Lack of good storyline.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

After watching the film I can understand how it made the Video Nasty list; the director, Matt Cimber, chose to show Molly's sexual abuse at the hands of her father, who was mentally unstable. Though most of these scenes are shot well and the abuse is suggested, sometimes very subtly. It's the pivotal scene which is the most disturbing. Robert Thom, the writer who also wrote Death Race 2000, added a nasty twist at this point. It adds to the reason why Molly is so broken. Cimber does tone it down a little but couldn't remove the scene entirely as, like I said, it's pivotal and adds to the story and character of Molly; it clarifies a lot of things for the audience.That said, the film is felicitous and unfortunately still relevant today. The film starts on the beach as Molly is babysitting her sister's children, Tad and Tripoli. As she tells her nephews the stories of her seafaring father, their grandfather, she watches the men on the muscle beach, drinking in every inch of their bodies, She drifts off into a daydream where they all die.As the film progresses Molly keeps fading in and out of daydreams where the men in mind die, most in gruesome ways. Then one morning she wakes up in her on-again-off-again lover's bed as he shakes her awake to tell her that two famous football players have been murdered. One of her killer daydreams were of her sexual and murderous encounter. This startles her but doesn't trouble her.As the dreams keep coming, as do the deaths, the police start to close in on her just as she and her friends start to believe she's the killer.Now, this is the strange thing for all but the last murder her dreams came before the murder, whereas the last killing is her dream - it occurs at the same time. Apart from the last death you never see her commit them in her real life, just in her dreams. This makes the film feel disjointed and I was left wondering if she really did carry them out or if some other force was at work.Along with the memories of her abuse, which also appear in dreamlike sequences the entire film has an abstract impression. This, in turn, gives the film more depth and power. I'm not one for flashbacks and the like as they inevitably make a movie feel cluttered and sometimes incomprehensible. So respect due to Cimber for making so many work comprehensibly to strengthen the story and film.Millie Perkins, known for playing Anne Frank, does a splendid job of playing down her troubled past, though you can see the effects working free on her face. You know she's troubled but not to what extent.Lonny Chapman, who plays the bar-owner and on-again-off-again lover, is brilliant as the man who truly loves her and is worried for her but just cannot really help her.There is so much in this film to like, I just wished that Cimber and Thom had gone for a more paranormal explanation for the murders since it appears impossible for her to have carried out a couple of them. It may have made the film cleaner. Even the poster, which when you first look at it emanates an exploitation vibe, is pretty true to the film and pulls images from a mermaid tattoo, Birth Of Venus by Botticelli, and her feelings towards men and her father. The images are featured in the movie and once you see them the poster makes better sense.Though I liked the film it did feel more like an art-house film than a thriller, though if you like revenge movies you may like this. Just be warned, it may leave a nasty taste in your mouth, thanks to the aforementioned abuse scenes and the end sequence.Not for everybody.

THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA is one of the films caught up in the UK's video nasties craze, where it was banned for many years due to the objectionable content. Thankfully that was long in the past and the film is now readily available both online and in the shops via a pristine Blu-ray print. As with many of these so-called video nasties, the most interesting about it is the controversy surrounding it, because it really isn't a very good film.This is a slow, psychological drama about a woman going out of her mind. The main actress, Millie Perkins, was well known for playing the title role in 1959's THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK; it's quite a difficult and challenging role for her to play here but she does a pretty convincing job, as you can fully believe that there's madness lurking behind those bright blue eyes. The supporting cast are much worse, and rather amateurish, but 99% of the film is focused on Perkins alone so that's not too big a problem.No, the main issue with THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA is the slow nature of the script, which is given to introspection and the occasional outburst, but really isn't very interesting. The writer had the opportunity to get to the real heart of the matter by crafting an intense character study, but instead everything gets dragged out so that they can do a big reveal at the end instead. It doesn't work very well. The controversy comes from some graphic flashback sequences dotted through the narrative; the early threesome gone awry is wince-inducing indeed, but the childhood flashbacks are truly sickening due to what they reveal. As a result this is the kind of grubby film that makes you long for a shower after viewing.

TWWCFTS is a truly freaky 70's psycho-sexual feminist drama (written & directed by men interestingly), featuring incest, castration, pithy dialogue, mermaid tattoos and a fantastic central performance from Millie Perkins as the mentally damaged Molly, the vengeful 'Witch' of the title who wrecks violent retribution upon dominant, brutish men from the entertainments industry. The empty beaches & promenades of the coastal town setting add depth, substance and ambiance in the background to unsettling effect. If made today starring Jennifer Lawrence and helmed by David Fincher, it would most likely win 10 Golden Globes and 25 Oscars. But back then (the dark 80's) the powers-that-be (and still are) saw fit to condemn to the bin of the banned. Shameful & disgraceful. Now go watch!

The enigmatically titled The Witch Who Came From The Sea is a bold movie both in theme and style, dealing with the sensitive issues of child abuse and incest in a surreal, dreamlike manner; but although director Matt Cimber's film will be admired by many simply for tackling its daring subject in such a unique way, I found the film to be a less than satisfying experience. A shame, since it all started off so well....The film begins with pretty Aunt Molly (Millie Perkins) and her nephews enjoying a day out at the beach. As the kids play in the sand, Molly focuses on the musclemen working out nearby, her gaze wandering over their rippling torsos and bulging trunks. At first she seems to be admiring their physiques, but in her mind, Molly imagines the men dead, their twisted, broken forms hanging lifeless from their exercise equipment. This nightmarish opening scene is extremely well handled, letting the audience know in no uncertain terms that something ain't quite right inside Molly's head.Sadly, such effective moments are few and far between: much of the running time is devoted to awkward character development; the bizarre narrative meanders all over the place; no-one in the film behaves or speaks like a normal human being; and nearly every scene is saddled with a whacked-out art-house vibe that might appeal to the more pretentious fans of cult oddities, but which left this particular viewer distinctly unimpressed.If, like me, you seek out this film because it is one of the legendary UK Video Nasties, be prepared to be disappointed by the lack of shocking imagery: although the film deals with a sexually abused young girl who grows up to become a razor wielding nutjob who castrates 'beautiful' men, there is actually very little in the way of gore, with the actual castrations occurring off-screen. What probably got the censors in a tizzy were the non-explicit-yet-still-disturbing incest scenes and a shot of Molly with blood over her breasts (believed to be a visual 'rape trigger' for some men). Personally, I was more upset by the godawful tattoo Molly has done on her stomach by a goggle-eyed old man with inks all over his face!