''The Astrologer'' (also known as ''Suicide Cult'') is a 1975 American horror film directed by

James Glickenhaus James Glickenhaus (born July 24, 1950) is an American film producer, financier, director and automotive entrepreneur. He is currently general partner of Glickenhaus & Co., a family partnership originally started by his father Seth Glickenhaus. ...

and starring Bob Byrd, Mark Buntzman, and

Premise

A scientist who is investigating reports of the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

of Christ ends up in conflict with a Satan-worshipping suicide cult.

Cast

*Bob Byrd as Alexei * Mark Buntzman as Kajerste *

as Spy *Alison McCarthy *Al Narcisse * Monica Tidwell as Kate Abarnel *Ivy White as Indian Maiden

Production

The film was based on the book ''The Astrologer'' written by John Cameron,

's future father-in-law. Glickenhaus made a deal with Cameron for the book, wrote the screenplay. Glickenhaus says that he made the movie for about $20,000. "I'd inherited some money," Glickenhaus told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "and I took all of it and lost it making a movie called 'The Astrologer.' I'd been to film school, but film school was oriented more toward the avant-garde in those days, and I didn't really know what a master was or a cutaway or a closeup. And I had great trouble conveying ideas, except in dialogue. So 'The Astrologer,' which was about 79 minutes long, was probably 60 minutes of dialogue. I mean, it was interminable. I didn't think it was interminable then. I thought it was great and interesting and fascinating to listen to." The film took him two years to produce from start to finish. The film's soundtrack was composed by

Brad Fiedel Brad Ira Fiedel (born March 10, 1951) is an American composer of scores for film and television. He is well known for his collaborations with director James Cameron on ''The Terminator'' (1984) and its blockbuster sequel, '' Terminator 2: Judgmen ...

, in his debut.

Release

With no independent distributors interested in acquiring the film, Glickenhaus convinced some drive-in theaters in the South to screen it. He later recalled, "Even though it was a terrible movie, people didn't absolutely hate it. But I realized by watching them that the only parts they liked were the parts with action." Glickenhaus deciding the overabundance of dialogue in ''The Astrologer'' compared to the level of action was the cause of its failure would inspire him to write ''

The Exterminator ''The Exterminator'' is a 1980 American vigilante action film written and directed by James Glickenhaus. It stars Robert Ginty as Vietnam War veteran John Eastland, also known as "The Exterminator". When a group of thugs paralyze his friend, Ea ...

'' 21st Century Film Corporation eventually bought the rights to ''The Astrologer'' believing they could make it work and re-titled it ''The Suicide Cult'' in an effort to capitalize on the Jonestown massacre.

Reception

The film was called an ”ultra obscure and undeniably fascinating thriller". Anothe commentator found, ’’The irony, however, is that this debut effort by James Glickenhaus is neither a horror or science fiction film: its a pure Christploitation, aka Godploitation, romp...”

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astrologer (film), The 1975 films 1970s supernatural horror films 1975 independent films American independent films American supernatural horror films 1970s English-language films Films about cults Films about Satanism Films based on American novels Films based on horror novels Films directed by James Glickenhaus Films scored by Brad Fiedel Films set in Bihar Films set in London Films set in Maryland Films set in New York City Films set in Virginia 1975 directorial debut films 1970s American films Video nasties