The Wizard of Gore 1970

Ray Sager stars as Montag the Magnificent, a magician who blends grand speeches about reality with grisly stage tricks performed on female volunteers. The volunteers appear unharmed at first, but later they collapse, dead, in public or at home—mutilated in the same grisly fashion hinted at by Montag’s performances, turning a dazzling show into a chilling pattern of violence.

Montag’s stage presence is built around a rotating gallery of debutantes and victims. Within his shows stand five stage girls who become associated with the murders: Karin Alexana as Stage Girl #1 - Chainsaw Victim, Corinne Kirkin as Stage Girl #2 - Headpike Victim, Monica Blackwell as Stage Girl #3 - Punchpress Victim, Sally Brody as Stage Girl #4 - Sword Victim, and Karen Burke as Stage Girl #5 - Sword Victim. Their fates mirror Montag’s macabre tricks, making the line between illusion and reality feel dangerously thin.

Locally, the whispers grow louder as Sherry Carson, a TV talk-show hostess played by Judy Cler, and her boyfriend Jack, portrayed by Wayne Ratay, begin to suspect Montag’s hand in the killings. A fellow reporter, Greg, played by Phil Laurenson, joins the pursuit for real evidence, but solid proof remains elusive as the mystery deepens.

Montag agrees to appear on Sherry’s show to perform a fire trick. On the live broadcast, he hypnotizes not only the studio audience but also the viewers at home. With a sweeping gesture, Montag conjures a dangerous blaze and steers Sherry and two plainclothes cops toward the inferno, until Jack intervenes and pushes Montag into the flames, ending his life in a blaze of public spectacle.

Back at home, Sherry and Jack share a drink and reflect on the bizarre turn of events. Suddenly, Jack laughs and begins peeling his own skin from his face to reveal that he is actually Montag, the very magician who mesmerized them. He disembowels Sherry with his bare hands, yet she remains alive and laughing, telling Montag that none of what has happened was real—and that even he is part of her illusion.

Montag is then teleported back onstage, dazed, reciting the same opening speech he delivered at the start of the film. The final moment lands with Sherry, unimpressed, muttering a cutting verdict on Montag:

You know what I think? I think he’s a phony.