Yes indeed, the Swinging Sixties were sexy, years before life-threatening STDs, political correctness and exploitative commercialism ruined it all. And pop music was great too, before it was compromised by self-indulgent overproduction and that same rampant commercialism.Ian Ogilvy (much cooler than David Hemmings as a prematurely jaded hipster) and the luscious Euro-babe Elizabeth Ercy make appealing leads, and get to strip down to their undies for a furtive swim that is simultaneously erotic and innocent, like Weissmuller and O'Sullivan before them. She also gets to wear a knockout peekaboo mesh outfit later on. A teenage Susan George shows off her bedroom eyes and flashes her yellow panties to great effect in the film's most effective thrill scene. And pouty-lipped Sally Sheridan (mom of Nicolette) coolly lip-syncs to a great garage tune (actually sung by a wonderfully brassy Toni Daly), with the low-angle camera appreciating how she sports her clingy chiffon mini-dress. Check out all those turned-on necking couples in the background. (By the way, I think Karloff is in the film, too.) It all brings to mind Mimsy Farmer's outrageously provocative LSD-fuelled dance in "Riot on Sunset Strip", Jane Asher's sultry seductiveness in "Deep End", and all those whacked-out Sergio Martino giallos.

The Sorcerers offers horror icon Boris Karloff one of the last truly worthwhile roles of his career. It is one of only three films to be directed by young film-maker Michael Reeves. Film buffs are forever declaring what great things Reeves would have gone on to achieve had he lived longer. Whether these claims of unfulfilled greatness are accurate or not no-one will ever truly know. It is fair to say that his last film, the sublime Witchfinder General, is unquestionably a genre classic, indicating that this young director certainly possessed the potential to become a major force. His second film The Sorcerers is another rather interesting and well-made chiller which shows plenty of early promise. Combining elements of sci-fi and the serial-killer genre, The Sorcerers is an unusual and effective entry from Tigon. Although it has not dated as well as some films from its era, it remains fascinating for a number of reasons – its strong performances, disorientating camera angles and scoring, infrequent but savage violence, and its apparent suggestion that society's drink 'n' drug-fuelled hedonists are potential serial killers-in-waiting. In spite of occasional flaws, The Sorcerers is a film well worth checking out.A former practitioner of medical hypnosis, Professor Marcus Monserrat (Karloff), now lives in disgrace in a grotty corner of London, sharing a shabby apartment with his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey). They have built a machine which can induce powerful telepathic hypnosis upon anyone who uses it, giving the Monserrats the ability to control the hypnotised person's mind and, more remarkably, experience whatever sensations they are feeling as if they were their own. All they need now is a young guinea pig willing to submit himself to their mind control experiment. Enter Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy), a handsome but bored youth who has grown dissatisfied with a life of disco, drink and dating hot chicks. He wants something new to inject excitement back into his life and Professor Monserrat's hypnosis machine looks just the ticket. Unfortunately, after Mike has been successfully brought under the control of the good professor and his wife, things begin to take a sinister turn. Drunk on power and unable to resist the intoxicating thrill of controlling someone else's actions, Estelle starts telepathically manoeuvring Mike into darkly dangerous situations, encouraging him to commit escalating crimes, ranging from burglary and assault… to murder.The film cleverly de-romanticises the usual perception of London in the Swinging Sixties, showing a darker place where frustration and cruelty bubble beneath the surface. Karloff gives a solid performance as the frail, well-meaning professor who cannot see the potential for evil in his invention; Lacey is great too as his dangerously unhinged wife. It's often been said that Estelle's descent into psychotic madness is too sudden and complete to be a wholly convincing plot development - a criticism that carries much truth in all fairness - but nevertheless the actress gives a splendidly full-bodied performance as the film's main villain. The way Karloff's character is the more sympathetic and agreeable of the two acts as a nice little twist on expectations too. Overall, The Sorcerers is a solid cult chiller – skilfully-made, thought-provoking and entertaining fare from a young film-maker whose light went out too soon.

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.

Poor Boris Karloff - star of Universal's monster classics and the films like Bedlam, for Pete's sake! - and poor, poor Catherine Lacey! They play an old couple, an inventor and his wife, who control the mind of the young man and force him to do crimes. OLD people forcing YOUNG man to do crimes!? Yes, that's the plot. This dull-as-dishwater, visually drab and ugly - hello, it is filmed in 1960s! - film is totally destroyed by it's sordid, nasty "message": old people, especially women, are convenient scapegoats when you are caught in the midst of violence and filthy perversions! When a young woman is killed by a young man in leeringly photographed scissors-penetrating-a-body-scene, this sexual murder is not his fault. Hello, how many rapist grannies you know? Zero? Yup, me too. Worst film from grossly overrated Reeves.