Warlock Moon

Warlock Moon (1975)

A beautiful young coed goes on a drive with a man she has just met. After a picnic they get lost on the way back to the city and stumble upon an old road. After she convinces him to drive up the road they discover an abandoned spa and the elderly woman that lives there. The man, a photographer, convinces the woman to meet him back at the spa to take some pictures in an effort to get him his first real story at the paper he is working at. But after they return for a second trip things begin going bad. The old woman isn’t what she seems and the spa is being stalked by at least one axe-wielding murderer. After several more twists in the story all is revealed.

It may all be revealed but it doesn’t make any sense. The story here is filled with all sorts of forced plot devices, including a double cross that makes no sense, a ghost that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the story, and huge plot holes that are impossible to ignore. Be warned spoilers are coming, so if you plan on watching this one stop reading my review right now! Okay you have been warned. The spa is home to some sort of blood cult that has targeted the young woman to be a sacrifice. To this end they have sent the photographer out to lure her in. Which doesn’t make any sense that they would allow her to leave the first time she was up there, since there is no guarantee she would come back. Not only that but she is the one that insists they take the old road and has to convince him. This may do a good job of deflecting suspicion away from the character, but it makes no sense when his betrayal is revealed. Also other than being the cults first victim the ghost serves no purpose. In fact not only does she not try to warn the woman off, but also she actually takes some pleasure in scaring her (or so it seems). Again this is fine for cheap jump scares, but makes no sense in context of the story. God and the plot holes are enormous. You have entire rooms of furniture that appear and disappear at random. It is bad enough that for a while I thought the old woman was a ghost, because that is the only thing that made any sense!

The filmmakers pull out all the stops trying to scare the audience. You have several attempts at jump scares with ghosts and maniacs jumping out of darkened doorways. These are executed poorly and feel more like they belong in a local haunted house than they do a movie. The first trip to the spa does build some tension, which is all lost when they are able to get in their car and drive away. This boggles my mind because it only allows for a few more establishing shots of the woman on campus before returning right back to the spa. Top that off with little gore as a pay off and no nudity and you get an entirely pointless and boring experience. The movie does have some decent 70s music and the fashions are always fun to watch. But that is about all I can say nice about the movie.

Normally I don’t go into so much detail as to “spoil” a movie’s plot. But this film is so ineptly written that I felt the need to explain and show how confusing it was. Not to invoke the name of a classic film, but it fits. This movie fails at everything that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre does so well. No tension, no gore (seen or implied), and no fun. I can’t recommend this one.

1 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer