WITCHHAMMER
(1970)
Dir - Otakar Vávra
Overall: GOOD
On the surface, Otakar Vávra's Witchhammer, (Kladivo na čarodějnice), is yet another thoroughly dower witch trial film, one that remains so very depressing due to how little of its story is glamorized from its actual historical context. That particular context here was the Northern Moravia witch trials that took place in the 1670s, specifically here surrounding the fate of priest Kryštof Lautner. Because these mass, church sanctioned persecutions, tortures, and murders were all likely worse than anything some screenwriter could fabricate for dramatic effect, watching any movie with this subject matter alone can do wonders to ruin your day. The film gets some extra subtext from the era it was made though, where Czechoslovakian Communist show trials were hardly something just from old history books to meditate on. As a horror film, this pretty much does not qualify, at least in a conventional sense. Yes there is nudity, gore-via-torture, deplorable villains, and a clear sexual repression subtext, all of which make their way often into said genre. In this case though, it is the very serious tone that sets it apart from something like Ken Russel's The Devils per ludicrously-over-the-top example. Not for the faint of heart, but such movies rarely if at all are.
(1970)
Dir - Jaromil Jireš
Overall: GOOD
Arriving somewhat later in the Czech New Wave, Jaromil Jireš' very otherworldly Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, (Valerie a týden divů), followed his The Cry and The Joke, both seminal films in said movement. Compared to Juraz Herz' fantastic The Cremator, Valerie is certainly the more "horror" out of this New Wave's offerings and whether you watch it with a large or nonexistent knowledge of film history, it is very bonkers. "Dreamlike" is a word that is impossible not to use when describing this movie, deliberately so surely. As surreal as can be and well under an hour and a half, Valerie endlessly jumps from moment to moment, where characters are or may appear to be different characters, monsters, or victims, and they all seem to be aching for the love and affection of the title character, played by a whimsical, thirteen-year old Jaroslava Schallerová. The soft, bright lighting and often lovely music and scenery go very against the horror movie type, even if they naturally seem part of the same world here with a Nosferatu like, gruesome vampire, a witch burning, and heavily cobwebbed catacombs. In other words, there is no rule book being utilized and it is a marvelous thing. Much of Valerie reminds one of both Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural and the USSR classic Viy, but it really exists in its own universe; a universe more horror films could afford to visit now and again.
(1972)
Dir - Juraz Herz
Overall: GOOD
This adaption of the Alexander Grin novel Jessie and Morgiana from Juraz Herz basically plays like a full length Tales from the Crypt episode, which is a good thing for genre buffs. Many of the elements in Morgiana are very commonplace; twin sisters (both played by the same actress) and a rivalry over their parents inheritance leads to much sinisterness. There are some nice hallucination scenes and occasional suspense is maintained as to how exactly everything is going to play out, though the one sister that is doomed seems predetermined from scene one. That is mostly because there is a clear villain here, down to the obvious "one of them dresses in white and is cheerful and the other is in black and is a total bitch that everyone is afraid of" motif. Still, having a simple as can be story with virtually zero humor or camp value aside, it is certainly told beautifully. Herz has a way of moving his camera around that is quite enticing in and of itself, be it with flowing close-ups and zooms to numerous point-of-view shots, representing the feline title character in this case. This is also one of those "soft focus/vibrant colors" 70s films and as a period piece, it is both Gothic and pretty all at once.
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