The Return of the Sorcerer - Recap

Noel Evans arrives at the home of John Canby in response to an advertisement for a translator. The woman of the house, Fern, escorts him to the study where Canby is waiting. Canby has Noel write down his name, and then translate it into numbers and informs him that his number is four, a sign of poverty. Noel starts to leave, assuming Canby doesn’t wish to hire him, but Canby asks him to look at an ancient tome. As Fern comes in and lights the lamps, Noel confirms that the book is in 15th century Samarkand and says he can translate it given time. Canby tells him that he is to move in and do the work, and says the salary is $750. Noel prepares to argue, but Canby hears a shuffling noise outside. Panicked, he goes outside and looks, but there is no one outside.



Canby reenters the room and tells Noel that they’ll start immediately. The translator warns that he’s not into occultism, but Canby doesn’t care, assumes that he’s taking the job, and pays him a month in advance. Canby then admits that he’s relieved that Noel has taken the job, as his twin brother lived and worked there until he passed away. Fern opens the door and tells Noel that he can find his way. Once the translator leaves, Fern suggests that perhaps Canby shouldn’t have the book translated, but Canby insists that he must know. As he embraces her, he doesn’t notice that Fern is smiling.

Fern takes Noel to his room and says that Canby is waiting for him to come right away. He asks if there were any other translators before him, and Fern says that there were two and they both quit. As she starts to leave, Noel asks if he can trust her as a friend and she says that he can.

Canby goes over his book’s precedents in an earlier tome, The Necronomicon, and warns that some of the more fiendish passages were never translated. Noel asks why the other two translators quit, and Canby explains that there was one passage that they refused to translate. Canby hears the same shuffling noise from outside and goes to investigate, but again finds nothing. He then tells Noel that the other translators were terrified. When Noel asks if he won’t feel the same, Canby invites him to dinner.

At the dinner table, Noel discovers that a goat is seated at the table. Canby explains that the goat is his father, and goes by the name of the Falling Tower. When the master of the house says that Fern is indispensable, Noel asks why and she explains that in witchcraft, women are the dominant ones. The translator still doesn’t understand, but before Canby can explain, he hears the shuffling noise again. Fern insists that it’s rats, but Canby doesn’t believe her. She talks of how helplessness brought on the Black Mass in medieval times, and Noel points out that she really seems into it. Canby realizes that the others apparently can’t hear the shuffling noise, and Noel wonders if Canby is expecting someone. Fern picks up a toad from the table and asks it to give her a kiss.



Later, Noel finishes the book and tells the waiting Canby and Fern that he has translated it. Canby asks him to read it, but Noel says that he understands why the other two translators left. He tries to hand Canby his money back, but Canby draws a gun and says that if Noel doesn’t read it, he won’t leave the house. Noel reluctantly reads the passage, which speaks of how a sorcerer can resurrect himself and complete the tasks he had in life. He can harm others, but only those who know of the sorcerer’s peculiar power. In some cases, the sorcerer was so powerful that even if he were dismembered, the various parts could come back and operate on their own or working in concert. Fern asks if there is anything else, and Noel says that there is a curse, and he who reveals the secret will be flayed over burning coals and dismembered.



Canby goes into a trance, shocked, and Fern starts to leave. Noel asks her if she can feel the hidden horror in the house, and she gestures him outside. Once they’re alone, Fern explains that Canby murdered his brother, dismembering him and burying the pieces separately. He kept the head separate. Noel asks for more, but Fern simply tells him they’re holding a black mass later and hopes to see him there. She tries to kiss him, but he points out that she’s still holding the toad. Fern starts to kiss him anyway, but Canby comes out, still holding the gun and wearing black mass robes, and tells Noel that he has to finish the translation.



As Noel works on the translation, Canby performs Satanic rites of protection. The shuffling noise echoes out from behind the door to the chamber and Noel asks what it is. Canby insists that it’s rats, but Noel goes to the door and throws it opened. In the hallway are a disembodied hand and foot. Noel slams the door shut and Canby realizes that the translator can see the pieces. He explains that he hated his brother because he was a more powerful sorcerer than him, and dismembered the body, buried the pieces, and kept the head in a closet. There’s a pounding sound from the closet, and Canby says that Fern tries to usurp their power and became the brother’s lover to gain power over both of them.



Canby grabs a sword and charges to confront Fern, but she stops him with a glance and tells him to return to the study where his brother is waiting. He realizes that his brother is calling him to the black mass where Fern will take on their powers. Fern leaves and invites Noel to join them, but he passes on the invitation and goes to his room. In the study, the door holding the brother’s head shatters. As Fern prepares the ritual, Canby comes face-to-face with his resurrected brother. Helpless before his elder brother’s power, Canby gives him the sword and lays his head on the altar, and the brother raises the sword above his head and brings it down...



Drawn by curiosity, Noel bursts into the chamber. The goat is seated behind the desk but there is no sign of the Canbys. Fern comes out and says that the brothers are fragmented but together, and invites Noel to her room. She kisses him and starts to go, and Noel asks about the curse and if there’s anything to it. Fern just smiles and leads him away.

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