As the patriarch of the Hilton clan lay dying, he predicts the family will soon destroy itself and the instrument of death will be his sister, Evelyn. Relatives all come together for a reading of his will and, before long, one of them is murdered with a medieval mace. The police are quickly called to the villa but once the killer is apprehended, the malediction comes to pass...
A lack of imagination and a very low budget can turn an unsuccessful blend of drawing-room murder-mystery, Giallo, and Horror into a chore to sit through despite a cool title. All the titular writhing that passes for passion in this confusing tale soon becomes tedious and, unfortunately in this case, there's quite a bit of it. The ostensible "inheritance scheme" plot line begins promisingly enough with old man Hilton waxing philosophic on his deathbed while, downstairs, the butler and maid have grope sex atop his empty coffin but it's all downhill from there. Most of the cast engage in some sort of soft-core coupling during the course of the movie and, since all of them are probably related in some way, it gives the goings-on the added dimension of a vaguely incestuous air. Ironically, the past-her-prime witch, Evelyn, is one of the few who isn't carnal (which is just as well) but why she hates her family and vows to wipe them all out isn't clear. One of the Hilton ancestors dabbled in cell alteration and Evelyn uses this discovery to change her niece, Ingrid, into a non-threatening young man who does her murderous bidding but the action comes too little, too late. The villianess isn't scary, the villa isn't spooky, there's no graphic gore, even less logic, and it all ends more-or-less the way it began with the butler and maid foreshadowing Riff Raff & Magenta in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Connoisseurs of Eurosleaze may not be adverse to SEX OF THE WITCH but there's very little for Giallo, Horror, or Sexploitation fans to enjoy despite the presence of Camille "I Spit On Your Grave" Keaton and Gianni "Gore In Venice" Dei in supporting roles.
I reely wanted to like this, dammit.
A lack of imagination and a very low budget can turn an unsuccessful blend of drawing-room murder-mystery, Giallo, and Horror into a chore to sit through despite a cool title. All the titular writhing that passes for passion in this confusing tale soon becomes tedious and, unfortunately in this case, there's quite a bit of it. The ostensible "inheritance scheme" plot line begins promisingly enough with old man Hilton waxing philosophic on his deathbed while, downstairs, the butler and maid have grope sex atop his empty coffin but it's all downhill from there. Most of the cast engage in some sort of soft-core coupling during the course of the movie and, since all of them are probably related in some way, it gives the goings-on the added dimension of a vaguely incestuous air. Ironically, the past-her-prime witch, Evelyn, is one of the few who isn't carnal (which is just as well) but why she hates her family and vows to wipe them all out isn't clear. One of the Hilton ancestors dabbled in cell alteration and Evelyn uses this discovery to change her niece, Ingrid, into a non-threatening young man who does her murderous bidding but the action comes too little, too late. The villianess isn't scary, the villa isn't spooky, there's no graphic gore, even less logic, and it all ends more-or-less the way it began with the butler and maid foreshadowing Riff Raff & Magenta in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Connoisseurs of Eurosleaze may not be adverse to SEX OF THE WITCH but there's very little for Giallo, Horror, or Sexploitation fans to enjoy despite the presence of Camille "I Spit On Your Grave" Keaton and Gianni "Gore In Venice" Dei in supporting roles.
I reely wanted to like this, dammit.