The Witching is a zany flick from the acid-laced 70’s, that crazy decade where everybody was high. This movie is a pure reflection of that notion, as all parties involved in the making of this film were apparently high. The Witching is about a couple that moves to a strange town called Lilith, where the guy got a job working for an eccentric man who runs a toy factory. The town is also one big witch coven with very strict guidelines. The coven leader wants to perform some grand black magic ritual that involves the woman’s participation. She is not hip to this idea though, and what follows are psychedelic naked witch rituals (witchuals?) at their finest!

I remember seeing previews for this movie back when record-sized laserdiscs were the norm and remote controllers had cords connecting them to the machine. That’s the early 80’s for all of my age impaired fans.

I watched this movie for the first time about six years ago, albeit majorly under the influence at the time. I watched it coherently about two weeks ago. Why am I telling you this? Not sure, filler I guess. Anyway, I enjoyed this movie, even though it had one of the worst endings I’ve seen in history. The movie was creepy, plus it’s over 30 years old (1972), so you have this strange alienation to begin with. Lots of nudity, not much gore. Orson Welles is thrown in to boot. Pretty solid acting (Welles is mesmerizing).

The bad? It didn’t flow well, unrealistic situations, and mumbled inaudible scenes. The good outweighed the bad for me, however. Nostalgia and psychedelia were on my side. Stay clear of this movie if neither of these characteristics intrigue you. The psychedelia can be compared to the elusive “pool shooting/dart throwing window” (4 to 9 beers, varies by individual), where you are a parlor game wizard while you are in that window. Eventually, however, you yield ungraciously to inebriation and spiral into a quagmire of inaccuracy and humility. This movie is like that. The spacey trippy vibe of the movie is initially an asset, but eventually it makes the movie a bit unrealistic and hard to follow. Plus, the ending is a real down point.

To summarize, watch at your own peril, but you just might end up liking it, if you can find it. I give this movie 5 out of 10 really large steering wheels.