Review by Peter Syslo
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WITCHMASTER GENERAL (2009) is an upcoming release from Jim Haggerty and his newly formed production company, Yellow Ape Productions (www.yellowape.net). I feel that Haggerty is definitely creating films that encapsulate that feeling of the “midnight movie”, the “drive-in movie”, the “cult movie”, or the “B movie” from the 1970s. Regarding WG, it is a tribute to those aforementioned types of films and it also seems to be a tribute to Haggerty's previous work. It does have that tongue-in-cheek sense of humor which you kind of have to “get” in order to fully appreciate the film. But, for a seasoned horror fan who is familiar with 1970s cinema, WG should be a satisfying experience and it might even bring you back to “the good old days” when you could see something like this on late night TV (on your local “Horror theater” type of show).
WITCHMASTER GENERAL is written and directed by Jim Haggerty. The cast includes: Phil Lewis, Vic Martino, Colleen Marie, Suzi Lorraine, Tatyana Kot, Bud Stafford, Charles Parshley, and Anastasia Bosakowski-Chater.
The film opens with a young, enamored couple in the park. The girl has left her previous man to be with a new man and they seem as happy as can be. But, their bliss is short-lived because a mysterious woman in a cloak and silver mask approaches them and kills the two without even touching them. The mysterious woman, Cheryl (Bosakowski-Chater), is able to utilize a psycho-kinetic type of power to murder people and the viewer soon learns the details of that power. Next, we meet a man named Tom Morgan (Parshley). Apparently, his wife (Lorraine) is sleeping around and he wishes to enact some revenge on her and her lover. This is the point where we meet the eccentric and spiritually gifted Dr. Gorgon (Lewis). Mr. Morgan asks Dr. Gorgon to help him take revenge and, with the plan set in motion, Dr. Gorgon unleashes his wrath upon the wife and her lover, in a voodoo-doll fashion. After Morgan's wife and her lover are found dead, the Police become involved; when an Inspector (Martino) questions Mr. Morgan and his friend, he realizes that something is “fishy”. Things become even more strange for the Inspector, when the Medical Examiner (Stafford) tells him that the wife died from drowning and the lover died from burning – however, neither of the two had any external injuries to indicate this. When two more bodies turn up, after a disgruntled office worker enlists Dr. Gorgon to take revenge on his boss and rival, the Inspector becomes obsessed with solving the case. After getting a sense that spiritual and voodoo forces may be at play, the Inspector digs deeper and deeper, and it eventually leads him to the source - Dr. Gorgon. Unfortunately, the Inspector finds that he may have dug a little too deep and he and his girlfriend Rose (Marie) may be Gorgon's next targets of supernatural revenge.
I will begin by saying that I always have a good time watching one of Haggerty's films. But (all humor, blood, and sleaziness aside), what struck me the most about WG was the cohesive and logically-progressing storyline. Haggerty takes his time spinning his yarn, he creates atmosphere and suspense, and he goes into depth and detail which enhances the overall story and viewing experience. For instance, I liked the fact that he went into several scenes with the Medical Examiner explaining things to the Inspector. Some films wouldn't take the time to go into that; the audience is seeing the story from the side of Dr. Gorgon and is aware of what's going on, already. My point is that Haggerty tells the story from various character viewpoints and he develops the characters through their realization of the events that unfold in the film (again, even though the audience may already be aware of the events). It is a refreshing brand of story-telling that warrants a “thank-you-for-writing-an-intelligent-horror-script” accolade.
As I hinted at in the above paragraph, the experience of WG is not just fueled by the excellent writing. It is a well-balanced horror film, with a fair amount of blood (choking up blood, lacerations, bone-breaking) and just the right amount of oh-so-good sleaziness. Speaking to the first of those two elements, the gore/kill scenes are very imaginative and the effects are well-done. The opening scene exemplifies the killing technique, when Cheryl is lacerating the girl, with a flick of her psychically-enhanced finger. The makeup effects, camera work, and the editing brought out the best in this scene and it really did appear like the cuts were happening from the cue of Cheryl's finger. Another effective scene, utilizing the same technique, is when two men in a car get their necks broken by Dr. Gorgon. It sounds a little strange, but the coordination of the two actors and a “foley” sound created a convincing bone-breaking scene.
