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days, the term 'cult film' is fairly redundant in American cinema.
For 'cult', read 'weird, but commercial' -- or worse still, 'kooky'.
Many films now come pre-packaged as cult hits and in general are a
safe, button-pushing bunch. Instead of gathering a genuine
following, such films are designed for a target audience, their
budgets dictated to the last dollar by their projected box office.
True devotees of the bizarre and dangerous are forced to look
overseas, or to trawl through the endless drudgery of the filmic
fringe in search of the truly freaky.
Whilst this may sound
like the rant of a celluloid snob, I think the point is valid: what
stands for cult today is often merely Hollywood commercialism in
disguise. "The Witch Who Came from the Sea" is a cult film in the
old fashioned, genuine sense of the word, and which has earned
itself a recent re-release on DVD. Although previous video boxes
described it as an 'erotic thriller', it is in fact a genuine
oddity, a truly bizarre viewing experience that fans of the abnormal
would do well to seek out. Whilst not quite up there with the likes
of "Eraserhead", this is still an unsettling and disturbing film
which sticks in the mind long after viewing.
The plot is quite minimalist, following Molly
(Millie Perkins), a young woman who has a thing for picking up guys,
having sex with them, and then castrating them with a razor. As the
film progresses, her mind disintegrates further, and flashbacks
attempt to explain her behavior.
"The Witch Who came from the Sea" is a strange
film in that there is a very detached air to the proceedings,
neither siding with nor judging Molly's actions. Since the viewer is
well aware of the identity of the murderess, the film's suspense
lies in attempting to separate reality from her fantasies. Director
Matteo Ottaviano (credited sometimes as 'Matt Cimber', and probably
best known for the 1982 Orson Welles film "Butterfly") does this
skillfully, throwing in a number of surreal sequences that leave the
viewer as disorientated as poor, crazy Molly.
The waters are muddied further through the
frequent and often very disturbing childhood flashbacks, some of
which blur convincingly into the present day events. Ottaviano never
overplays his hand, and the traumas of the past are presented quite
plainly and almost without emotion and not as obvious reasons for
Molly's psychosis. Instead, Ottaviano imbues the film with symbolism
and attempts to assign meaning through the visuals, and though not
always successful, he certainly gives the proceedings an interesting
look.
To be fair, the film isn't exactly exciting,
moving slowly towards its somewhat anti-climactic ending, though it
is not without a certain dreamlike atmosphere. However, if looking
for a traditional or fast paced thriller, viewers are advised to go
elsewhere. The closest comparison that can be made for "The Witch
Who came from the Sea" would be to a film like Polanski's
"Repulsion", in that they are both explorations of the psyches of
troubled young women. However, Ottaviano's film is certainly more
psycho than thriller, and is definitely somewhere way south of the
lunatic line.
The film does have a fairly high exploitation
content, being very graphic in places, and there are several razor
blade castration sequences guaranteed to make male viewers squirm.
The effects are pretty convincing, and the killings are made all the
more effective by Perkins' apparent indifference to her victims'
suffering. Despite all the blood and sex, the overall mood is very
downbeat, and given the underlying themes of child abuse and
madness, little is played for obvious titillation. As a result, this
is not a film particularly recommended to gore hounds or sleaze
seekers, and such fans would do well to seek their kicks elsewhere.
A film like this can succeed or fail on the
strength of its central performance, and thankfully, Perkins is
great as Molly. Throughout, she maintains a certain sense of
innocence, and although the viewer never really sympathizes with
her, the character never degenerates into psychotic farce.
Interestingly, Perkins may be recognizable to some as having been a
star of the TV primetime soap "Knots Landing", though of course with
a great deal less nudity and screaming. To be honest, the rest of
the acting is pretty bad, and it's quite fortunate that Perkins
takes up most of the screen time.
Overall, I would definitely recommend "The
Witch Who came from the Sea" to any fans of the weird. It's an
effective, unsettling psychological horror filled with disturbing
imagery and graphic gore. It's probably not the best film for good
time viewing, but those who go to the effort of seeking it out won't
be disappointed.
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