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Rating:  -
Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) is in the witchfinding business. He travels the countryside, fulfilling his calling as God's judge, looking for witches to eradicate. It's the 1640s, and business is good! Europe is awash in ignorance and superstition. It is the perfect time for the WITCHFINDER GENERAL to apply his techniques in order to seek out and destroy the many children of satan. What is a witch? Why, anyone who displays characteristics that Hopkins says are witch-like. Thankfully, Hopkins is a reasonable, fair-minded man. He'll use only sanctioned torture to extract confessions, followed by a quick hanging or burning at the stake. Of course, Hopkins will collect a lot of gold for his services. After all, witch-hunting is hard work! WITCHFINDER GENERAL is a tale of religious insanity, greed, and murder. Price is at his best, portraying Hopkins as a ruthless, relentless zealot w/ no regard for anything other than his mission (and its monetary rewards). He'll even sleep w/ several beautiful, young witches if he has to! It's all part of the job. WP is a horror movie about human monsters and the people who create them...
Rating:  -
This is the original version of "Witchfinder General"; about as close to a director's cut as you will get. Some US and VHS versions feature a bad synth soundtrack and additional "wench nudity" to pad the running time. Also some versions were retitled "Conqueror Worm" to try and tie in with Price's work with Roger Corman on the so-called "Poe Films".
This isn't that version. This features the original score and no filler scenes. DVD extras include interviews with some cast members and crew. Some nice tidbits in there.
This is a very uncompromising film for it's time. It takes an unflinching look at the sadistic methods used to extract confessions from accused witches.
This is probably Vincent Price's most horrifying role, and it's probably because he was pissed off throughout most of the filming. The animosity between he and director Michael Reeves is legendary, but Reeves didn't want soliloquies or Shakespeare. And he managed to get a performance out of Price that haunts the viewer long after the credits finish.
**SPOILER**
The creepiest line in the movie is when Price is standing over the drowned corpse of one accused witch. With a malevolent smirk:
"She was innocent..."
Rating: -
This film is somewhat of a departure for Vincent Price. Here, here is not a supernatural ghoul or goblin, but depicts Matthew Hopkins, a real historical figure who tortured innocents in the name of the cross. This is probably his best performance.
The torture and violence is graphic, but doesnt linger so long on screen as to become distasteful, as in say: "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S.". While this film is definitely not for children, it could probably be safely viewed by an intelligent 11-13 kid without totally warping their mind. There is a love scene, but no graphic nudity. To my recollection there is no real swearing (cursing). There is some gore, but again, tame by the standards of today's R-rated movies.
I wont give away the plot, as the less you know about the movie before viewing, the more you will get out of it. In short, it is a stylistic piece of horror set against a historical backdrop. Many scenes are set against the rural English countryside and village which adds to the atmospheric intrigue. The ending is not easily forgotten and may really shock younger viewers.
A good, creepy, Halloween movie starring Vincent Price.
Rating: -
I saw this on the big screen when it was initially released. It seemed a bit more frightening. I review Vincent Price's performance as being quite good. The hero seems to be too impetuous as he seems to get caught or be in the wrong place at the most inopportune moments.
Rating: -
Witchfinder General (though American audiences might know it as The Conqueror Worm), released in 1968, is probably one of his better performances int he set as well as being the most disturbing of his career. In this flick Price plays Mathew Hopkins, a lawyer and professional witch finder/executor, a character that's based on an actual witch inquisitor. While making his way through England torturing and executing "confessed" witches (whether they are guilty or not), Hopkins is summoned to a small town at the behest of the populace to look into a local priest. It just so happens that the priest is the uncle of Sarah Lowes, whose fiancé (Richard Marshall, played by Ian Ogilvy) is a Roundhead fighting against the Royalists. After Hopkins tortures and executes Sarah's uncle Richard comes back to find his soon to be wife in quite a state (she had offered herself to Hopkins in exchange for her uncle's safety and was inadvertently raped by Hopkins' assistant in the process.) Richard vows revenge on Hopkins, stopping at nothing to see him pay for what he's done.
The film was very well made with a startlingly non-camp performance from Price (a feat which young auteur director Michael Reeves accomplished by constantly questioning Price's acting choices unexplained to a point where Price ended up reeling in his typical black humor.) The film was pretty brutal for the time, and much more so than Price seems to typically make. I think it's because the material was handle very realistically and straight forward with no actual witchcraft or crazy plot devices. I was also surprised by the very downbeat ending, also a rarity in Price's oeuvre.
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