Sex of the Witch (1973)

i must have seen a different film!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Have you ever watched Zombie Creeping Flesh and wondered what it would be like to see the guy playing Zantaro recite pervy poetry to two naked woman while one of them erotically dips her hands into a goldfish bowl? Must be just me then. The plot of this one is all over the place to the extent that about two thirds into the film I realised that one red headed character was actually two separate red headed characters, which shows you how well I was following this one. At it's core this is a 'reading of the will' giallo type film where an old codger dies (and we hear his passing thoughts about his relatives - they aint compliments!) and leaves his estate to be shared out amongst his benefactors, if they all live to be a certain age yadda yadda. There's also some sort of family curse, a witch in town who is part of the family but hates everyone else, and two servants who have sex everywhere at the drop of a hat. One of them is played by Zantoro himself - Franco Garofalo, and in this film he looks like some made Klaus Kinski wear David Hemmings' hair. It's not a pretty sight. So all these young people are scheming and bedding each other and it was hard to keep track really. One of them eventually gets his brains knocked out and finally Donald O'Brien turns up as the local cop. He knows someone did it, but not who. Could be the witch who is up to something with some daughter called Ingrid. Could be Ingrid's sister who is scheming with some other guy. Could be the black clad stranger who turns up and claws the chest of Camille Keaton with some weird steel claws. It's doubtful that it's the servants as they are at it like knives the entire film. It's low on gore, high on sleaze and scheming, and kind of hard to keep track off. Either Donald O'Brien was really tall or everyone else in the film was tiny, and he doesn't really have too much to do in this one either which is a shame. Whether or not you like this film depends on whether or not you like this film.

As the patriarch of the Hilton clan lay dying, he predicts the family will soon destroy itself and the instrument of death will be his sister, Evelyn. Relatives all come together for a reading of his will and, before long, one of them is murdered with a medieval mace. The police are quickly called to the villa but once the killer is apprehended, the malediction comes to pass...A lack of imagination and a very low budget can turn an unsuccessful blend of drawing-room murder-mystery, Giallo, and Horror into a chore to sit through despite a cool title. All the titular writhing that passes for passion in this confusing tale soon becomes tedious and, unfortunately in this case, there's quite a bit of it. The ostensible "inheritance scheme" plot line begins promisingly enough with old man Hilton waxing philosophic on his deathbed while, downstairs, the butler and maid have grope sex atop his empty coffin but it's all downhill from there. Most of the cast engage in some sort of soft-core coupling during the course of the movie and, since all of them are probably related in some way, it gives the goings-on the added dimension of a vaguely incestuous air. Ironically, the past-her-prime witch, Evelyn, is one of the few who isn't carnal (which is just as well) but why she hates her family and vows to wipe them all out isn't clear. One of the Hilton ancestors dabbled in cell alteration and Evelyn uses this discovery to change her niece, Ingrid, into a non-threatening young man who does her murderous bidding but the action comes too little, too late. The villianess isn't scary, the villa isn't spooky, there's no graphic gore, even less logic, and it all ends more-or-less the way it began with the butler and maid foreshadowing Riff Raff & Magenta in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Connoisseurs of Eurosleaze may not be adverse to SEX OF THE WITCH but there's very little for Giallo, Horror, or Sexploitation fans to enjoy despite the presence of Camille "I Spit On Your Grave" Keaton and Gianni "Gore In Venice" Dei in supporting roles.I reely wanted to like this, dammit.

I would probably not recommend this movie to anyone not already familiar with 1970's Italian genre films in general because even by the deranged standards of those films, this film is very deranged. It's kind a combination of a giallo, an erotic sex flick, and supernatural Gothic horror film. The closest thing I can compare it to is Emilio Miraglia's "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave" or Joe D'Amato's "Death Smiles at Murder". The director, Elio Panaccio, would go on to direct the more widely available "Exorcist" knock-off "Cry in the Darkness" (aka "The Possessor"), but this is probably the better of the two films. It's definitely the weirder.The almost completely non-sensical plot involves the death of an old man, who narrates the beginning of the film (up until he dies at least, at which point he is never heard from again). His heirs go to a mansion to hear the reading of the will where they are picked off one by one. The killer is a handsome stranger who seems to be connected to a mysterious "aunt", who is not one of the heirs, but is obviously related to the old man, and babbles something about a "family curse". The creepy male and female servants of the mansion also seem to be in on the plot, as does one female cousin who is close to the "aunt". There is a lot of space between the first murder and all the others, which all occur pretty much in closing minutes of the film. In the meantime though, there is A LOT of sex to keep the viewers occupied, and no real character development or dialogue to distract anybody.If you can deal with the random non-linearity of the plot, the movie does kind of capture some of the flavor of something like "Fall of the House of Usher" or "The Cat and the Canary", but it's mostly typical 1970's Italian nonsense. The only recognizable actor is American Camille Keaton. The lovely Keaton, quite regrettably, is the only actress who doesn't spend the majority of her screen time having butt-naked sex. She has only a brief nude scene where she meets a bizarre fate--the killer cuts her breast with a knife and sucks out some of her blood, which somehow results in her falling into a catatonic state for the rest of the movie (pretty much the SAME catatonic state she was in in her most famous Italian film "What Have You Done to Solange?"). I'd recommend this to hardcore Italian genre fans (and maybe to Camille Keaton fans), but it may not really appeal to anyone else.

Who can resist a flick whose title, translated into English, is "The Sex Of The Witch?" From the first scene you know you're in for a slippery but solid ride. The aged patriarch lies on his deathbed, surrounded by his family. As he receives last rites, the camera cuts to another part of the house, where the servants are having sex astride the old man's coffin. Nothing like a bit of the old Thanatos-Eros touch to keep the workers happy.To eliminate any possible confusion, I'll mention that the plot outline as listed on the IMDb page is incorrect: this is not about an archeology student, and there is no medallion. There is a witch, however, casting spells with the aid of potions. Here's where the trick of the film's title comes in: the witch, Ingrid, casts a spell over a young man, who becomes possessed by Ingrid's evil will, and thereby, her tool of revenge.This film has everything the fan of Eurotrash looks for: abundant nudity and sexual situations, hallucinatory sequences accompanied by bad early 70's rock music, nonsensical supernatural storyline, tasty splash of blood & gore, moodily lit baroque settings, with the whole gorgeous package punctuated by a distinct odor of perversity. The actors & actresses are good-looking, with ultra-groovy mod wardrobe, and hooker-heavy make-up on the women. Annamaria Tornello alone is adorned with sufficient eye makeup to cover the eyelids of every actress in Italy in 1973. Acting is capable all around. We are in exceptionally good hands with director Angelo Pannacciò, whose entire career was an impressive edifice of horror, filth & exploitation. Journeyman film composer Daniele Patucchi contributes a simple yet effective harpsichord based score. Cinematographers Maurizio Centini and Girolamo La Rosa both made Eurosleaze their exclusive focus, and handle their task with stylish expertise. In all, a satisfying viewing experience for lovers of trash, Italian style! Recommended.