Character actor L.Q. Jones directed several low-budget genre films during the 1970s, most notably the science-fiction cult item A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975). This time out, Jones starred and produced while Bernard McEveety (before he worked for Disney and on TV films) directed. While on a
driving trip through the Southwest with his daughter and girl friend, Ben (Charles Bateman) stumbles upon a small town plagued by the disappearance of several children and the murders of their parents. Offering his services, Ben stays on to assist the local sheriff (Jones), his deputy (Alvy
Moore), the local priest (Charles Robinson), and a physician (Strother Martin) as they try to solve the mystery. As it turns out, the culprits are a coven of elderly witches and warlocks who plan to transfer their evil souls into the bodies of the missing children. Standard stuff, unimaginatively
handled, although fans of Martin (who appeared in several Sam Peckinpah westerns with Jones) may want to take a look.
