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| Simon, King of the Witches | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Bruce Kessler |
| Written by | Robert Phippeny |
| Produced by | Joe Solomon |
| Starring | Andrew Prine |
| Cinematography | David L. Butler |
| Edited by | Renn Reynolds |
| Music by | Stu Phillips |
Production |
Fanfare Films Inc. (United States) |
| Distributed by | Fanfare Films Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Simon, King of the Witches is a 1971 American exploitation horror film directed by Bruce Kessler and starring Andrew Prine, Brenda Scott, George Paulsin, Norman Burton and others. The film centers on the title character as he attempts to become a god through magic rituals.
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Simon Sinestrari (Andrew Prine), a cynical ceremonial magician, is on a quest to become a god. Simon is living in a storm sewer, selling his charms and potions for money, when he is befriended by a young male prostitute named Turk (George Paulsin). Turk introduces Simon to his world of drugs, wild parties, and bizarre Satanic rituals featuring Ultra Violet and a goat. Death, freak-outs and mayhem ensue, along with romance for Simon with the district attorney's daughter Linda (Brenda Scott). Simon, a degenerate practitioner of magic uses his satanic rituals to seduce Linda. Together, the two lovers search for the proper spell to make themselves into gods.
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The misleading advertising campaign, which set up Simon as a demonic sex orgy film cashing in on the Charles Manson trials, seriously hurt the film at the box office. The film is practically bloodless, with only brief nudity (which, again against the norm, actually serves a purpose in the story) but no explicit sex and no parallels whatsoever with Manson. Like many other more eccentric 1970s low budget genre films, Simon has become a cult film over the years, albeit an extremely marginal one.
There was also a paperback novelizationofSimon by Baldwin Hills, more than likely a pen name,[original research?] which took the satirical camp of the film one step further into full-on absurd comedy.[citation needed]
The film had its world premiere at the McVickers Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on May 12, 1971.[1]
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Simon, King of the Witches was released on special edition DVDbyDark Sky Films in 2008.[2] It was reissued on Blu-Ray DVD in 2017 by Code Red DVD.
Charles Tatum from eFilmCritic.com awarded the film one out of five stars, writing, “This film tries to be serious, almost like an exposé, but it fails miserably. It is often funny, without meaning to be. Simon, King of the Witches is all smoke and mirrors. I do not recommend it.” [3] TV Guide gave the film 1/5 stars, criticizing the film's confusing plot.[4]
Ian Jane from DVD Talk wrote, “Simon King of the Witches is a wild mix of seventies psychedelics and occult quirk that makes for a truly quirky watch. Andrew Prine is great in the lead and the film might work better as a cultural artifact than an actual horror picture but regardless, it remains an interesting and well-made movie” [5] Jason Coffman from Film Monthly.com gave the film a positive review, writing, “Simon, King of the Witches is an entertaining film and an interesting time capsule of very early 1970s culture... It might not be a lost genre-defining masterpiece, but it is a gem that deserves to be seen.”[6] Debi Moore from Dread Central rated the film a score of 3.5 out of 5, commending Prine's performance, psychedelic tone, innovative effects.[7]
