morrison-dylan-fan Despite having heard about him for years,I for some reason have never got round to seeing a film from Michael Reeves. Whilst trying to find a Boris Karloff movie to watch for the October Challenge on IMDb's Horror board,I found out that the BBC were airing the title Karloff made with Reeves,which led to me conjuring up a spell.The plot:Studying hypnosis for years, Prof. Marcus Monserrat and his wife Estelle invent a machine which they believe will allow them to take control,and feel the experiences of a person under underlying hypnosis.Looking for a test case, Marcus goes to a disco and grabs the attention of Mike Roscoe.Going to the Monserrat's house, Roscoe is put under hypnosis.Quickly letting him leave,the Monserrat's are thrilled to find that they can feel everything he feels,as Roscoe opens up a vicious new sensation. View on the film:Splashing Roscoe's face with red and purple disco lights,co- writer/(along with Tom Baker and uncredited John Burke-who tried to sue for the credit) director Michael Reeves & cinematographer/future director Stanley Long set alight the raw violence from the decayed suburb with a quirky psychedelic atmosphere. Controlling Roscoe's every move,Reeves and Long dash into the blood shot eyes of the Monserrat as sparkling reds and greens rain down to Roscoe's murderous beat. Blacking out after each killing,Reeves wakes Roscoe up in a cruel Britain,trampled on with burning red blood and clamped,dusty holes which smash the false brightness from the disco lights.For Roscoe's first meeting with the Monserrat's,the writers mask the horror with a social drama bringing in man about town Roscoe and his cute bit of arm candy,with sweet elderly couple the Monserrat,whose wry smiles over introducing Roscoe to a new experience,give the kitchen sink scenes a wonderfully sour taste. Sending Roscoe out as the puppet of the Monserrat's,the writers struggle to keep all the strings together due to making Roscoe and everyone he meets paper thin characters,which along with draining the level of threat which should be on offer,also stops Roscoe from being an enticing possessed soul. Joined by a cute Susan George as "It Girl" Audrey Woods, Ian Ogilvy gives a very good performance as Roscoe,whose black slate of rage Ogilvy keeps twitching away under Roscoe's "happening" image. Holding hands with a cackling Catherine Lacey, Boris Karloff gives a wonderful performance as Marcus,thanks to Karloff softening Marcus's eyes,as Roscoe becomes the sorcerer's apprentice.

Wizard-8 As you may have guessed by my summary line above, "The Sorcerers" is devoid of any people with magical powers. The special powers come from science instead of magic. Though a misleading title isn't enough to sink a movie, so I'll examine the rest of the movie. The movie does offer an intriguing (though even then not original) premise, that being people who manage to control the acts and actions of a person from a distance. However, the execution of the movie is a problem. The movie moves at a very slow pace, even by 1960s standards. And the filmmakers don't offer any new twists along the way, and as a result the movie is pretty predictable. Fans of Boris Karloff may be disappointed that he is quickly moved to what is essentially a supporting role, and that it's pretty obvious that he knocked off his scenes in just a few days. "The Sorcerers" isn't an awful movie, but it's extremely mediocre, and there really isn't anything about it that makes it worth seeking out.

Jonathon Dabell The Sorcerers offers horror icon Boris Karloff one of the last truly worthwhile roles of his career. It is one of only three films to be directed by young film-maker Michael Reeves. Film buffs are forever declaring what great things Reeves would have gone on to achieve had he lived longer. Whether these claims of unfulfilled greatness are accurate or not no-one will ever truly know. It is fair to say that his last film, the sublime Witchfinder General, is unquestionably a genre classic, indicating that this young director certainly possessed the potential to become a major force. His second film The Sorcerers is another rather interesting and well-made chiller which shows plenty of early promise. Combining elements of sci-fi and the serial-killer genre, The Sorcerers is an unusual and effective entry from Tigon. Although it has not dated as well as some films from its era, it remains fascinating for a number of reasons – its strong performances, disorientating camera angles and scoring, infrequent but savage violence, and its apparent suggestion that society's drink 'n' drug-fuelled hedonists are potential serial killers-in-waiting. In spite of occasional flaws, The Sorcerers is a film well worth checking out.A former practitioner of medical hypnosis, Professor Marcus Monserrat (Karloff), now lives in disgrace in a grotty corner of London, sharing a shabby apartment with his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey). They have built a machine which can induce powerful telepathic hypnosis upon anyone who uses it, giving the Monserrats the ability to control the hypnotised person's mind and, more remarkably, experience whatever sensations they are feeling as if they were their own. All they need now is a young guinea pig willing to submit himself to their mind control experiment. Enter Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy), a handsome but bored youth who has grown dissatisfied with a life of disco, drink and dating hot chicks. He wants something new to inject excitement back into his life and Professor Monserrat's hypnosis machine looks just the ticket. Unfortunately, after Mike has been successfully brought under the control of the good professor and his wife, things begin to take a sinister turn. Drunk on power and unable to resist the intoxicating thrill of controlling someone else's actions, Estelle starts telepathically manoeuvring Mike into darkly dangerous situations, encouraging him to commit escalating crimes, ranging from burglary and assault… to murder.The film cleverly de-romanticises the usual perception of London in the Swinging Sixties, showing a darker place where frustration and cruelty bubble beneath the surface. Karloff gives a solid performance as the frail, well-meaning professor who cannot see the potential for evil in his invention; Lacey is great too as his dangerously unhinged wife. It's often been said that Estelle's descent into psychotic madness is too sudden and complete to be a wholly convincing plot development - a criticism that carries much truth in all fairness - but nevertheless the actress gives a splendidly full-bodied performance as the film's main villain. The way Karloff's character is the more sympathetic and agreeable of the two acts as a nice little twist on expectations too. Overall, The Sorcerers is a solid cult chiller – skilfully-made, thought-provoking and entertaining fare from a young film-maker whose light went out too soon.

JasparLamarCrabb Probably Boris Karloff's best late career film. Director Michael Reeves creates a real sense of dread as disgraced hypnotist Karloff and wife Catherine Lacey play mind control games with unsuspecting Ian Ogilvy. What starts out as pure science soon turns horrible as Lacey becomes overcome with greed and begins using Ogilivy to do her demented bidding...including murder. Reeves, who directed only three films before dying young, fills the film with a lot of odd touches --- note the name of Ogilvy's antique store! Stanley Long's cinematography captures the seedy side of swinging London. Karloff looks absolutely creepy in his old age and he's perfectly matched by Lacey. Susan George plays one of Ogilvy's unlucky gal pals.