Executscan Expected more

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

moonspinner55 Andrew Prine is the whole show in this otherwise thoroughly disappointing occult thriller which has a modern-day warlock named Simon, an actual magician of the black arts, living in a storm sewer and befriended by a young hustler with connections to a decadent circle of people. After one of the wealthy naysayers crosses Simon--and writes a bad check for his tarot reading--the male-witch is challenged to exact his revenge (and he must do so or lose his power). His talents also come in handy when his friend needs help seducing a married lady, or when the district attorney and the chief of police come down hard on the local potheads for using, but soon Simon finds himself at the mercy of his own magic. Prine's pithy, hipster-cool approach to the titular role is almost charming at times, that is until Simon is turned into his own worst enemy. Prine is also the only actor in the cast capable of giving a performance, everyone else being an amateur. Director Bruce Kessler spends far too time on the goof-off dopers sitting in front of their TV set watching the news reports--did he run out of material? Also, the special effects (a bowl of roses wilting, a violent rainstorm, a bright red specter) are sub-par. There's also a curious gay vibe early in the movie that is soon proved to be a false lead: Simon's buddy comes on like a midnight cowboy, a streetwise teen-swinger, but is soon revealed to be just a regular boy with a crush on a girl. In the film's worst scene, he sets up a "faggot" for Simon is to use in a ritual to create a supernatural charge, which is played for a nasty laugh yet shows the direction screenwriter Robert Phippeny was inclined to take: put the plot into motion with a 'realistic' portrait of a magician, then undercut the scenario with crude humor and melodrama. *1/2 from ****

snobdok It is a very odd 70's movie and I watched (parts of) it again recently after many years. What makes it unique is that it is the only movie that portrays the life of a magician in a realistic way. This is especially true for those who have been into the occult for a long time. Besides from that, it was also well acted and the story quite interesting in other ways. So it's highly recommended for those who wants to now what the life of a occultist is really like. How it becomes, the pitfalls, and the consequences that can follow from doing certain things. The name of the character is also a hint of what kind of magician he really is. Still one (at least I did) roots for him for most of the movie.

Scott LeBrun Talented veteran Andrew Prine is featured here in one of his delicious starring roles in 1970s exploitation. This is bizarre, trippy stuff certain to appeal to cult movie enthusiasts. Granted, it's pretty talky stuff, but it's still rather fascinating.Written by a real-life practicing warlock, Robert Phippeny, it casts Prine as Simon Sinestrari, a charismatic "magician" who lives out of a storm drain. Simon is the real deal, and takes himself quite seriously. Seriously enough that when people dare to mock him or mess with him, he takes his revenge.As directed by Bruce Kessler, this is truly offbeat from beginning to end. It saves all of its credits for the final few minutes, a practice that was far less common back in the early 70s. When Simon first makes his entrance, he addresses us directly, although this device is dropped right afterwards. It's got a deliberate pace, but Phippeny's dialogue is truly something to hear. There is a heavy dose of humour at times, especially when Simon has to help his eager young friend Turk (George Paulsin), who's gotten overly stimulated, if you know what I mean. Highlight sequences include Simon mocking the participants in a Wiccan ceremony, and the wonderful finale which pulls out all the stops.The main attraction is a fantastic central performance by Prine, who commits deeply to his role. Co-starring are Brenda Scott (to whom Prine was actually married) as Simons' love interest, Norman Burton as her attorney father, and Gerald York as aging hipster Hercules, with underground celebrity Ultra Violet also making an appearance.This is just enough of a curio to keep you watching. Undoubtedly it's very much a product of its era, but that's part of what makes it fairly compelling. You sure don't see stuff like this getting made nowadays.Seven out of 10.

Coventry Definitely one of the strangest 70's horror films I've encountered thus far, and believe you me, that is saying a lot! Right from the first moment, when a guy comes walking up to the camera from out of the rain and addresses the audience saying: "My name is Simon… I am a magician", you already know this won't become an ordinary type of witchcraft movie, but a bizarrely experimental independently produced fable with blackly comical aspects and a ludicrous script. Simon is quite an engaging fella… He lives in the sewers, drivels wildly about his liaison with the Gods and a whole bunch of other stuff that doesn't make one iota of sense and he's in control of a malignant red chemical ball that kills people. He also talks to trees, describes himself as irresistible and disrespectfully interrupts gatherings of other and supposedly treacherous religious cults in the middle of their holiest of rites. How can you not like a guy like that, especially if Andrew Pine - who's a veteran B-movie actor - depicts him? Unfortunately, however, Pine's tongue-in-cheek performance is the only truly terrific element of the entire film and it's sadly not enough to save it from the inevitable eventual descent into boredom. The movie doesn't have an actual plot. It's merely just a series of wacky adventures out of the life of a magician. Simon seduces the daughter of a hateful district attorney, demonstrates his magic capacities to a few non-believers, becomes the idol of a bunch of dope-selling hippies and eventually becomes punished by the Gods for his haughtiness. There are a number of things going on, but nothing really consequent or involving. Initially, I – and surely many other people with me – was expecting the Simon character to be a truly malicious and relentless self-acclaimed occult deity, kind of like the figure Charles Manson that was headliner news around that time. Instead, Simon practices a more or less "white" type of magic and that is automatically less appealing to bloodthirsty horror fans. There's nothing truly horrific or even remotely unsettling going on in this movie, apart from a whole lot of talking about witchcraft and a little bit of tacky laser & light show effects. I am aware of the fact "Simon, King of the Witches" gradually built up a tremendous cult reputation throughout the years and, solely based on the opening 15 minutes I presumed this was entirely justified, but I can't help admitting my viewing experience ended with disappointment.