Witchfinder is one of the best W.A.V.E. movies I’ve seen so far. It’s in films like these where you can tell that had he been given a bigger budget, director Gary Whitson could’ve had a decent career working for “The Man”. Luckily for us, Gary remained fiercely independent and kept making stuff like this in his backyard.
Pamela Sutch asks Laura Giglio, “Are you aware of the cult murders that occurred over the last decade and a half?”, which prompts a flashback. Clancey McCauley presides over a Satanic ritual. One of her frightened followers says, “She’s gonna kill a man! It was different when it was a chicken or a goat, but this is a real human being!”
Soon after, a killer goes around offing cult members (who proudly wear their “Satan Lives” T-shirts) in the manner befitting a witch. Women are drowned in a swimming pool, burned at the stake, hung in a barn, and … uh… electrocuted. Well, I know electricity hadn’t been invented during the time of the Salem Witch Trials, but if it was, you can bet your ass they would’ve used it on witches.
An interesting wrinkle is that it is the cult members who are the ones being killed. Usually in these types of things, they are the ones perpetrating the violence. In Witchfinder, it's the Satanists who are the victims, which I thought was kind of inspired. The film also has a good twist or two up its sleeve.
All this adds up to one of W.A.V.E.’s best both in terms of WTF entertainment and as a solid slice of low budget filmmaking. If you’ve ever been skittish to watch a W.A.V.E. movie because of their reputation, I’d say start with this one. It’s only an hour long and it zips along at a steady pace. It also shows that Whitson, who also has a sizable role (and gloriously overacts) had a bit more craftsmanship in him than most people give him credit for. Don’t worry, there’s still all the chloroforming and bondage scenes you’d expect and/or hope for in a W.A.V.E. movie. It’s just nice to see him delivering a flick that checks all the boxes.
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