The Naked Witch, aka The Witchmaker, is a cult 1969 exploitation horror movie written, produced and directed by William O Brown (Brown only made one other movie, the beach comedy One Way Wahine). The movie stars Anthony Eisley (Wasp Woman, Frankie and Johnny and Hawaiian Eyes), Thordis Brandt (Funny Girl, In Like Flint and The Green Hornet), Alvy Moore (Green Acres, A Boy and His Dog and Intruder) and Shelby Grant (The Pleasure Seekers, Fantastic Voyage and Our Man Flint).

The opening scene throws us right into the action, a young girl is attacked and murdered before being hung upside down from a tree with an ankh daubed on her stomach in the blood that has been drained from her body. We are then introduced to psychic researcher Dr Hayes (Moore) and his party arriving in the Louisianna swamp by boat. The boatman tellingly informs Hayes, that there is no other way out of the swamp other than to wait for his return, or cross the croc-infested swamp itself, which no one has ever been able to manage before he leaves them alone for the next week. We are told there have been 8 murders in total in the area, and the boatman relays to Dr Hayes that the witches in the nearby area are a lot more dangerous than the “conjure women” who are similar to what we would call “cunning folk” in the UK, someone who uses magic to heal and help others. These creatures are immortal and retain their longevity by offering blood sacrifices to satan.

No sooner had Hayes and his party arrived than they are being watched from the woods by the same man we see killing the girl in the opening scene.. This is Luther the Berserk (Lodge), an ancient and powerful warlock who leads a coven of witches in the swamp. Luther seems at first to live in a small shack in the swamp, but we soon realise it’s just a cover for his real home a cave that runs beneath the shack. Luther sets his sights on one of the young girls Tasha (Brandt), who has pointed out to her friend that she comes from a family of witches. Once the other girl heads inside Luther tries to connect psychically with Tasha, but she panics and runs. It seems that Luther is more interested In Tasha for her talents as a witch than as a ritual sacrifice. 

The Naked Witch is a surprisingly well-scripted movie, with a well-rounded plot. Brown’s script draws heavily on accepted folklore on the subject of witches, and everything seems really well thought out. The cast is great, and the setting is perfect, the swamp itself feels pretty creepy even during daylight sequences, but really comes to life at night. This all works to create an intelligent, creepy, and atmospheric movie that excels beyond all expectations.

Overall, The Naked Witch is a far better movie than one might expect from a low-budget exploitation movie. It’s a really effective chiller that sits alongside some of the very best occult horror movies of the late 1960s, an impressive feat when you consider some of the other films made around the same time. Brown only made one other film, the underwhelming One Way Wahine, and you have to question why he didn’t attempt to make more movies like this one.

This new Blu-ray release from VCI Entertainment features the movie on Blu-ray and DVD. The print itself has been restored from a 35mm archival print of the movie and looks quite good; some minor damage remains, but it’s very minimal and doesn’t spoil the viewing experience. On top of this, there is an audio commentary from artist/journalist Robert Kelly, as well as a poster gallery of 1960s movie art. Whilst there’s not a lot of bonus materials featured here, this remains a very solid release for a very good movie. This release loses one mark for the lack of bonus materials, but it would otherwise be a 5-star release.