The Night of the Sorcerers

1974
5.1| 1h34m| en
Details

A group of researchers gathering material for a magazine article on endangered wildlife encounter vampiric leopard women in the heart of the African jungle.

Director

Producted By

Hesperia Films

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Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
lovecraft231 In the world of Spanish horror, one of the directors whose most talked about is Amando De Ossorio. The reason for this is mostly due to the fact that he is the man who gave the world the "Blind Dead" films-atmospheric, exploitative and haunting films (well, except for the third one) about evil, eyeless Templar knights who come back from the grave. the films made him a renowned name in horror, even after his death. Yet people also tend to forget his other entries in the field of horror-the rather lamentable "The Sea Serpant", the largely forgotten "The Possessed", the middling vampire horror-comedy "Fangs of the Living Dead" and the enjoyable monster flick "The Lorelei's Grasp." Oh, and of course, this movie, the fun exploitation vehicle "The Night of the Sorcerers."A group of researchers go into the heart of Africa. Thing is, the area has a dark secret: years ago, voodoo priests captured women for dark rites, whipping and decapitating them in the process. Also, for some reason or another this turns said women into leopard skin bikini wearing vampires. In a surprising turn of events, the voodoo priests are back, and s#!t's going to get real.From the get go, some of today's audience probably will find "The Night of the Sorcerers" a bit objective. Though not exactly a member of the PC Police myself (it comes with watching this kind of thing), I can see why: the image of large black men in Africa torturing naked white women is something that puts a bit of a bad taste in one's mouth. Also, fans of the "Blind Dead" films may be let down by this venture, as it lacks much of the atmosphere and scares of those movies.That parts just fine though, because it doesn't try to replicate the success of those movies, and it most likely isn't meant to scare anyone. This is a movie with the following* Hot European women-all in which end up in a state of undress at one point.* Hot vampire girls in leopard skin bikini's running in slow motion* Occult rites* Bloody death scenes* A total lack of logicAnd so much more. This isn't meant to be taken as serious film-making. This is dumb, sleazy exploitation garbage made for undemanding audiences, and you know what? It's good at what it does. Amando De Ossorio knows what kind of film he's making, and clearly knew what those who frequented Grindhouse theaters and Drive-In's wanted, and he delivers.It also helps that he was a talented director too, as he films the whole thing with vivid colors, requisite fog drenched night scenes and stylish, almost artistic violence. Plus, the acting is surprising good, with genre vets Simón Andreu, Maria Kosty, and Jess Franco regular Kali Hansa doing fine work in their roles.Is "The Night of the Sorcerers" a great movie? The short answer to that is "no." It is however, a fun slice of exploitation hokum, and makes for a fine Saturday afternoon viewing. It's the "Citizen Kane" of Hot European Vampire Girls in Leopard Skin Bikinis movies.
The_Void Amando de Ossorio will always be best remembered for his Blind Dead series of films, and that's a very good thing as the films he made outside of that trilogy aren't nearly as good - this one is a prime example. The subject of voodoo is an interesting one, but it never seems to cross over very well to movies, as just about every film I've seen on this topic has been disappointing and unfortunately, this one is no different. It's a real shame too as a film with these elements really could have been a lot better, but Amando de Ossorio isn't able to create an interesting plot around the central idea and unfortunately it falls flat. The film starts with a sequence that sees a woman have her head cut off during a voodoo ceremony. From there we focus on a team of researchers who head out into Africa in an attempt to find out why elephants are disappearing from the area. They soon discover that the locals are afraid of a legend about some voodoo witches in the area, and naturally this turns out to be true and some of the researchers get killed...etc etc.I'm not sure if it was just a problem with the copy I saw (apparently, there's a remastered DVD out now), but this film is very dark and it's often difficult to make what - if anything - is going on. The cinematography is nothing special either and that's a shame because any film set in Africa has the potential for plenty of interesting shots but that isn't capitalised on. Amando de Ossorio does manage to pack some gore and nudity into the film, though it's scant consolation for the rest of the film. The sorcerers themselves also don't manage much in the way of intrigue as they don't appear all that often and when they do, not a lot happens. The plot surrounding the team of researchers is completely worthless and didn't generate anything that I cared for, which gives the film a rather flimsy backbone. Simón Andreu is the only name on the cast list that I recognised and he doesn't do enough to stand out. To the film's credit, the women featured are invariably very nice looking. Overall, this is not a great film and I can't recommend it; see Ossorio's Blind Dead series or The Loreley's Grasp instead!
