The Satan-worshipping killer of nubile women in the Louisiana bayou sets his sights on a sexy psychic there to investigate the murders; she's a "sensitive" whose grandmother was a witch, and Luther the Berserk wants to bring her into his coven (which he pronouns "cove-in"). Second (and final) film for writer-director William O. Brown opens with a brutal murder scene (the female victim is attacked from behind, marked with a symbol, hung upside from a tree and slashed, her bright red blood dripping into a bucket). Unfortunately, Brown doesn't have anything of interest to follow up his grisly opening--it may have been enough to help get him funding, but what happened to Acts II and III? Apart from the 'spooky' music, amateurish makeup effects and awkward performances, there's not a whole helluva lot happening here. * from ****

THE LEGEND OF WITCH HOLLOW is a cheap and cheerful US horror flick about witchcraft in the dark swamps. It has a local, amateurish feel which works well in its favour I think, and the witchcraft antics are certainly more authentic than as depicted in the likes of Ted V. Mikels's BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS. There are faults here, mostly in the overacting from the villain characters who get way too much screen time, but at other times this is surprisingly decent.The best thing about this film? The setting. This really was filmed in Louisiana and you just can't fake those kind of locations, as Walter Hill found out when he made his exemplary SOUTHERN COMFORT. There are some memorable interludes along the way, includes hints at the kind of elements that would dominate the genre a few years later, with the most talked-about bit being the topless girl running in slow motion through the woods. If you can get over the mannered acting, dated fashions, and overacting, you might well find this an atmospheric little chiller.

Alvy Moore leads a group of individuals into the deep swamplands to investigate paranormal activities. As luck would have it, this little neck of the bayou has been the locus of several ritual murders over the past couple of years, of which all the victims were pretty young girls. One of the crew of outsiders(the lovely and zaftig Thordis Brandt) is the descendant of a witch, and her presence piques the interest of an evil warlock determined to recruit her into his coven.Despite its financial strife, The Witchmaker is an atmospheric, smartly made production with an effective curveball ending, and I suspect it may be a bit more lettered in illustrating the various wonts of occultism than many other films of its type. Surprisingly scary at points, and benefiting from a creepy score by Jaime Mendoza-Nava, this one's worth seeking out(if only for the scene of Ms. Brandt running slow-motion and topless through the swamp, cupping her hands over her gigantic bare breasts).7/10

All right.So, there is some satanic rituals going on in the bayou. Alvy Moore(from GREEN ACRES, and also one of this film's producers) and his group are investigating into this Deep South hell, and its RACE WITH THE DEVIL time.I have a somewhat trimmed version of this film, but despite this, I enjoyed WITCHMAKER emmensly. It has blood, nudity, and some pretty intense scenes. In a sense, it is what all drive-in films should be, entertaining. I'll be getting the DVD version, once they put it out. And I definitely won't be buying that wimpy BLAIR WITCH flick. WITCHMAKER is the real deal.