I first saw this movie at a drive-in back in 1971 along with several other features which I don’t recall. Having been a Boris Karloff fan since the age of 8, I had to see it and I remember being struck at the time by how old he looked (he was 79 then and had been dead for 2 years by the time I saw it) and by how cool it would be if you really could experience other people’s sensations (the principal plot device of this film). It was only much later that I realized that THE SORCERERS was made by Michael Reeves the same man responsible for WITCHFINDER GENERAL.
Just how familiar Reeves was with Karloff’s “Mad Doctor” films, I don’t know (there are definite echoes of 1936’s THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND), but THE SORCERERS is certainly an interesting and appropriate update on that theme. An elderly hypnotist and his wife (the “sorcerers” of the title) develop a system of advanced hypnosis that enable them to not only control a young man (Ian Ogilvy) but to feel what he feels. Things ultimately veer out of control as the embittered wife wants to experience more and more sensations including murder (a young Susan George is the victim) which leads to tragedy for everyone concerned.
The Swinging 60s setting (the film was made in 1967) is dated to be sure but fascinating nonetheless. Karloff is his usual fine self even at the age of 79 and crippled by arthritis but it is Catherine Lacey as his wife who gives a truly remarkable performance. She reportedly hated her role just as Vincent Price hated his in WITCHFINDER GENERAL yet Reeves proved himself right in the end as both performances are among their best. A truly fine example of what can be done on a meager budget with a multi-layered screenplay and a good role for Boris at the end of his career. This is the American Allied Artists release. Thanks to Warner Archive for finally making it available on Region One for the American market.
The Capsule Critic 