THE STORY: In most horror movies made nowadays there's always at least one person that survives the onslaught of the madman/demon/creature. Yeah, that person probably will require therapy for the  rest of their lives, but someone usually lives. One thing about this picture...nobody gets out alive!

Burnt-out alcoholic Reverend Mayer moves his family into a new house, owned by the church before taking up his new church. David, another reverend helps get the family settled in. It looks like David's the church's financial/ property guy. A policeman, Inspector Sturgess wants David to do something about the property the house is on. The only people that lived there prior to the Mayers is the caretaker, Elvira and her big, mean son. However, kids hang out on the property and "accidents" happen. While exploring the house, Justin, Mayer's pre-teen son meets "Mary" a little girl that was in the basement. Mary runs away and disappears. Suprisingly, Justin doesn't tell anyone about this even though he's old enough to wonder why there's a strange girl in his house. Justin does tell his parents and two sisters about the pond on the property. Elvira's crazy ass son kills someone and the cops are looking for him. The Mayer family decides to go swimming in the pond. That happy occasion is cut short when, Cheryl Mayer almost drowns. thrashing about in the water she claims something has a hold o her. When Inspector Sturgess and David pull her to shore a severed hand is clutching her ankle. Sturgess wants an answer to the weird goings on, but none are forthcoming from Elvira. she claims that her son is lost to her. She also raves a little about the witch being free from the pond. You see, after the severed hand was found, Sturgess and David used a pump to see what else may be in it. They didn't find anything except for an old antique cross. Elvira claims that since David has the cross the evil can walk. Meanwhile, the evil force captures Justin. Sturgess and his men search all over for the boy. David visits the church records and finds an old copy of the Malleus Maleficarum, an ancient text on how to destroy witches. The book also contains a story about a preacher that once lived and preached on the property in 1692. There was a witch back then, and the preacher had her drowned in the pond. The witch claimed that she would not die, but she'd be back to spread evil. In order to keep her subdued the preacher threw the cross into the pond. Turns out that Elvira was right. David high tails it back to the house but he doesn't arrive before Sturgess and his men find a secret room in the basement. Elvira's son is hiding in it, and they capture him...they also discover the body of Justin...just in time because the witch shows up and starts killing everyone! Now you might think that one of Mayer's daughters would have survived, or that Mayer himself, a man of the cloth who has fallen on hard times would stop the witch. Hey, that's what usually happens in a movie with a supernatural threat and a fallen churchman. But not in this one. The witch makes short work of the entire family. David manages to temporarily hold the creature at bay with the cross. Then he makes it to the pond with some gasoline. Fire is supposedly the only way to destroy the witch. he pours in the gas and lights it. The little girl Mary appears behind him and he tells her they're safe now. Uh-uh. Mary is just another incarnation of the witch! David rams the cross into her chest and as she falls back into the burning pond she claims that she still won't die! Exhausted David begins to walk away...then the witch reaches out from the water and pulls him in! As I said...No one gets out alive!

Being an older movie, it doesn't have the gore level of modern films...but it was in its own way frightening. The biggest shock to me when was when they discovered Justin's mutilated body! Little kids are usually immune to harm in these movies. The second shock was that the witch terminated EVERYONE and rather easily I might add. That was refreshing! Not all horror flicks can have a so-called happy ending.

Best Lines: "And you're an ugly old bag!"- Inspector Sturgess to Elvira when she calls him a stupid, stupid man.

1.) There are two local yokels that the witch kill before the Mayers move in. The house is a mess, but there are some things left in it. (According to Elvira the witch can walk at night, but the cross holds her at bay during the day) Well, one guy gets his head cooked in a microwave. But if the house is unoccupied why was there power for the microwave?

2.) Whoa! The witch is pretty ballsy! We get to see her trial in 1692...when the reverend tells her to confess she exclaims in an unholy voice "I AM THE DAUGHTER OF SATAN!"...Yikes! Man, not even Johnny Cochran could've gotten her out of that one!

3.) There's a pretty amusing moment when the reverend during the witch's trial tells the guards to take her away...this is right after the witch bellows on about being Satan's daughter and speaking in a weird ass voice...these two poor shmoes at first cower and shake their heads at the reverend as if to say "Uh-uh...I ain't going near the crazy bitch!"

4.) HOLY MOLEY---Justin is dead! Wow! This movie is brutal!

5.) What the hell is Cheryl wearing? (I think its Cheryl...Mayer has two hot daughters and I only caught one of the names) either way, when David tells her to get out of the house she has some weird red nightie thing on...like something I'd expect to see in a brothel. (Not that I go to brothels, but prostitution is legal in Germany...there are 'Red Light districts' in most cities here and the woman parade around in provocative clothing like what Cheryl is wearing) She's a reverend's daughter! Was she planning on sneaking a guy in the house or something?

NUDITY AND SEX: None

HUH?: What was Elvira's connection with the witch? Why didn't the witch kill her and her son and why did she [unwrite]ing stay if she knew a supernatural she-beast from hell was around?

I still can't believe that Justin didn't say anything about Mary wandering around when he first sees her. He's gotta be at least twelve. Twelve is old enough to say to say to your parents..."There's a girl in the basement...who the hell is she and why is she in our house?"

David says that the Malleus Maleficarum was written during the Spanish Inquisition...according to my sources it was written by two dominican inquisitors, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger to help exterminate witches in Northern Germany circa the year 1486. Just a lillte niblet of history for you.

Who's severed hand was it that grabbed Cheryl in the pond?

THE TALLY: This movies saving grace is that absolutely no one escapes the wrath of the witch. If not for that it would be just another movie to me. Its no spring chicken as movies go and its not gory like current flicks are, but still it had enough flavor to be entertaining. You know when this movie would be best viewed...a Halloween night movie fest! Show it to friends that haven't read this review or seen it! They'll be shocked. (Hey, I was, and I watch a LOT of movies!)