Necromancy

1972

Action / Horror

17
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 25%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 25% · 50 ratings
IMDb Rating 4.7/10 10 1181 1.2K

seduction necromancer witchcraft occult mysterious character northern california

Plot summary

After Lori suffers a stillbirth, her husband Frank obtains a job with a northern California toy company. Frank's new boss, the mysterious Mr. Cato, explains that Frank's position will involve magic. Cato, who seemingly holds enormous influence over the town, pursues the power of necromancy and believes that Lori holds the key that will help him resurrect his own dead son.

Director

Bert I. Gordon Photo
Bert I. Gordon

Top cast

Carl Solomon Photo
Carl Solomon as Black Sabbath Member
Harvey Jason Photo
Harvey Jason as Dr. Jay
Pamela Franklin Photo
Pamela Franklin as Lori Brandon
Lee Purcell Photo
Lee Purcell as Priscilla
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
584.23 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds ...
1.24 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Wuchakk 6 / 10

Occult-oriented flick starring Pamela Franklin and Orson Welles

A young couple from Los Angeles (Pamela Franklin & Michael Ontkean) gets an offer they can't refuse and move to a town several hours up north. But why does the dubious mogul of the exclusive community (Orson Welles) want them so bad? Something sinister is going on."Necromancy" was made in 1970, but not released until 1972 (although copyrighted 1971). It combines elements of "Carnival of Souls" (1962), "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "The Devil Rides Out" (1968); plus it would influence the future "Satan's School for Girls" (1973).In some ways it's better than those films and in others worse. For one thing, the editing is sometimes off-kilter or inconsistent, especially in the first half, which I don't know if it was done intentionally or if it's simply sloppy filmmaking. A good example is the girl's lighthearted disposition in the car after just being involved in an accident and witnessing firsthand an unconscious person burning alive.Due to Welles' involvement, the flick was reissued in 1983 under the title "The Witching" with added scenes of full frontal nudity during a ritual featuring Brinke Stevens, plus other changes and a tacked-on ending.I've seen Pamela Franklin in about six films and she easily looks her best here with a full brunette mane. She was 20 during shooting and would meet her near-future husband on set, the young doctor played by Harvey Jason. They remain married today, over fifty years later.Pamela didn't speak well of working with Welles, who obviously took the gig for easy cash (and tries unsuccessfully to hide behind a prosthetic nose and fake beard). She said he was dismissive of other actors, summing up her feelings with: "He was not a nice person." By contrast, she worked with Marlon Brando two years earlier on "The Night of the Following Day" and said he treated everyone equal.Director Bert I. Gordon (known for 1965's entertaining "Village of the Giants") was concerned that he'd have serious issues with Welles when his secretary informed him that he didn't work before 10:00 or after 4:00. So Gordon assuaged Welles with a decadent chef and all his preferred foods & drinks; thus the imposing thespian was quite agreeable, yet this didn't eliminate Pamela's criticisms.The flick scores well in the feminine department. Besides Franklin in her prime, there's Lee Purcell, who was 23 during shooting, and petite redhead Sue Bernard, best known for her role as the winsome bikini girl in "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965).The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot at Los Gatos, California, which is about 35 miles southeast of San Francisco; as well as Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.GRADE: B-/C+
Reviewed by BA_Harrison 6 / 10

Silly Satanic fun.

Director Bert I. Gordon is best known for his B-movies that feature colossal creatures. Necromancy is another 'colossal' film... a colossal pile of hokey nonsense, but entertaining enough for those who like silly seventies Satanic horror.Recovering from the loss of her stillborn child, Lori (Pamela Franklin) accompanies her husband Frank (Michael Ontkean) to the town of Lilith, where he has been offered a plum job working for toy manufacture Mr. Cato (Orson Welles). In reality, it is Lori that Cato, head of a coven of witches, is interested in, for she possesses the power to return his dead son to life.There's so much wrong with Necromancy that it's hard to take seriously: the script is a slapdash mess of clichés, the direction and editing are clumsy, and the dialogue absolutely awful (so much exposition is delivered via conversation that it proves laughable). As the story lurches awkwardly from one scene to another, you will be left trying to answer many questions: Why does Lori pick up the ugly rag doll at the burning car wreck? Why does she keep seeing Cato's son if he is dead? Was Frank a witch all along? Why does Lori make a doll of herself and then stab it? What does 'born with a veil' mean? (Google answered that last one for me).It's all very confusing at times, but somehow still engaging throughout. Franklin provides some brief topless nudity, as does ravishing redhead Sue Bernard (sadly, lovely Lee Purcell doesn't join in on the fun); Welles hams it up a treat as the mysterious town leader; there are some trippy visuals, especially in a strange scene where Franklin is fed a magic mushroom by Cato's dead son; and, best of all, we get one of those incredibly daft circular twist endings - you know the kind... it was all a dream, but one that is about to come true.5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
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