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The Sorcerers
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (26th August 2024). |
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The Film
 Living in obscurity after a sensationalist journalist about his experiments, medical hypnotist Professor Marcus Monserrat (The Mummy's Boris Karloff) and his wife Estelle (Whisky Galore!'s Catherine Lacey) have been developing a new technological innovation that would allow him not only to control his subject's actions but to experience them vicariously. They seek out the perfect test subject among the young and bored seeking new experiences, finding the perfect candidate in twenty-something Mike Roscoe (Wuthering Heights' Ian Ogilvy) who runs an antique shop by day but has tired of the nightlife of discotheques, Wimpy burgers, and even his French girlfriend Nicole (Elizabeth Ercy). Monserrat subjects Mike to an audio and visual bombardment with his makeshift machine, but even he and Estelle are surprised when they are not only able to command him from a distance but to share his experiences on the level of physical sensations. Monserrat is overjoyed and eager to make his findings public, with the benevolent application of allowing old people to "feel" young again, to transcend the limitations of their aged bodies through young volunteers enjoying leisure on their behalf. Estelle, on the other hand, feels that they have lived a life of deprivation so long that she begs him to keep his discover a secret so that they can both "use" Mike just a little longer to reward themselves. They use him at first to experience sensations like swimming and driving at high speed, and then Estelle convinces Marcus reluctantly to let her use Mike to steal a fur coat from a shop window that she covets. Mike confesses experiencing blackouts to Nicole, but his increasingly erratic behavior worries her to the point that she confides in his friend Alan (Privilege's Victor Henry). When Estelle compels Mike into a violent fight with Alan, Marcus realizes the potential of his discovery for abuse but Estelle has also realized that her will is stronger than her husband's and their ensuing "battle of wills" drives Mike towards increasingly violent and even murderous behavior. The second directorial effort of Michael Reeves following his compromised debut Revenge of the Blood Beast and preceding his masterpiece and unintended swan song Witchfinder General before his death at age twenty-five from an accidental overdose, The Sorcerers has its own production limitations due to the interventions of Tigon producer Tony Tenser (Curse of the Crimson Altar) but represents a stylistic and thematic advance over Reeves' first film. Rather than representing the generation divide in terms of corrupt authority and exploited youth, the film presents youth experiencing ennui and its older generation as those left behind exerting what little power they have by peddling a "drug" in search of kicks of their own which they assume are openly sought and readily available to the young. The scenes between Karloff and Lacey are compelling, but Ogilvy has less to work with even though he has more screen time, being by necessity a bit of a blank slate onto which they can project along with Nicole and Alan who similarly go beyond making assumptions from his behavior to pushing their own interpretations of him onto one another. The narrative feels rushed, with a cab driver and police characters introduced in the third act rushing things along to the resolution when the fight over Mike's mind by the Monserrats could have offered more than a couple murders of single scene female characters played by Sally Sheridan (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and a young Susan George (Straw Dogs) cast as one of Mike's old flames even though the actress herself was only sixteen in real life. While not a masterpiece, The Sorcerers certainly deserves to be better-regarded than just the film that came before Reeves' more acclaimed final film. 
Video
Stateside, The Sorcerers was difficult to see after it Allied Artists theatrical release with only a rare, early-eighties Allied Artists Home Video cassette release before Warner Bros. dumped it onto barebones DVD-R in 2012 as part of their "Archive Collection" – a fate which also befell a number of their foreign genre holdings that seem unlikely to make the leap to Blu-ray despite more licensing deals – but the film had two DVD releases in the U.K. from Metrodome and Prism Leisure before a 2014 Blu-ray from Odeon and then as part of Screenbound's The Films of Michael Reeves set which dropped Reeves' directorial debut Revenge of the Blood Beast in favor of Castle of the Living Dead on which Reeves did uncredited second unit work. We have not seen that edition but 88 Films' 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray comes from the same HD master which nicely brings out the seediness of both the London locations and the sets while vividly conveying the psychedelic visuals of the hypnotism sequence. Some on-the-fly location bits are noisier from underexposure, and the lighting and crispness of focus is probably a good measurement of which scenes were permitted, from the late night alley murder to the antique shop fight that spills out onto the pavement with much shattered glass. Blood pops and the charred fate of two characters revealed in the final shots is grislier texturally here than on DVD. 
Audio
The sole feature audio option is an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mono track which sports clear dialogue, spare effects – the dubbing sessions for the film were insufficiently scheduled as reported in the extras – but the music has a forceful presence from the title sequence discotheque footage – this cue is even louder on the main menu – subsequent visits to the location, and more so during the hypnotism sequence where viewer and subject are bombarded even though the source is single-channel. Optional English HoH subtitles are provided. 
Extras
The film is accompanied by two brand new commentary tracks. The first is an audio commentary by film journalists William Fowler & Vic Pratt who recall their youthful surprise at seeing Karloff away from Gothic trappings, Ogilvy as Reeves' onscreen "avatar", Reeves' cult status as a lost auteur, and the contributions of cinematographer Stanley A. Long who had moved up from making film for the army to both shooting and producing feature films including early sexploitation efforts like Primitive London and Secrets of a Windmill Girl and how the pseudo-"mondo" view of the seedier side of London informs his work here. They also discuss the themes of the film as well as differences between writer John Burke's published 1965 script – for which he was only credited with an "idea" – and the contributions to the script of Reeves and Tom Baker (who photographed Reeves' early little-seen 8mm film Carrion starring fifteen-year-old schoolmate Ogilvy and the 16mm remake Intrusion in which Ogilvy was demoted from lead because he got sick and had to be taken care of by Reeves' mother during the filming), noting that the "liquid light shows" did not come about until 1966. They also discuss the "inherent conservatism" of Reeves' work, his attitude towards violence, and how the film's device is used for "mind control" rather than "mind liberation." Also included is an audio commentary by film critics Kim Newman & Sean Hogan who observe that the film is overshadowed by Witchfinder General because Karloff and Reeves got along and did not clash like Reeves and Vincent Price, and as a Karloff film it is overshadowed by Targets in which he played a horror star, while also suggesting that the film does share some elements with Karloff's forties cycle of "mad doctor" movies for Columbia Pictures in which he usually had noble intentions. They also reveal that Karloff made changes because he did not want to be the villain, and in doing so "gifted" Lacey with a choice role late in her career. They also discuss the themes of the film, noting that the generational divide is not so clear-cut but also that the film was directed by a twenty-three year old in contrast to many other youth-oriented horror films of the time directed by out-of-touch, middle-aged directors (citing Tigon's own Curse of the Crimson Altar as an example along with Hammer's Dracula A.D. 1972). They also provide background on lesser-known cast members like Henry whose career was cut short by a traffic accident as a pedestrian, spending the last seventeen years of his life in a coma, and also that Nicky Henson was up for the role of Alan but would eventually play Ogilvy's sidekick in Witchfinder General, as well as background on screenwriter Burke, his other genre credits, and making the case that Reeves' and Baker's contributions were for the better and not just a "credit grab."  In "Can't Get You Out of My Head - Ian Ogilvy on The Sorcerers" (23:11), the actor discusses his friendship with Reeves as a teenager and how they got together to make their first films, and losing touch before his agent contacted him about Reeves wanting him to star in Revenge of the Blood Beast. Of the film, he assesses his character as unpleasant from the start and also recalls that Karloff had a set fee of eleven-thousand pounds since he was uninsurable at his age, and fond memories of hanging out with him during the shoot even though they actually had only two major scenes together. He also discusses other cast members, including the casting of George, as well as living in the sixties but largely being unaware of the era as a phenomenon until later when people started writing about it. In "Controlling the Cuts" (13:19) is an interview with editor David Woodward who reveals that the film was edited by Ralph Sheldon who asked for his name to be taken off when Tenser kept cutting the editing schedule shorter, leaving Woodward and assistant Susan Michie to take the credit. Woodward reveals that due to the scheduling, Sheldon gave him scenes to edit himself including the car chase, and that there are sound effects missing from the final fight scene because Tenser cut the dubbing sessions from three days to two. The disc also includes the film's theatrical trailer (2:24) and a stills gallery. 
Packaging
The disc comes with a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore & original poster while the first pressing includes a limited edition reverse-board O-ring slipcover and a booklet by Johnny Mains (not supplied for review).
Overall
While not a masterpiece, The Sorcerers certainly deserves to be better-regarded than just the film that came before Reeves' more acclaimed final film.
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