Witchmaster General (2009)
Reviewed by Geno McGahee – April 14, 2009
This is the fourth movie by New York micro-budget filmmaker Jim Haggerty and hits close to home for me because I used to be one of those guys eagerly awaiting Headbanger’s Ball every Saturday night on MTV. Phil Lewis of the metal band LA Guns stars in this horror film as Dr. Gorgon. LA Guns were in the same style as RATT and we all know that Stephen Pearcy made his way into the horror world in the great movie CAMP UTOPIA, and there has always been a connection between horror and metal. Haggerty is capitalizing on this and bringing horror and metal fans back together again…well, they are basically one in the same, but the horror world will want to see Lewis in WITCHMASTER GENERAL, as I certainly did.
We begin with Tom Morgan (Charles Parshley), a man with a problem. His wife, Deli (Suzi Lorraine) is fooling around on him with one of his best friends and to avoid divorce and the loss of assets and the chance that his wife spills the beans on his strange sexual interests, Tom elects to visit Dr. Gorgon, a man that can fix his problem. Although I really enjoy the character of Gorgon, there was one thing that was really obvious and distracting. Lewis was reading off of cue cards and kept looking to the right when Tom was directly ahead.
Gorgon agrees to help Tom with his problem and does, taking care of the man on the side and the hot wife. Haggerty definitely convinced some attractive women to be in this film and to take off their clothing. Suzi Lorraine actually put out her lines very well in this film. She was very convincing as the adulteress wife and the banter between her and her husband was one of the better moments of the film. Parshley is probably the best actor in the film and is very convincing as the frustrated hubby, although I still am a big fan of Jae Mosc.
After the wife is found dead, Detective Stone (Vic Martino) is on the case, and begins to rattle Tom. Stone is the asshole cop that we all have run into, throwing accusations and throwing weight around, harassing Tom and his friend, Bill (Dennis Newman) when he had no facts. Haggerty does a great job in portraying the typical power mad detective/cop.
Tom isn’t Gorgon’s only subject. This film really has a NEEDFUL THINGS vibe about it. I really enjoyed the interaction between Gorgon and the people that sought personal justice, and the ominous feeling that Haggerty was able to create. I have seen all of the films of Haggerty and he has improved in creating an overall feeling that he maintains throughout.
One of the biggest disappointments in the film for me was the quick (spoiler) death of Roger (Jae Mosc). Mosc is a hilarious actor and I was happy to see Haggerty place the wig back upon his head. In I DREAM OF DRACULA, Mosc wore a ridiculous wig throughout. That with his mannerisms and delivery was a winning combination. Here, we get more of the same, with Roger trying to get his girlfriend into a threesome with a girl he met on the street. When the girl turned out to be one of Gorgon’s helpers and Roger’s girl falls under a spell and undresses, he rejoices. The wig coupled with the personality of Mosc was really amusing. Sadly, Roger dies rather quickly. In micro-budget, you have to work around schedules and such and I’m sure this is why Mosc didn’t play a larger role in this film.
I also want to mention that Bud Stafford gave a great performance as Dr. John Harrison. He was notable in GRAVE DANGER and equally memorable here. He delivers his lines very well and he is very convincing.
Overall, I enjoyed WITCHMASTER GENERAL. I liked the character of Dr. Gorgon very much and I think that Lewis has a future in horror should he elect to keep acting. He was really compelling as the eccentric and evil doctor. I recommend this and I also recommend listening to some LA Guns if you haven’t in the past. That “Ballad of Jane” is the bomb…one of the best sad power ballads of the time.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10. It’s nice to see Phil Lewis again.
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