Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
... View MoreExcellent, Without a doubt!!
... View MoreAbsolutely Fantastic
... View MoreThe movie really just wants to entertain people.
... View MoreRestored classic; one of the infamous video nasties banned in Britain.Those looking for the juicy parts that were excised by the censors will be disappointed, as the stuff, even the castration with a razor blade, is tame by today's standards.The film will be a little talkie as it is a tale of an abused child's descent into madness.In a constant state of inebriation, Molly (Millie Perkins) suffers numerous flashbacks of abuse and pain.Director Matt Cimber achieved his greatest status a couple of films later with three Razzie nominations for Butterfly with Pia Zadora.
... View MoreMolly (Millie Perkins) is a girl who is haunted by a childhood of sexual abuse at the hands of her now dead father. These images are however, repressed by her, and she constructs a fantasy world where he did in fact die at sea - as he was an explorer of the sea. This we later find out is drawn from the euphemistic term Molly's father used to describe the abuse: "Molly, lets get lost at sea".This fantasy that Molly creates is also perpetuated in sequences that almost appear as if they are happening only in her broken mind. After seeing a couple of professional footballers on the TV (she describes them - and other men - as beautiful creatures to her two nephews), she seems to drift into a day-dream in which she ties the two up to a bed, in a pre-empted plan for sexual endeavour, but she proceeds to cut the penis off of one with a razor blade. As we later discover, these two footballers actually died. Whilst we are certain as an audience that Molly surely did this act, we seem to have no hard evidence of this. Is Molly simply imagining this?The film is punctuated with short, and increasingly graphic depictions of Molly's rape as a child by her father. These haunting sequences are exacerbated by the increasing volume and amount of perpetual seagull noises filtered through an echo effect. As these moments become more frequent, we find out that Molly's father died of a heart attack during an attack on her. So in Molly's own mind, as her father died during this act - an act he has a euphemistic phrase for - did indeed die at sea.Molly floats somnambulistically through the majority of this film. She seems almost not to be aware of the events that she is involved in. We seem to follow this path too. But we are also aware of her increasing breakdown. She becomes more erratic and confused about the people around her. She seems obsessed with television, and its ability to display the most beautiful people.This is no masterpiece, not by a long shot. But it is an interesting piece of cinema. Director Matt Cimber (who has made no other work of significance) unfolds the rapid mental breakdown with a little bit of style. The production values aren't the best, but they are suitable for the content. I did enjoy its mix of seeming supernatural and grindhouse- style elements. It almost plays like a lost and degraded artifact of horror/art-house cinema.This film bizarrely made it onto the UK's video nasties list (or at least the DPP list), where I can only assume was clustered with the more horrific films (such as 1972's Last House on the Left, 1977's I Spit on Your Grave) due to it's quite intense, but never graphic depictions of male castration.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
... View MoreMillie Perkins is a disturbed young woman plagued by disturbing visions.She hates men and castrates them because she was the victim of incest during her childhood."The Witch Who Came from the Sea" is a strange and moody exploitation flick with dream-like atmosphere and strong symbolism.Millie castrates two popular football players in fantastically oneiric sequence of sexual violence.The film is slow-moving and deeply unpleasant character study of woman's torment.The central performance of Millie Perkins is fantastic as is the supporting cast.If you are into beautiful and highly subversive 70's US horror you can't miss this oddity.8 mermaids out of 10.
... View MoreMolly (Millie Perkins) was sexually abused by her father when she was young. She grows up to be an alcoholic waitress who lives on welfare with her sister and nephews. She keeps telling the nephews fantasies about her father being a sea captain. She also has fantasies about meeting hunky men, tying them up and castrating them--or are they just fantasies? This is a strange one. Very bizarre and surreal. Also very disturbing to watch. The castrations are shown (just the guys screaming and blood splattering--but that's enough) and the scenes of childhood sexual abuse are explicit--WAY too explicit. It's shown and it's more than a little sick. It's incredibly disturbing and I think way too strong for even an exploitation film. This film almost got an X rating for the imagery alone. The DVD version is uncut--so we see it all.The acting is excellent--Perkins especially in a hard role. The widescreen imagery is beautiful in complete contrast to the story and it has an excellent screenplay. But the film just goes too far for me. There's a good reason why this film is still forgotten--it's way too strong for the average movie goer. I'm giving it an 8 because it IS an excellent psychological thriller but it just goes too far. Proceed at your own risk.
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