Burn Witch Burn

This 1962 British thriller is a smart film about the collision of reason and magic. Peter Wyngarde stars as Norman Taylor, a college psychology professor who discovers that his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) is part of a coven and is using witchcraft to both further his career and protect him from "evil forces." A man of science and logic, Taylor dismisses all of this as "superstitious" stuff, destroying Tansy's charms and protective spells—at which point his good luck turns catastrophically bad and Tansy prepares to sacrifice herself to save him. Burn Witch Burn is adapted from the 1943 Fritz Leiber novel Conjure Wife by two of the masters of fantasy, horror, and suspense, Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont (both veteran Twilight Zone scriptwriters), and was directed by the prolific Sidney Hayers. The fiercely competitive academic setting makes for a terrifically cutthroat environment, presented here with a gothic darkness that turns the campus statues and architectural flourishes into ominous symbols of demonic forces. The psychological undercurrent and eerie atmosphere of supernatural suggestion—along with the spooky, inexplicable events befalling the tormented hero—recalls the suggestive power and intelligence of the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur films of the 1940s and 1950s. But behind the supernatural story lies a strong human drama, not just as a matter of self-survival but also of Taylor protecting the wife who once protected him, which gives his fight an added sense of urgency. Bowing on Blu-ray, extras include archival audio commentary by screenwriter Matheson, and a new interview with Wyngarde. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)