There will be inevitable comparisons to The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General(from the same director), from personal opinion Witchfinder General is the better film, technically and dramatically but The Sorcerers is the more entertaining one, Witchfinder is very shocking even now(easy to see why it was banned at the time) and while both have great atmosphere The Sorcerers a little more so. The Sorcerers is not the perfect film, but you don't really expect that, the first 10 minutes did come across as gaudy and trashy which will put put anybody off, while Estelle's descent into madness could have taken longer to develop and been less abrupt and the script-while mostly solid- can have a tendency to be turgid and overly silly. The Sorcerers is decently shot and the evocation of the 60s hippie era is effective and accurate. There is a great soundtrack, and the atmosphere is both fun and creepy. The story can have some dull spots but has a good sense of terror, suspense and thrills. Michael Reeves, who died tragically far too early, directs assuredly, while the acting is good by all. Ian Ogilvy, Victor Henry and Susan George hardly disgrace themselves in support, but they are outshone by both Boris Karloff and especially Catherine Lacey. Karloff is very dignified, menacing and adroit, even when not as active and towards the end of his career he still has what made him a good actor in the first place. Lacey overdoes it a tad at times but that doesn't matter at all when she is such fun to watch and is as scary as she is. In conclusion, atmospheric and entertaining, the first 10 minutes are a turn-off but if you stay with it you'll find a film, even with its imperfections, that is much better than it's given credit for. 7/10 Bethany Cox

With The Sorcerers, Boris Karloff went back to his native country of England to make this for director Michael Reeves. He plays Professor Marcus Monserrat-a disgraced hypnotist who lives with his wife, Estelle (Catherine Lacey), in a drab apartment. They've created a new machine that allows them to experience and control the minds of anyone they manage to get tested on it. That someone would be Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy), a young man who seems bored with the swinging '60s London lifestyle as evidenced by his nonchalant treatment of his girlfriend Nicole (Elizabeth Ercy) and their friend Alan (Victor Henry). Unfortunately, while Marcus wants to use it to help certain kinds of people, Estelle just wants some thrills...The plot seemed to be similar to Brainstorm, only more disturbing especially concerning the Estelle character. The mix of atmospheres is quite exciting and the shocks are genuinely frightening. Karloff is at his most sympathetic here as he feels truly overwhelmed by Ms. Lacey's aggressive power. And seeing Ogilvy truly trying to be a mix of emotions without overdoing it was compellingly played here. Also good was Sally "Dani" Sheridan (Nicollette's mother) as singer Laura Ladd and young Susan George as Audrey Woods, Mike's previous girlfriend. In summation, The Sorcerers comes highly recommend due to Karloff and the rest of the cast.

Sorcerers, (1967) is overrated British horror movie directed and co-written by overrated Michael Reeves, director who died young. Old scientist (Boris Karloff) and his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey) use device he has created to control young man (Ian Ogilvy) and enjoy life through him, but soon evil Estelle is forcing the poor young man to the path of crimes... or perhaps young man just explores his real desires of sexual violence? This is drab and dull movie, very cheap-looking, and it is possible to see slimy hypocrisy in the proceedings: Estelle's real crime is to be old and not sexually desirable in the sleazy pornographic world of leering young film-makers and squalid film critics.

This is a long way from 'Performance', even further than Lisson Grove (St. John's Wood) is from Powis Square (Notting Hill).Watching on BBC2 in 2008 one immediately supposes that the motive for th elderly couple will be to experience something erotic but it is very British, and very 1960's that the only seduction is that of the Professor's initially benign wife into avarice and violence. The film is misogynistic and of course sensational but the subtext that subversion of free will - and there are clear parallels and references to hallucinogens and other 'recreational' drugs - leads to suggestibility and is close to inviting mind control.The denouement is comical as the Police Inspector ushers the two protagonists back to the patrol car - superbly driven in the chase scene, its lumbering spin off the road is memorable - and instructs the driver to chauffeur them home. Case closed.