slayrrr666 "Night of the Sorcerers" is a fun and enjoyable exploitation classic.**SPOILERS**Moving through Africa, Liz Meredith, (Maria Kosti) Rod Carter, (Simon Andreu) Tunika, (Kali Hansa) Carol, (Loreta Tovar) and Prof. Jonathan Grant, (Jack Taylor) stumble upon an abandoned campground in the middle of the jungle. Settling in the area, they come across local trapper Tomunga, (Jose Thelman) who explains that they're in the middle of a special place where natives would hold voodoo rituals to transform women into undead vampiric leopard women. As the women soon fall under the spell of the Leopard Woman, (Barbara Rey) and become ingrained into their society, leaving the others to wonder what has happened to them. Discovering the real intentions of the group, they race to stop them before all of the expedition members are seduced by the cult.The Good News: This here is a really impressive and interesting exploitation offering. The most notable thing that sticks out is the sleaze and nudity found in most exploitation fares. Witnessing an opening prologue where a woman is tied to a wooden archway, whipped with a bull-rope to the point that all the clothes fall off, where the male natives proceed to wrap a tarp over the body and lead to a sacrificial altar where a voodoo frenzy results in a really bloody demise is one of the greatest openings ever, getting the story laid out in a nice manner while also setting the story up. The altar itself looks really great, especially the beheading stone at the top with the clawed pit below forcing the trail of blood to flow downwards into it, making for some really fun sequences when the ceremonies are to be had. Those are full-on exploitation goodness, with the whippings, open blood flowing and the nudity coming into play and making them sleazy goodness. Mixed in along with this is all the surrealism scenes of the vampire women taking over their prey in slow-motion dressed up in leopard-skin bikinis, which is an impressive sight that is still somewhat sexy to an extent. Some of the violent kills that pop up allow for some nice gore, since this one knocks off plenty, and the free-flowing blood splatter is nice to see. The other part here is the highly impressive plot-line that this one has, which offers up plenty of good points. The inclusion of the vampire tale into the voodoo ceremonies is a new twist, and one that isn't all that expected. It's also nicely incorporated into the film, making it tie in nicely with the rest of the story without being used solely as a reason to get bare skin in the film, and to mix it in with the other twists and turns regarding the direction that it's played out in is a great point, giving it some new directions. Coupled together with a great sense of fun, this one here is a really pleasant addition.The Bad News: This here really only has one big flaw to it. That is the slow point before the middle of the film. It starts off nicely with the prologue, but then there's the just incessant wandering around the camp and setting it up, which just take forever to get through. The rest of the movie is so good that the one rough patch sticks out, and it's simply them standing around fixing up the camp and standing around deciding on what to do. That consists of just about everything that the scenes take in, and the repetitiveness of them all just gets a little too much at times. It makes that section feel way too slow and dull, not really containing anything that would stand out and might be somewhat of a red flag for viewers. Some might not like the inherent nudity and sleaze presented, but the main gripe will be the slow beginning.The Final Verdict: A really pleasing and fun exploitation classic that features enough good points to come recommended. This is easily essential viewing for those into the 70s exploitation scene or the European horror scene going on at the time, while those who aren't into the more outlandish aspects are advised to seek caution.Rated UN/R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, S&M leanings and a Rape
Woodyanders This flick gets off to a rip-roaring start with a hapless lovely lass being tied to a stake and severely whipped prior to getting decapitated by a savage voodoo tribe. A motley group of explorers go to Africa to study the wildlife in the area where the ritual occurred back in 1910. Come nightfall the expedition members fall pray to deadly zombie natives and equally lethal vampire ladies wearing skimpy leopard skin bikinis. Writer/director Amando De Ossorio delivers plenty of tasty gratuitous nudity, a smattering of grisly gore, a smidgen of steamy soft-core sex, and even a reasonable amount of misty'n'spooky gloom-doom atmosphere. De Ossorio treats the silly story with utmost seriousness, which in turn adds considerably to the film's tacky charm. The cast all give acceptable performances; the ubiquitous Jack Taylor in particular does well as a stuffy professor. Better still, the women are all very hot and attractive: Kali Hansa, Maria Kosti, Loreta Tovar and Barbara Rey. Francisco Sanchez's bright, polished cinematography (the occasional use of stylized slow motion is really nifty), the endearingly crummy dubbing, and Fernando Garcia Morcillo's funky-throbbing tribal score further add to the overall trashy fun.