Now don't get me wrong, I love Roger Corman movies, but this one is surely at the bottom of the heap. I read in his autobiography that this started off as an exploitation film about hypnotic regression to cash in on the success of a book on the subject. However it became some sort of a wierd hybrid horror film instead. Just what exactly was going on here? Why were there only five trees in the whole village? Why did the hypnotist Quintus take his watch back in time but not his clothes? Why did Meg Maude have the worst witch makeup ever to make it to the big screen? What is the point of having an imp that can change into animals (including a bat on wires) but still can't get through a closed door? Why does the Devil look like Robin Hood? Who in this film is undead? They all seem pretty alive to me.
This film raises a whole lot more questions than it answers. Luckily Corman himself always had a sense of humour, and probably realised that this film wasn't going to win him any major awards. However, it will always have a place in the hearts of us low budget, Z-grade, Samuel Z. Arkoff-produced movie fans. Luckily for us, and Corman, he went on to improve his directing ability a great deal and brought us better movies like The House of Usher and Little Shop of Horrors.
This film raises a whole lot more questions than it answers. Luckily Corman himself always had a sense of humour, and probably realised that this film wasn't going to win him any major awards. However, it will always have a place in the hearts of us low budget, Z-grade, Samuel Z. Arkoff-produced movie fans. Luckily for us, and Corman, he went on to improve his directing ability a great deal and brought us better movies like The House of Usher and Little Shop of Horrors.