Getting to the sleazy aspect, the film definitely delivers. Before I proceed, you have to take into account that the nudity and sexual content are part of that tongue-in-cheek humor, where Haggerty plays with the stereotypes and conventions of horror films. That being said, all of the women in this film look great and their scenes help “complete” the film package (Suzi Lorraine, with her “teasing” nudity was certainly a joyous sight; Colleen Marie, as well). Yeah, it is gratuitous/exploitative nudity but it makes for a fun experience and it fits in so well with the subject matter (also, it is par for the course in this sub-genre of film). The most exploitative scene, in the film, was when Dr. Gorgon and Cheryl captured two women and offered them as sex slaves to Satan (Dr. Gorgon apparently has to pay some form of tribute to the one who gave him his powers and this Satan is a throwback to the Satan in I DREAM OF DRACULA). Satan gives his powerful stare to the two women, they are entranced, and then they proceed to engage in girl-on-girl action. I'll say it once again, that Satan has quite a system going. If that wasn't enough, the scene is all topped of with a perfect line from Lewis' Dr. Gorgon (paraphrased): “It's not a party without Satan”. Great stuff.
Regrading some of the other elements of the picture, the acting was very good, all-around. I think that Lewis was a natural fit for Dr. Gorgon – he seemed extremely comfortable with the role and he also seemed to enjoy himself. It was a type of role that Vincent Price or Christopher Lee would do - that eccentric yet deranged mastermind - and Lewis gave it that quality without being too “over-the-top”. Martino was also a natural fit for Inspector Stone. He was completely enjoyable to watch and his one-liners were great. Both Collen Marie and Suzi Lorraine were also good and seemed very comfortable with their roles – they both brought a degree of “warmth” and sensuality to the picture. Also, Lorraine's death scene (where she was “drowning”), was damn good acting – I admit, the idea of it would sound cheesy, on paper, but she really did a great job with it. Aside from the leads, all of the supporting actors/actresses brought depth and dimension to the film (Parshley, Bosakowski-Chater, Kot) and my favorite supporting performance was by Bud Stafford. He just has a kind of “fatherliness” about him. As the voice of reassurance, he is very memorable and he delivered my favorite line in the movie: “You look like ten pounds of shit in an eleven pound bag!”. Also, Haggerty himself gave a great cameo appearance as a stereotypical detective who visits a medium, in order to get help finding Dr. Gorgon – it is a hilarious scene and it is a testament to Haggerty's comedic skills.
Gnawing through the flesh: WITCHMASTER GENERAL is a really fun experience which is in the vein of the 1970s “midnight movies”. It gives you what you want to see in a horror film (what I want to see) and the little details, the lines, and the great storytelling make it very fulfilling. All around, I think that Haggerty has reached a new level with the film – it feels bigger and technically, it improves upon his already strong filmmaking skills. For instance, the lighting in this film is excellent and the locations/sets bring polish and quality to the film. My only criticism is that there are a few scenes, here and there, where the camera doesn't seem to be exactly centered and the framing of the shot is a little off, but it isn't like that for the duration of the scene. Also, there is the some occasional “stiffness” in the dialogue delivery, but it doesn't detract from the film (and, overall, I thought that the acting was good). To wrap things up, Haggerty has succeeded in creating a “midnight movie” type of film and it is something that you would see in the 1970s, starring the horror actors of the time and directed by someone like Jean Rollin. Enjoy the film, get to know Haggerty and the crew at Yellow Ape, and don't hire a voodoo doctor to take revenge on people – you're just asking for trouble. I give WITCHMASTER GENERAL an 8/10.