Review #1,110: 'The Wizard of Gore' (1970)

Although he never again reached the dizzy 'heights' of his breakthrough Blood Feast (1963), I find myself repeatedly and inexplicably drawn to the seemingly endless works of the 'Godfather of Gore', Herschell Gordon Lewis. The films of Lewis, who sadly passed away just two months ago, continued on a steady decline from the just-about-bearable to the outright unwatchable after bringing blood and guts to the drive-in audience for the first time. Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) was quite fun, and Color Me Blood Red (1965) had its moments, but by the time he reached The Wizard of Gore in 1970, his work had become entirely incoherent and just plain boring.

Magician Montag the Magnificent (Ray Sager) entertains disinterested crowds at night, introducing his act by condemning his fellow performers and promising to truly deliver what the audience has come to see. He doesn't merely do the girl-cut-in-two trick, but chainsaws a poor lady in half and then plays around in her guts. Moments later, she is fine, and the audience lap it up. Only a few hours later, the girl drops dead in a restaurant in two pieces. TV personality Sherry Carson (Judy Cler), who frequently attends Montag's show with her boyfriend Jack (Wayne Ratay). longs to get the entertainer on her show. But as more bizarre murders occur, Sherry and Jack feel that the sinister goings-on point straight to Montag.

He may not be a magician and he certainly isn't a wizard, but Montag the Magnificent is one hell of a hypnotist. During his many shows, in which Montag murders and dismembers various pretty ladies in a variety of grisly ways (punch press, sword swallowing, knife in the ear, etc.), his audience are placed in a trance as Montag fondles what must have been brought in from the local butchers. As the actual audience watching this mess, we are treated to both the illusion and reality, making for a incredibly confusing and badly-edited watch. The usual Lewis tropes of terrible acting, cheap-looking sets and laughable special effects (see the moment Sager clearly has trouble popping out an eyeball) are all present, but the worst sin of all is that The Wizard of Gore is a massive drag at a whopping 95 minutes. There's gore-a-plenty, but nothing else. And if anybody knows what that ending is about, please let me know.


Directed by: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Starring: Ray Sager, Judy Cler, Wayne Ratay, Phil Laurenson
Country: USA

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie