The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		1.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		1.5

The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 26, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection.

Anyone who thought Arrow Video had already released the mother lode of Florida based exploitation fare with their gigantic The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast set from a few years ago had best be prepared to realize that the intrepid folks at this label known for catering to (cinematic) cultists of various stripes may have in fact only been offering an appetizer of sorts. It’s kind of amazing in a way to hear Herschell Gordon Lewis himself singing the praises of William Grefé in the feature length documentary They Came From the Swamp included in this new set devoted to Grefé’s work, but Lewis actually makes a point of stating that he was the interloper on territory Grefé had already staked out, and that Grefé couldn’t have been more gracious in welcoming Lewis to the far south fold, so to speak. It may be a little odd, then, that for at least some fans of exploitation cinema Herschell Gordon Lewis’ name may be better remembered than that of William Grefé, something that may seem especially unexpected given the fact that Grefé was at least occasionally able to muster A-list (or formerly A-list) talent like Rita Hayworth for some of his projects, an accomplishment that probably never would have even occurred to Lewis to attempt.

The Psychedelic Priest is one of the outliers in this already pretty outré set, having been originally filmed around 1971, but not getting a (straight to video) release until several decades later. Some of the reasons for this are addressed in some of the supplements included in this set, but the upshot is that this is one of the more haphazard, wending films in William Grefé's oeuvre, and, yes, the use of that term in this context is kind of funny. The Psychedelic Priest had a kind of odd genesis (pun unavoidable, sorry) which is also mentioned in some supplements, and it's not hard to understand why Grefé may not have wanted to be firmly associated with the production, especially after he had achieved a level of relative respectability working with Ivan Tors later in his career.

Evidently largely improvised by an almost completely amateur cast, The Psychedelic Priest features John Darrell as Father John, a "holy man" whose perhaps unwitting dalliance with some drugs early in the film leads to all sorts of issues. The film is kind of a drug fueled road trip, as Father John becomes something of a hippie himself, with the story attempting some kind of cultural zeitgeist relevance courtesy of some supporting characters, most notably a kind of homeless hitchhiking girl, all of whom interact with Father John, and many of whom encounter "issues" of their own along the way.

Despite a lurching, almost incomprehensible, quality at times, The Psychedelic Priest has some interesting location photography and it actually has a surprisingly strong, rock inflected, soundtrack.

The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Psychedelic Priest is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Arrow's hardcover insert book has a full page devoted to the transfers of each of the films, starting with some generic overview verbiage and then some brief comments on each film:

All the films included in this collection have been restored from the best available materials. Whilst every effort has been made to offer up the best possible presentations, the results inevitably vary according to the condition of the source materials, some of which were in poor shape. We hope that this does not affect your enjoyment of the films.

Sting of Death was scanned from its original 35mm negative. The audio was sourced from a 35mm optical track negative.

Death Curse of Tartu was scanned from a 16mm print. The audio was also sourced from this print. The 16mm print - presumably a TV print - was found to have been trimmed for gore, so these missing shots were sourced from a lesser copy 35mm print and reinstated.

The Hooked Generation was scanned from a 16mm internegative. The audio was sourced from a 16mm optical track negative.

The Psychedelic Priest (AKA Electric Shades of Grey ) was scanned from a 16mm Ektachrome release print. The audio was also sourced from this print.

The Naked Zoo was scanned from its original 35mm negative, which had been recut to the Barry Mahon version of the film. In order to recreate William Grefé 's original director's cut, the footage unique to that version was sourced from a badly faded and warped 35mm workprint. The audio was sourced from a 35mm double edged track print and a 35mm track negative.

Mako: Jaws of Death was scanned from two 16mm prints, which were composited for best quality sections of each. The audio was also sourced from these prints.

Whiskey Mountain was scanned from a 16mm scope print. The audio was also sourced from this print.

All materials used in these restorations were supplied William Grefé , Lisa Petrucci / Something Weird Video, Vinegar Syndrome, Ed Tucker, and AGFA (American Genre Film Archive).

The Psychedelic Priest has noticeably problematic video quality throughout, as can probably be pretty easily gleaned from just about all of the screenshots accompanying this review. Large and persistent scratches mar the presentation for the bulk of the running time, and there are numerous other signs of age related wear and tear, including lots of speckling and other dirt and damage. Color temperature does vary, though not as radically as seen in Death Curse of Tartu, and in fact saturation is relatively decent despite the fluctuations in overall tones at times. Detail levels are okay when lighting conditions allow, especially in close-ups, but a lot of the dark material is pretty seriously crushed and fine detail never emerges at very satisfying levels in these moments.

The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Psychedelic Priest features an LPCM Mono track that preserves one of the stronger soundtracks from a musical standpoint, with some rock cues that often sound kind of like The Strawberry Alarm Clock. There's still pretty abundant damage to be heard, with a lot of hiss, pops and cracks, and a couple of skips along the way. Dialogue is rendered decently cleanly, though there are fluctuations here as well, notably in the big quasi- revival meeting toward the end, which has a kind of electronic shrillness to it. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of the films in this set save for Whiskey Mountain are presented two per disc, and so some supplements are more generalist in nature. This disc has the following supplements:

• Beyond the Movie: That's Drugsploitation! (1080p; 7:51) features Chris Poggiali looking at various so-called "counter culture" films.


• Beyond the Movie: The Ultimate Road Trip (1080p; 8:22) features Poggiali again, here giving some of the truly bizarre background of The Psychedelic Priest, including the absolutely incredible trivia tidbit that Grefe was evidently paid for his work with trading stamps!


• The Hooked Generation Behind the Scenes Footage (1080i; 23:29)


• The Hooked Generation Stills Gallery (1080p; 6:40)


• Archival Audio Commentaries for both films on this disc are provided by William Grefé and filmmaker Frank Henenlotter.


• Introduction to The Hooked Generation by William Grefé (1080p; 2:40) can be accessed under the Play Menu for that film. This is authored to move directly on to the feature after it plays.


• Introduction to The Psychedlic Priest by William Grefé (1080p; 2:15) can be accessed under the Play Menu for that film. This is authored to move directly on to the feature after it plays.

The Psychedelic Priest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The story behind this film is probably more interesting than the film itself, and for that reason the obvious technical deficiencies of this presentation may be easier to take than they would be otherwise. Supplemental material is great, for those who are considering a purchase.