5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Christine gets her big chance at modelling when she applies at Sybil Waite's agency. Together with Christine's sister Betty they go to a castle for the weekend for a photo shoot. Sybil has lured Christine to the castle for more than modelling: she is recruiting a virgin for induction into a witch's coven, led by the owner of the castle, Gerald. To their surprise, Christine is more than eager to join the coven, but begins her own secret battle for control.
Starring: Ann Michelle, Vicki Michelle, Keith Buckley, Garth Watkins, Neil HallettHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.58:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
BDInfo verified
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Maybe it’s because I was raised during the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s—when demons were lurking inside He-Man toys and babies were supposedly being sacrificed in suburban basements across the country—but I’ve always been a sucker for movies about the occult, from relatively high-brow fare like Rosemary’s Baby on down to the campiest of campy exploitation shockers. 1972’s Virgin Witch most definitely belongs in the latter category. The low-rent movie was distributed by Tigon British Film Productions, a small studio that might best be thought of as Hammer Horror’s less-respectable cousin. Tigon produced about two dozen films between 1967 and 1977, including the folk-horror chiller Blood on Satan’s Claw, and the softcore cult classic Au Pair Girls. Virgin Witch is something of a mix between the two, featuring a shoestring story about a lesbian-led witches’ coven, giving plenty of excuses to show near non-stop T&A. It’s hokey, not creepy at all, and only marginally erotic, but it is frequently hilarious—in mostly unintentional ways—and certainly good for 80-odd minutes of wink-wink ironically enjoyed entertainment.
Sisters...
As we've come to expect from Kino—and their new partnership with Redemption Films—Virgin Witch is presented faithfully on Blu-ray, with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that looks true to source, warts and all. And there are a few warts. This is a low-budget sexploitation horror movie, so you shouldn't expect the print to look pristine, and you will notice some white specks, occasional scratches, and even one or two black "reel change" dots up in the top righthand corner of the screen. Kino hasn't removed any of the print damage, but neither have they tried to smooth out the image with digital noise reduction or artificially sharpen it with edge enhancement. The film was shot on 35mm and the grain structure—while heavy—looks perfectly natural here. The filmmakers doubtlessly weren't working with the sharpest lenses available at the time, so the picture understandably soft, although the sheer act of transferring the film in high definition brings out a level of detail that just wouldn't be possible on DVD. Color is surprisingly vibrant, with vivid reds and greens, and the contrast seems just about spot-on. Flesh tones—and there's ample flesh—look healthy too. Finally, though the transfer sits on a single-layer disc, I didn't notice any overt compression concerns. Virgin Witch looks as good as a film called Virgin Witch might be expected to look.
The same goes for the disc's uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 stereo track, which can only do so much with the limitations of the film's original low-budget audio elements. There was at least some attempt at sound design here—you can occasionally hear background ambience outdoors, like birds and wind—but I can't say that whoever did the recording was fully competent. Especially when it comes to dialogue, which is at least understandable, but often sounds distant or muffled or blatantly dubbed-in. Novelty song composer Ted Dicks provides a kooky score—sometimes creepy, sometimes bongo- crazy—and the music sounds decent, if dynamically limited. And that's about all there is to say here. This is a listenable enough mix—it is what it is, basically—and my only real complaint is that there are no subtitles for those might need them, or those who just can't wrap their heads around some of the more obscure English slang.
A minor British cult classic from the swingin' '70s, Virgin Witch has just about everything you could want from a softcore sexploitation horror film; namely, breasts galore. It's also more than good for a few campy laughs. You won't be chilled or thrilled or...ahem...aroused, but if you're into rinky- dink low-budget T&A-fests, this one certainly delivers the goods. And it looks surprisingly decent on Blu-ray to boot.
2015
Limited Slipcover Edition | SOLD OUT
1969
Evil Heritage
1976
2013
1982
1977
Standard Edition | SOLD OUT & OOP
1975
The Devil's Own
1966
1984
Unrated
2016
2016
2016
1978
Collector's Edition
1983
1983
2011
Collector's Edition
1982
2018
2015
2002