We are a fly on the wall for the next series of rituals carried out by Sanders and the High Priestess.

There then follows quite a lengthy look at the Bayeux Tapestry and its intertwined pagan images, before we are transported to Cornwall and a small museum, housing relics from the grave of a known witch. Parallels between Christian and pagan rituals are drawn, and time is spent putting witchcraft into a historical context and reflecting on its influence on everyday life. There are are all sorts of Black Masses and strange rituals being done under the moonlight and they simply come across beautifully on the screen. Featuring the only footage in existence of the infamous “King of Wicca,” Alex Sanders, who uses this documentary to guide us through his coven. The same goes to the wedding (or handfasting) conducted with the bride and groom both naked, although I have my doubts that there’s always someone dressed as a horned god in attendance.

Still, I assume the staged initiation rituals that Penny undergoes are an accurate enough recreation of what a new member to a coven would experience. The 39th release in the long standing BFI Flipside strand sees the release of two far out British films.

Sharing the secrets of initiation into a coven, divination through animal sacrifice, ritual scrying, the casting of a 'death spell', and the chilling intimacy of a Black Mass, Malcolm Leigh's film also explores Britain's hidden pagan heritage and its continued influence on our lives today.

Despite some definite artistic merit and generally educational feel, it was predictably promoted as a softcore porno on its theatrical release (sex undeniably sold in the seventies). The proceedings are then infiltrated by a priest with a cross, set on bringing down the evil goings on. Overall, the film is generally shot and executed in good taste even where some of the depictions and scenes take a little too much artistic licence. Unlike Legend of the Witches, the pace is much quicker and because the lighting is better and it is shot in colour, it is clearer for the audience to see exactly what is happening with the tying of the three coloured cords and the ritualistic kissing of the five points.