The Love Witch

THE LOVE WITCH

Director : Anna Biller
Year : 2017
Genre : Horror
Rating : **1/2

As someone who regularly revels in the gory exploits of Hammer and the giallo greatness of Argento and Bava, I was very much looking forward to seeing 'The Love Witch', director Anna Biller's ('Viva') sumptuous anamorphic horror throwback whose vibrant cinematography, luscious sets and purposefully stilted dialogue deftly emulates the technicolour wonders of 60's and 70's exploitation cinema. Having already gained a bonafide cult status and receiving unanimously positive reviews from critics, my expectations could not have been higher. Having now seen the film, I'm very happy to say in terms of it's retro intentions, 'The Love Witch' doesn't disappoint. It's just a shame then that more effort was put into the production design than the script, the story or the characters. 

Newcomer Samantha Robinson is wonderfully seductive as Elaine, the eponymous sorceress who uses potions and incantations to lure men into loving her and who dispenses with them if they fail to live up her very high expectations. Introduced to us as the archetypal femme fatale, the recently widowed Elaine arrives in Arcata, California where she immediately sets to work on the many men who populate the city. But as rumours amongst the suspicious townfolk begin to spread and the bodies begin to pile up, the authorities soon become aware of Elaine's nefarious activities and not even the no-nonsense police chief (Gian Keys) is immune to her bewitching charms.

From it's Hitchcockian overture to its 'Wicker Man'-esque finale, 'The Love Witch' is utterly drenched in the overcooked aesthetics of horror cinema's yesteryears and while a mobile phone briefly makes an anachronistic appearance, this a movie that could have just as easily been made in 1967 rather than 2017. The heavily upholstered sets beautifully blend traditional gothic with classic Victoriana lending 'The Love Witch' an irresistibly delicious pastel palette while the many extravagant dresses which our eponymous anti-hero wears over the course of the film (one of which is a clear reference to Grace Kelly's iconic red gown from 'Dial M For Murder') simply reek of high class 60's chic fashion. Even the performances are stylised to within an inch of their lives, most notably that of the aforementioned Robinson whose overly dramatic delivery and deliberate pauses perfectly echo the speech patterns of the Hollywood stars of old.

Biller, who also has written, designed, scored and costumed the film is widely known as a feminist filmmaker and her many views about human sexuality and the roles of women in society are writ large here. As is also the case with Paul Verhoeven's controversial award winner 'Elle', a whole series of books could (and I'm sure will) be written about the somewhat ambiguous gender politics discussed in 'The Love Witch'.

However for all of its visual extravagance, there really isn't anything to root for or even enjoy in the movie. Yes, it may look wonderful and Robinson's breakthrough performance really is something special to behold but as is also the case with some of the lesser Hammer pictures it is so clearly trying to be, there is very little underneath 'The Love Witch's impeccably designed surface, ultimately making for a frustrating and, dare I even say it, a frankly boring viewing experience. Try as she might, Anna Biller's spell didn't work on me this time.