I Just Saw

The second of three films directed by Michael Reeves, a talented British filmmaker whose career was sadly cut short by an overdose when he was just 25, The Sorcerers stars the legendary Boris Karloff (who in 1969 would die the same year as Reeves) as “medical hypnotist” Dr Marcus Monserrat.

Assisted by his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey), he bends ethics to practice a long-researched method on Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy), an antique dealer who owns the unfortunately named shop The Glory Hole. (Seriously.)

They can now control this young man’s body and mind, feeling the sensations he does. But soon Estelle finds herself enjoying her liberation from an old woman’s life too much…

I saw this as part of my local art centre’s Classic Horror Nights and really enjoyed it. Despite certain elements that age it, like the aforementioned Glory Hole and a naïveté to the characters (Karloff’s luring of Ogilvy looks to a modern audience like he’s soliciting him for sex), it’s a surprisingly modern and energetic thriller with some great musical numbers, fight scenes, Hitchcockian suspense, and a thrilling third-act car chase.

The characters are stereotypical and thinly motivated. This is a film where the story is a vehicle for how it’s told, coming in at a lean 82 minutes and wasting little time. The most intriguing aspect of the film from a character perspective lies with Estelle, whose psychopathy is unleashed by her control of Mike.

She uses him to carry out criminal behaviours that are traditionally associated with men: thieving and evading police for the thrill of it, luring and assaulting attractive young women… Estelle starts the film as a devoted old wife, but over time reveals that she has the desires of a male serial killer.

This intrigue is probably accidental on the film’s part. Karloff asked Reeves to rewrite the script so that his character was more sympathetic, which is likely why Estelle becomes the main antagonist. A newer film could do something more transgressive with the issues of sex, sexuality, and gender that Estelle’s arc suggests. What if the little old lady next door harboured depraved fantasies?

Still, Reeves’ film is an exciting and very watchable sci-fi horror, punctuated by swinging sixties tunes and a psychedelic sequence in the Moserrat’s home laboratory. Reeves directs the hokum with elan, drawing it towards a smashing close. The Sorcerers is highly recommended as both a cultural artefact and legitimate entertainment.