While there are a few scare moments in Bert I. Gordon’s Necromancy, it doesn’t get a full moment of appreciation until the very last scene – call it the movie’s last grab of attention and scare moment in one.
Gordon’s story starts in LA, California, with a woman named Lori (Pamela Franklin) who has a miscarriage. When her husband Frank (Michael Ontkean) decides that they are moving to the small town of Lilith owned by Mr. Cato (Orson Welles), who has offered him a job at his toy company, Lori exhibits hesitance and suspicion. After all, why would Mr. Cato ask Frank whether Lori had any interest in the occult?
During their journey to the town and after arriving there, Lori goes through creepy and bizarre experiences and observations – visions of death, startling encounters with wild animals, and the cultish beliefs of Mr. Cato and the people he has allowed to live in his town. It becomes obvious to Lori that she and Frank have been invited to the town for some sinister purpose.
It’s a fairly good plot. The filming gives away a low production budget and the surreal scenes with abrupt transitions give it a B film look. However, the end – not to be given away here for spoiler concerns – redeems it all while adding the thread of scare that would give Lori’s character its due credibility.
Necromancy is one of the many cult horror films from the ‘70s that fans of the occult and witchcraft flicks would like to watch only once. The effort is worth appreciation.
