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This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I have always championed this film, partly because it was always so underrated and also because of the wonderful and poignant performance from Boris Karloff very near the end of his amazing career. Watching it again in crystal clear Blu-ray, it struck me it was a little too clear. I remember the film being bold and violent with daring suggestions as to what really excites people but I was surprised to find it quite so grubby this time around. Karloff is masterful, even if he has to spend half the movie on the floor (partly because of actual walking difficulty by this time). Ian Ogilvy is perfect as the young man who becomes the vehicle for the elderly couples violent fantasies. Well, those of the wife, anyway, played all too well by Catherine Lacey who is really scary here and possible candidate for scariest woman in a horror film? The grubbiness even extends to the naming of the antique shop, ostensibly run by Ogilvy, as The Glory Hole! Michael Reeves would make Witchfinder General the following year but this is just as good as the more famous film and even more uncomfortable to watch.

Despite having heard about him for years,I for some reason have never got round to seeing a film from Michael Reeves. Whilst trying to find a Boris Karloff movie to watch for the October Challenge on IMDb's Horror board,I found out that the BBC were airing the title Karloff made with Reeves,which led to me conjuring up a spell.The plot:Studying hypnosis for years, Prof. Marcus Monserrat and his wife Estelle invent a machine which they believe will allow them to take control,and feel the experiences of a person under underlying hypnosis.Looking for a test case, Marcus goes to a disco and grabs the attention of Mike Roscoe.Going to the Monserrat's house, Roscoe is put under hypnosis.Quickly letting him leave,the Monserrat's are thrilled to find that they can feel everything he feels,as Roscoe opens up a vicious new sensation. View on the film:Splashing Roscoe's face with red and purple disco lights,co- writer/(along with Tom Baker and uncredited John Burke-who tried to sue for the credit) director Michael Reeves & cinematographer/future director Stanley Long set alight the raw violence from the decayed suburb with a quirky psychedelic atmosphere. Controlling Roscoe's every move,Reeves and Long dash into the blood shot eyes of the Monserrat as sparkling reds and greens rain down to Roscoe's murderous beat. Blacking out after each killing,Reeves wakes Roscoe up in a cruel Britain,trampled on with burning red blood and clamped,dusty holes which smash the false brightness from the disco lights.For Roscoe's first meeting with the Monserrat's,the writers mask the horror with a social drama bringing in man about town Roscoe and his cute bit of arm candy,with sweet elderly couple the Monserrat,whose wry smiles over introducing Roscoe to a new experience,give the kitchen sink scenes a wonderfully sour taste. Sending Roscoe out as the puppet of the Monserrat's,the writers struggle to keep all the strings together due to making Roscoe and everyone he meets paper thin characters,which along with draining the level of threat which should be on offer,also stops Roscoe from being an enticing possessed soul. Joined by a cute Susan George as "It Girl" Audrey Woods, Ian Ogilvy gives a very good performance as Roscoe,whose black slate of rage Ogilvy keeps twitching away under Roscoe's "happening" image. Holding hands with a cackling Catherine Lacey, Boris Karloff gives a wonderful performance as Marcus,thanks to Karloff softening Marcus's eyes,as Roscoe becomes the sorcerer's apprentice.

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

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.