Season of the Witch (1972)

Original Title: Hungry Wives

Director: George A. Romero

Writer: George A. Romero

Composer: Steve Gorn

Starring: Jan White, Raymond Laine, Ann Muffly, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunhurst, Neil Fisher, Esther Lapidus, Dan Mallinger, Daryl Montgomery, Ken Peters, Shirlee Strasser, Robert Trow, Jean Wechsler

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Every Night is Halloween.

Plot: Joan Mitchell is an unhappy, suburban housewife pushing 40, who has an uncommunicative businessman husband, named Jack, and a distant 19-year-old daughter, named Nikki, on the verge of moving out of the house. Frustrated at her current situation, Joan seeks solace in witchcraft after visiting Marion Hamilton, a local tarot reader and leader of a secret black arts Wicca set, who inspires Joan to follow her own path. After dabbling a little in witchcraft, Joan, believing herself to have become a real witch, withdraws into a fantasy world and sinks deeper and deeper into her new lifestyle until the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred and eventually tragedy results.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I dig George Romero's 1970s output.  He's different. The camera angles, the characters, the attention to dialogue as conversation.  Romero delivered interesting low budget pictures.  This one is an interesting portrait of a lonely, middle aged woman looking for something...anything and she finds it following witchcraft.  It does get rather slow and some of the scenes run long but despite all of that it held my interest all the way to the HOLY CRAP ending. This picture isn't going to find many fans but if you dig Romero's early style then it's at least worth giving this one a shot.  Don't go into it thinking it's a horror film because you'll be disappointed.  I was.  It's more of a psychological drama with horror elements.  The Anchor Bay DVD I have also includes his second film (SEASON is his third), THERE'S ALWAYS VANILLA (1971).