Cinema Rising returns. After casting such a wide net with our first season, we're honing in a more specific theme: Ritual.
For our season debut, I've drafted in an old friend and former colleague from my days in hospitality - Claire Richardson, who now works for the independent film initiative Lift-Off, which you can learn more about here:
liftoff.network
The two films we're looking at this week both feature middle-class housewives dabbling in occultism. Confusingly, both they have also both been given multiple titles. Burn, Witch, Burn, was also released under Night of the Eagle and Season of the Witch was also called Jack's Wife and in a questionable play to America's softcore porn aficionados - Hungry Wives.
Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) Although director Sidney Hayers was best known for his work on beloved English TV series like The Avengers, this low-budget, but stylish horror film is worth seeing. The film follows a rational science professor at an English university, who discovers his wife has secretly been practicing witchcraft - which may be the reason behind his professional success.
Season of the Witch (1973) Horror icon George A. Romero's self-proclaimed "feminist" film is shot on a shoestring, but emblematic of Romero's typical approach - a social statement made through a genre framework. Here, we follow an unfulfilled suburban housewife who turns to black magic in an attempt at asserting her independence.
Instagram: @cinema_rising
Email: cinemarisingshow@gmail.com
Intro music: Joel Oldham @old.joel
Artwork: Fred Sanders @fredsanders.creative
