NECROMANCY
dir. Bert I. Gordon, 1972
USA. 83 min.
In English.

From Spectacle favorite Bert I. Gordon (PICTURE MOMMY DEAD) comes this occult thriller about bringing life to the dead and death to the living. Pamela Franklin (THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE) and Michael Ontkean (TWIN PEAK’s Sheriff Truman) star as Lori and Frank, a married couple who relocate to a northern California town following a recent tragedy. Lori is unnerved when she begins to have bizarre visions upon their arrival, and her suspicions only deepen once they meet Frank’s new boss, the mysterious Mr. Cato (Orson Welles), who appears to maintain an outsized influence among the locals.

Filming took place in 1970, shortly after Welles’ return to Hollywood following the collapse of his decades-in-the-works DON QUIXOTE project, and according to Josh Karp’s The Making of The Other Side of the Wind, was one of the first projects that Welles openly acknowledged he had taken mainly for the money. Thankfully for him, there wasn’t much effort required on his part, what with most of his scenes limited to the same few interiors and Mr. Cato’s uncanny ability to communicate entire monologues via fireplace. Yet he still excels in the role, giving off an otherworldly vibe as he coldly delivers lines like, “You’ll forgive me if I sometimes lose myself in my enthusiasm”.