cases the DVD of Devils of Darkness skips at almost exactly the same place -- 1:24:30 or so. The skip is about 15 seconds in one case, and for about a minute in the other case. You can still see the skipped material by carefully winding back to just after the skip and playing forward, but this is a nuisance. In any case, the fact that two geographically far-separated copies both skip in the same place suggests a manufacturing flaw in a larger print run, so if you buy this, watch it before your return for refund option runs out, in case it skips for you as well.The movies averaged together are probably worth about 3.5 out of 5, but given the dubiousness of the DVD quality I give the set only 3 stars.

Encore une fois, passant après le commentateur, Gilles-Daniel PERCET, il n'y a pas grand chose à rajouter, si ce n'est que, contrairement à ce que pourrait laisser penser son texte, "Devils or darkness" est traité de manière sérieuse, même si le trait des personnages français est un peu poussé (l'imitation de l'accent des personnages français parlant anglais vaut son pesant de cacahuètes).On est donc là devant deux films traitant de sorcellerie et de satanisme, sauf que "Devils of darkness mélange aussi le genre vampirique.2 petits programmes fort sympathiques, le second film,"Witchcraft", tout comme le choix de Monsieur PERCET, ayant ma préférence (rien ne vaut le noir et blanc pour mettre dans l'ambiance).Contrairement à ce qui est marqué au dos de la jaquette, "Devils of darkness" ne dure que 88 minutes et non 124 minutes. Le doute était permis dès le départ, une petite série B des années 60 n'excédant que rarement les 90 minutes, pour des raisons d'exploitation.