‘She loved men… to death.’
The Love Witch is a 2016 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Anna Biller (The Incubus). Biller also handled the production and costume design. The movie stars Samantha Robinson, Gian Keys and Laura Waddell.
With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the ‘60s, the film explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism.
In the US, the film was released in select theaters on November 11 via Oscilloscope Laboratories. The latter release the The Love Witch on Blu-ray and DVD on March 14, 2017.
Buy Blu-ray + DVD: Amazon.com
Plot:
Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment, she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However her spells work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder…
New and upcoming Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and theatrical releases
Reviews:
“ … an expert recreation of ’60s/’70s exploitation fare seen in grindhouses of the time. I sat mesmerised throughout because of the tone, look and askance view on the empowerment subject matter. It’s almost like a Russ Meyer directed version of Blood Orgy of the She-Devils written by Joe Sarno.” FrightFest
” … the sheer beauty and level of attention to detail in The Love Witch is stunning, and Robinson’s performance shows an astonishing commitment to the physicality of the role, which requires great restraint and poise […] a gloriously seductive feminist work, and a distinctly pleasurable viewing experience…” Cinematic Investigations
“Though a little too languid at two hours, The Love Witch is appropriately seductive. The deliberately muted performances of a cast selected because they look like 1970s models – with a nice throwaway about The Stepford Wives – are a dead-on match for Biller’s on-the-nose dialogue exchanges and ritual-like scenes of witch cults, tea parties and pole-dancing.” Screen Daily
“The movie is relentless in how it poses questions about our culture’s way of dealing with the power of female sexuality (and it wouldn’t work without Robinson, whose appearance and performance is impeccable for the job) and acknowledges that there’s not only unease in these questions and their answers but also mordant hilarity.” RogerEbert.com
“Camp and colourful, and as much a tribute to Stephanie Rothman’s The Velvet Vampire as the movies of Douglas Sirk, The Love Witch is a beautifully designed and shot piece of luscious film-making. It does go on a bit, mind, and if you haven’t fully bought into the more-soapy-than-horror premise of its central character trying to find love at any cost you might find yourself looking at your watch…” House of Mortal Cinema
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk
“While she got the tone and look of the film just right, the script is sorely lacking such loving attention to detail […] The exorbitant running time of 120 minutes doesn’t help matters either […] Still, The Love Witch has its moments […] I just wish the whole thing was shorter, funnier, and had some actual meat to the story.” The Video Vacuum
Cast and characters:
Samantha Robinson … Elaine Parks
Gian Keys … Griff Meadows
Laura Waddell … Trish
Jeffrey Vincent Parise … Wayne Peters
Jared Sanford … Gahan
Robert Seeley … Richard
Jennifer Ingrum … Barbara
Randy Evans … Steve
Clive Ashborn … Professor King
Lily Holleman … Miss Curtis
Jennifer Couch … Wendy
Stephen Wozniak … Jerry
Giselle DaMier … Harpist
April Showers … April Showers
Elle Evans … Star
Fair Micaela Griffin … Moon
Dani Lennon … Mandy (Barmaid)
Gina Venditti … Jane (Barmaid)
Frank Farmer … Sam (Bartender)
Kyle Derek … Lyle
Filming locations:
Eureka, California, USA
Technical details:
120 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Watch trailer on Vimeo
