The Witch Who Came from the Sea

This movie can come from no decade but. There is very little action and some weird trippy sequences in it. I will not rehash the plot but I will say that this movie is worth seeing. If you are tired of the bland boring thriller/chiller pieces that are being made today, this is definitely worth renting. Subversive Video has released a cleaned up version on DVD so it is more readily available than in the past. Of note in the film is Millie Perkins, of Diary of Anne Frank fame. She plays the clichéd role of psycho on the verge but she does it with such muted tones and acting that makes you forget how many times the role of Molly has been rehashed in the horror genre.

Also, I would say a word on the production value. While other reviews have noted its shodiness. Let me just remind you this movie was made in 1976. As anyone who has seen 70's movies are aware, a lot of them look like they were made for nothing.

This one's a real weirdie. It's unique, surreal and genuinely disturbing, and Millie Perkins gives a memorably intense and bizarre performance as Molly. It goes out of its way to shock the viewer, and largely succeeds. It also features the single most upsetting childhood trauma flashback I've ever seen.

It's probably too much for most people's tastes, but if you enjoy flawed one-of-a-kind low budget '70s horror, it's worth a look if you can find it. I am a bit dubious about the exploitative way it uses the subject of child abuse device to shock and disturb the viewer, so be warned.

Like many films on the BBFC's "Video Nasty" list back in the eighties; The Witch Who Came from the Sea baffles the viewer because there really isn't anything in the film that should have lead to its banning. Sure, there's a little bit of blood and the suggestive child abuse scenes are a bit shocking, but this film is never going to corrupt or deprave. Anyway, while the shocks are disappointing, and I can understand why this isn't a widely liked cult classic; I've got to say that I really enjoyed it...and I should also mention that I'm not really sure why. The film features the age-old storyline of someone going insane and turning to murder, but it's surprisingly more relaxed in pace and content that many other similar movies. This one is also different because, rather than seeing a man butcher women; we've got a woman exacting violence against men. Molly is a young lady corrupted by memories of her seafaring father. She turns to drink, and soon becomes a killer after spending the night with two footballers. We then follow her on her dissent into alcoholism and insanity.

The film has that classic, gritty low budget look about it, which bodes well with the atmosphere presented. One of the main reasons why I liked this film is because it seems that writer Robert Thom and director Matt Cimber actually care about the plot and characters, and this is shown by the fact that a lot of the movie is spent building up the situation around the lead character. The movie remains interesting throughout because certain facts about the lead's past are fed to the audience bit by bit, and these help us to see why the character acts as she does. The lead role is taken by Millie Perkins, who actually does a really good job with it. It's easy to believe that she is the character we are seeing on screen, and her performance is above the average for this sort of film. The scenes of gore aren't all that shocking, and only the one that sees a man butchered with his razor is likely to provoke any kind of reaction from the audience. The castration sequences and the child abuse are what this film became notorious for, but I don't know why as they both are put forward in a very casual manner. Overall, however, I feel that The Witch Who Came from the Sea has been unfairly treated and should be remembered with a bit more respect.

"The Witch Who Came from the Sea" follows Molly, a woman living with her sister in Los Angeles, suffering from severe psychological trauma resulting from her father's incestuous relationship with her. As a result, she snaps and embarks on a killing and castration spree.

While its title is literally misleading (but metaphorically apt), "The Witch Who Came from the Sea" is an oddball psychological horror film that is not so much scary as it is sad. The film has a downbeat tone that is remarkable from the first scenes, and it chugs along at this languid, downtempo pace for much of its runtime. While some descriptions make it sound like a serial killer film, it's in actuality a character study of someone living with severe PTSD stemming from child sex abuse.

The content here is disturbing in nature, though the screenplay feels lopsided in the sense that Molly's pathology registers as a bit too on-the-nose. Where the film excels is in its visuals, and the cinematography captures a gothic sort of 1970s California, particularly the trash-ridden, empty streets of Venice Beach. Millie Perkins is decent as the lead, Molly, though none of the performances here are particularly great. There are odd moments of humor brought by the likes of Peggy Feury that are off-center but amusing. The film's conclusion is unsurprisingly dour, but thematically fitting. Though a bit of a shallow character study, "The Witch Who Came from the Sea" has some startling visuals and is reasonably well-made given its obvious budget limitations. Worthwhile for fans of gritty psychological dramas, particularly of this era. 6/10.

This may be a spurious comparison, but this reminded me of the bigger-budgeted movie "The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea" which was released about the same time. Sure the latter is a serious drama while this is a low-budget (Italian?)exploitation movie, but they both share an eerily haunting seaside location and have a truly shocking ending. I can't say I enjoyed this movie in the sense that I would like to see it again anytime soon (most men will find it pretty, uh, painful), but I can't help respecting it. It's not your usual exploitation film. It is somewhat similar to the rape-revenge films that were big in the 70's (the epitome of which was the truly execrable "I Spit on Your Grave"). Unlike that movie and its ilk, however, this film does not relish in the rape and humiliation of its barmaid female protagonist (played by Millie Perkins). And her character is portrayed as a disturbed but always believable human being as opposed to a murdering/castrating automaton. And rather than portraying all men as jerks or potential rapists, it has a likable male character in her older bartender boyfriend, "Long John".

It takes a brave film to contain the extreme, potentially off-putting elements this one does, but also not take the easy, well-trodden exploitation route (one of the most ridiculous criticisms leveled at this film, for instance, is that there is not literally a witch in it). This movie certainly does wallow in grubby exploitation scenes, but at times it transcends all that and becomes something more haunting and lyrical that will stay with you long after you watch it.