(1971)
Dir - Bruce Kessler
Overall: GOOD
One of the more singular occult horror films to emerge around the turn of the 1970s, Simon, King of the Witches takes a subdued, "embracing of energies", New Age hippy angle to its occasionally gritty source material. As the title warlock, Andrew Prine is charismatically ambitious yet remarkably chill and unassuming even as those that he curses or impresses with his mystical abilities become more enamored with him. He also rubs elbows with male prostitutes, drug dealers, Andy Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet, and a district attorney's daughter along his nonchalant quest for godhood, breaking the forth wall and casting spells as if he is making it up as he goes along. Relatively minimal on blasphemy, violence, and overt nudity, (sans one witch ceremony scene because you gotta have one of those), it has a dated charm to go along with its odd story. Though it was falsely advertised as a sleazy, Charles Manson-inspired sex cult romp, its low-level quirkiness is in effect refreshing in contrast.
(1973)
Dir - Dan Curtis
Overall: GOOD
Retreading quite similar terrain from the already retreaded The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, Dan Curtis got behind the lens for the second time in 1973 with The Norliss Tapes. A pilot-turned-feature, it has a monster that might as well be a vampire, a tape recorded narration, and Claude Akins once again playing a member of law enforcement who refuses to believe anything supernatural is going on and that it must be kept from the public at all costs. Though it is lacking in a charismatic character like Carl Kolchak and very little humor is present, Curtis still delivers some chilling atmosphere, plus prolific genre writer William F. Nolan's script offers a few quirky, narrative tweaks. Here, the undead come back to life via an Egyptian scarab ring and must make a clay statue of the deity Sargoth with human blood. The makeup effects are primitive yet pretty creepy where it counts and stuntman Nick Dimitri makes a ferocious fiend who can rip off car doors and throw German Shepherds across the room as if they were a blanket. Largely predictable and ultimately not as memorable as some of Curtis' other projects throughout the decade, it is still certainly well made and easily worth a gander.
(1978)
Dir - Michael Crichton
Overall: GOOD
Michael Crichton's follow-up to Westworld was the tense, medical conspiracy thriller Coma. Based off of Robin Cook's novel of the same name, it directly addresses such chauvinistic cliches as steadfast women being dismissed by their male contemporaries. In the lead, Geneviève Bujold's character is perpetually treated as a nuisance, first by her selfish, co-surgeon boyfriend, (Michael Douglas oozing his usual subtle unwholesomeness), and then by the higher-ups in her field. The audience's sympathies lie solely with her though, which pits the almost exclusively alpha cast in a shady, villainous light. Crichton takes his time with the material, casting logical doubt on the mysterious circumstances until it is all too obvious that things are indeed as dire as Bujold has been pleading that they are. Small roles by Ed Harris, Tom Selleck, and Elizabeth Ashley, plus two menacing turns from Rip Torn and Richard Widmark round out the notable cast. Things do not start getting increasingly unsettling until about the second half and the ending may be a bit abrupt and unresolved, yet overall it is expertly performed and quite steady moving.
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