WITCHBABE: EROTIC WITCH PROJECT 3
PLOT-A witch descends on the 19th-century puritanical town of Bacchusville, turning its female citizens into raging lesbains.
VIOLENCE-None. This is a low-budget sex comedy after all.
SEX/NUDITY-All 7 of the central female lead characters get naked and have softy lesbian sex all through this movie, ranging from one-on-one to a 5-person orgy (not as explicit as the previous films in this series, though).
WHAT WAS GOOD-Lately the Seduction Cinema releases have been plagued with some pretty lame acting. Thankfully, they assembled most all of their best talent for this one. Laurie Wallace (who played Katie Keane in the original EROTIC WITCH film) is back, and she's awesome in the lead role of the mayor's wife. And speaking of which, the guy who plays the mayor is hilarious. I'm not sure what his name is, but I used to see him all the time in the earlier Seduction releases (he played Wally in THE VAMPIRE'S SEDUCTION). Esmerelda Dellarocca is back, so is Barbara Joyce (from SEXY 6TH SENSE). And I don't think I need to mention the presence of 2 of the most brilliant actors working in independent cinema today...Debbie Rochon and Darian Caine. I will watch ANYTHING they are in. Anything. They are incredible at what they do. Director Terry West took a different approach from John Bacchus (who helmed the first 2 EROTIC WITCH movies) in that he chose to tell the back story behind the witch legend in this movie. It was cool to see where it all began, and West has a firm grasp on humor. Definitely the best Seduction Cinema release since PLAYMATE OF THE APES. Another cool thing was that, because it's set in the 1800's, WITCHBABE's female cast members aren't all tattooed and dyed and pierced like in their other movies. That added to the realism.
WHAT SUCKED-Compared to the first two EROTIC WITCH films, this one is inferior. The previous entries in the series remain some of the greatest work to ever come from the company (EROTIC WITCH 2 still stands as the best film they have ever made), and I expected more from this one because of that. Instead of taking the documentary approach that the originals did, part 3 plays more like an actual movie. I guess it'd have to considering the storyline, but it's missing the energy and the fun of the others. No disrespect to West, but I wish John Bacchus would've made this one. My major complaint with this movie was that Debbie Rochon and Darian Caine are only in the wraparound segments, which make up less than 8 minutes of the total running time of the film. What the fuck was that about? I guess they are either too expensive now or they weren't available to be in more of the movie. That sucks because I sorely miss seeing Darian in the lead roles. MISTRESS FRANKENSTEIN, GLADIATOR EROTICUS, THE EROTIC GHOST, and the first 2 EROTIC WITCH movies have become classics because of her. God damn I miss her. Her roles get teenier and teenier. Excuse me, I think I'm gonna cry. Fuck. And who was she supposed to be in this movie anyway? I thought she was locked up in that mental ward in part 2! Did she escape and reform? Perhaps I am a fool for looking for logic within the realm of the softcore sex comedy. But the first 2 were direct sequels, dammit! You can't tell me I'm wrong!
MEMORABLE SCENES-In the very end of the movie, Caine and Rochon both get naked and share a brief embrace before we fade to black. Now I don't buy these films because I wanna see sex scenes. If I want that, I'll get porn. But you know what? I'd be a liar if I said that wasn't the biggest tease in the history of big teases. That had to have been done on purpose.
NOTES-The extras on these discs are getting smaller and smaller. WITCHBABE only has a few trailers and a very short segment featuring footage on the set of the film. There's a trailer for VAMPIRE VIXEN that looks really awesome though. I can't wait to see it. I have a feeling it might restore my faith in Seduction Cinema.
(July 2002)