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Witchfinder General
England is torn in civil strife as the Royalists battle the Parliamentary Party for control. This conflict distracts people from rational thought and allows unscrupulous men to gain local power by exploiting village superstitions. One of these men is Matthew Hopkins, who tours the land offering his services as a persecutor of witches. Aided by his sadistic accomplice John Stearne, he travels from city to city and wrenches confessions from "witches" in order to line his pockets and gain sexual favors. When Hopkins persecutes a priest, he incurs the wrath of Richard Marshall, who is engaged to the priest's niece. Risking treason by leaving his military duties, Marshall relentlessly pursues the evil Hopkins and his minion Stearne.
The fourth and final film made by director Michael Reeves, Witchfinder General is also his best and is often called one of the greatest horror films that Britain has ever produced. Reeves died tragically at the age of 25 from a drug and alcohol overdose just a few months after the film’s release, but through it his legacy will live on forever. Produced by the good folks at American International Pictures, Witchfinder General AKA The Conqueror Worm is a bloody good tale of horror with another standout performance from Vincent Price. Considering Reeves and Price didn’t get along on set, the fact that they not only didn’t kill each other but also managed to churn out something this good is remarkable. While it has developed a bit of a following as a cult film due to Reeves untimely passing, the fact is that the film is strong enough to surpass that morbid little connection. The greatest dangers in the world are the ones that are the most real, and Witchfinder General portrays those dangers accurately, violently and in the most uncompromising fashion.
"Just a typical Sunday witch burning. See how bad things were before the NFL?"
Directed by Reeves and written by Tom Baker (not the Dr. Who guy), Louis M. Heyward Reeves himself, the film pulls no punches in dealing with its subject matter. As that subject matter is torture and death, you can imagine how shocking it must have been when it was originally released. Reeves features numerous scenes of intense on-screen torture and violence and reviewers at the time felt they were almost needlessly sadistic. Of course this stuff is all pretty tame by today's standards, but as I say, back then it must have been positively shocking. Other than his use of violence, Reeves also seems quite adept at pacing the film and while it’s only a brisk 86 minutes long there isn’t a wasted second. The story is pretty straightforward; crazy man convinces people he knows a witch when he sees one and uses this trust to kill people. However, even in this simple story we can find an interesting take on the cautionary tale and some wonderfully written dialogue, perfectly designed to complement the talents of Mr. Price.
"Ready to bust a cap."
Speaking of Vincent Price, he wasn’t even the original choice for the role of Hopkins. Instead, Reeves wanted Donald Pleasence for the part, but was vetoed by AIP who still had a strong working relationship with Price after the Corman films had run their course. As mentioned above, the union of Reeves and Price was not one made in Heaven, yet at the end of the day Price gives one of his all-time great performances in the role. Perhaps this was due to Reeves constantly goading him into a more vicious portrayal of the character or maybe Price realized the importance of the part to his career. Either way, what we get out of Price here is perhaps only matched by his work as Prospero in The Masque of the Red Death. Here he is evil, though sociopathic enough not to revel in it outwardly. Rather he firmly believes what he’s doing is right and just, which of course makes him both incredibly dangerous and scary. His minion, played by Robert Russell, is another miscreant who delights in his job of torture and death. Russell is really into the part and works quite well with Price, which is a good thing because they’re on-screen together quite a bit in the beginning. Meanwhile, Ian Ogilvy plies his good looks into another relatively decent performance as the hero of the film, Richard Marshall, and proves he’s not just a pretty face, although to be fair his face is quite pretty.
"This is what happens when you don't have a dart board."
Unlike some period films dealing with abuses done in the name of religion and morality, Witchfinder General does not eroticize its torture sequences. Sorry dudes, there's no half-naked hotties writhing on racks here. The actual tortures are hardly elaborate, which will also turn off fans of the Saw series. Stearne is not an "artist" like Jigsaw, but a simple thug, slapping, jabbing, and cutting people; the accused are drowned, hung, and burned alive. These scenes work really well because of their inelegance. The dungeons are not grandiose settings filled with imaginative devices, just filthy holes where people are chained and confessions beaten out of them. The sense of despair felt through these scenes is quite prevalent and sticks with you for a great deal of time afterwards. Meanwhile, this film also chose to take a frank look at sexuality. Richard loves his woman and even asks her uncle for permission to marry her, but they're already banging! Yeah, so people weren't always as chaste as they were made out to be in the "good old days". Then again, these "good old days" also involved nasty torture and burning people alive. Maybe things today aren't so bad after all. Witchfinder General is not a very fun movie. There's nothing Roger Corman about this picture. It is disturbing and depressing, a strong examination of corruption of power and is just seriously bleak at every turn. Still, it’s intelligent, topical and, above all else, a fine collaboration from two horror masters. Now all it needs is a wider audience. 7.5/10.
"Tomorrow...a little more madness from Mr. Price."
