The Witch Who Came from the Sea
(Subversive Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1976)
review by Don't Feed the Dead

Subversive Cinema's second offering, The Witch Who Came From the Sea, is an interesting movie to say the least. By today's MPAA standards, this film would have never seen the light of a projector without a hefty dose of editing due to the extremely sensitive content involved. Tackling subjects like masochism, castration, family alcoholism and intense amounts of incestuous sex scenes nearly earned this film an "X" rating upon initial release, and I shudder to think what the masses would have cried if it was released nationally in theaters.

 

The story revolves around Molly (Perkins), a psychotic bar maid that is enamored by her father's past as a sea captain and often drinks herself silly to remedy the pain caused by past incidents. From the movie's get go we see that Molly isn't all quite there, as she talks to her beloved nephews Tadd and Tripoli on the beach. Making an obscene amount of reference to their grandfather's nautical accomplishments, Molly begins to remiss and have violent hallucinations about the particular group of muscle men working out near them on the beach. Obsessed with the male genital region, Molly focuses in on their ridiculously stuffed crotches, then envisions a brutal ending to each man's life.

 

Later that day, Molly brings her nephews home and while discussing the topic of the boys' heroes gets into a heated debate with her sister about their father's mis-doings. Molly begins to recess into psychosis as she recalls her father and the way he abused her. Grief stricken by the memories, she turns to the bottle to alleviate her pain. After a few drinks, Molly begins to hallucinate even more, this time an erotic fantasy with two very well known football player, Sam "the Electric Man" and "Tarzan". Molly envisions tying the men up with the premise of sexual acts being performed, however, when Tarzan passes out Molly reveals her true intentions by bringing a razor blade to the Electric Man's danger zone. After the brutal deed is done, Molly snaps out of it and realizes that she needs to go to work.

 

The following morning, Molly wakes up in her boss' bed only to find out that Sam "the Elecectric Man" and "Tarzan" have both been brutally murdered in a hotel room by means of castration. Panicked because these men were her nephews' heroes, she rushes home to console them. Unphased by the implications of murder, Molly continues to seek out famous television faces to seduce and ultimately devoid them of their manhood. The police begin to catch on, as do Molly's co-workers, and she begins to spiral further and further out of control, believing that she is the reincarnate of the goddess Venus. 

 

The only downside to Witch is that once the movie hits the halfway point it begins to drag in a very undesirable fashion. Molly's hallucinations and delusions become a bit trite and this ultimately detracts from the powerful storyline. Rather than further exploring her psychosis, Witch delves into a more shallow realm of drug and alcohol abuse, focusing more on Molly's crutch than her ailment.

 

The film does receive a very respectable score because the serious issues tackled (incest, schizophrenia and substance abuse) are approached in a very harrowing manner. There is nothing funny about the Witch, save for the ridiculous 1970's dialogue like "groovy" and the atrocious hair styles. The flashbacks of Molly's relations with her father are extremely realistic and disturbing, offering up the terrible scenario of innocent child corrupted by perverse, evil adult. Where many films elude to the circumstances and repercussions of incest and child abuse, Witch slams it head on in a very convincing way.

 

Many congratulations should go to Subversive Cinema for supplying a superb transfer and wash of the original film - the opening shows the contrast in film quality between the original and transfer, the latter being crystal clear and flawless. Extras on the disc also include Director and Cast commentaries, Biographies, Trailers and a Featurette on the film. It was very interesting to see Director Matt Cimber so emphatic about the film's re-release and the basis behind behind his excitement.

 

Overall, Subversive does a good job with their second release, The Witch Who Came From the Sea. Although the film itself has its rough points towards the latter half of the film, it's still a very nice addition to the exploitation collection. This film does feature the most raw incest footage outside of raunchy pornography and should not be taken lightly by the viewer. Subversive Cinema set out on a quest to bring the viewer rare, shocking and disturbing films, and they have definitely succeeded with Witch.