The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Matt Cimber

Writer:

Robert Thom (written by)

Release Date:

February 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Molly really knows how to cut men down to size!!

Plot:

A disturbed woman is haunted by memories of childhood abuse, which culminates in a murder spree. |

Plot Keywords:

Abuse | Memory | Murder | Murder Investigation | Smoking

Cast

Millie Perkins	...	Molly
Lonny Chapman	...	Long John
Vanessa Brown	...	Cathy
Peggy Feury	...	Dora
Jean Pierre Camps	...	Todd
Mark Livingston	...	Tripoli
Rick Jason	...	Billy
Stafford Morgan	...	Alexander McPeak
Richard Kennedy	...	Homicide detective
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Detective Stone
Roberta Collins	...	Clarissa
Stan Ross	...	Jack Dracula
Lynne Guthrie	...	Carol
Barry Cooper	...	Newcomer
Gene Rutherford	...	Sam 'The Electric Man' Waters

Runtime:

83 min | UK:88 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Australia:R | USA:R

Trivia:

One of the 74 films banned in Britain as a "Video Nasty" during the early 1980s. The film was finally released completely uncut in the UK in 2006.

Decent

Witch Who Came from the Sea, The (1976)

** (out of 4)

The Witch Who Came From the Sea isn't a seaside horror film like the title would suggest but another film in the long line of rape/revenge thrillers that was released throughout the 1970s. Unlike most of these low budget efforts, this film featured a somewhat respectable actress in Millie Perkins who received an Academy Award nomination for her role in The Diary of Anne Frank. The screenplay was written by Robert Thom who was making waves with Death Race 2000 and Wild in the Streets. Also of interest is that John Carpenter's future cinematograher, Dean Cundey go his start right here with this film, which is finally being released uncut and widescreen after years of P&S releases.

Molly (Millie Perkins) is a troubled young woman who spends most of her time taking walks on the beach with her two young nephews. Molly was sexually abused by her sea captain father when she was young but she continues to talk highly of him. He was lost at sea but she tells stories of the day he will return and take her out to sea where she can be with mermaids and other creatures of the sea. Molly works in a bar where she meets various men including idols such as actors and football players. Soon, these men are found dead with their bodies mutilated. Is this a strange fantasy from Molly's abused mind or is she actually the one doing the killings? The Witch Who Came From the Sea has a rather strong cult following and a nice reputation but it's a film not too many people have seen. In fact, after viewing the film I'm sure the majority of the film's notoriety comes from the strange title rather than what the film offers. This is a cheaply made exploitation film that really doesn't set itself apart from any of film of its type and I was rather shocked to see that the film was threatened with an "X" rating because not even the violence is very strong.

The biggest problem with the film is its screenplay, which tries to do something poetic but falls flat on its face in nearly every scene. For some strange reason, this exploitation film tries to take itself way too serious and appear to actually try and address incest and sexual abuse but the screenplay never captures any spirit or truthfulness that will make the viewer feel for Molly. The character is written as a weirdo and not once do we actually feel sorry for her or actually care about what she's doing.

The story is also poorly constructed and never really makes sense, especially all the stuff dealing with the father returning from the sea. We are told many different things but the screenplay never backs anything up. We are given various insights to Molly yet once again, the screenplay never answers anything and in fact, we never even learn why Molly is killing all of these men to begin with. The film moves at a snails pace and never really gains any interests, although I'm sure most viewers will hang in there until the end. Why? Because this is the type of movie that you'll watch and wait for something to happen only to be letdown when nothing actually happens.

With the story completely out the window you'd expect the film to deliver in the violence/gore section but again, the film even fails on that level. Again, I have a hard time believing this film would be threatened with an "X" rating, although the director constantly states this in the commentary. Perhaps this is just hype built around a film that not too many have actually seen. The violence for the most part is handled off screen, although it's quite clear that the woman is mutilating men's private parts. This here was handled much better in Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave and those two films handle the shock value a lot better.

In the end I couldn't help but be really letdown by this film. I'm sure some might like it's dreamlike qualities but to me, the film doesn't offer anything that other exploitation films offers better. The movie tries to be something more dramatic and serious but in the end The Witch Who Came From the Sea is an exploitation film that forgot to be exploitive.