In the midst of England's bloodiest civil war and during Naseby battle (1645) between Royalists followers of King Charles I and Republican Roundheads commanded by Oliver Cromwell (Patrick Wymark) , there Evil ignites by means of a self-possessed , unscrupulous witch finder who looks for witches and people who allegedly practice witchery and necromancy . The much-feared Inquisitor , persecutor of witches Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his assistant John Stearne (Robert Russell) revelled in torture and murder all in the name of justice and while gaining sexual favors . Hopkins roams East Anglia accompanied by his sadistic helper condemning , torturing, and finally , executing all those who fail to survive his horrible and hateful trials by using violent torture and bloody means . When Hopkins tracks down a priest (Rupert Davies) , he incurs the vengeance and wrath of Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) , who is engaged to the priest's niece (gorgeous Hilary Dwyer who recently died by Covid-19) . The Year's Most Violent Film!. A crawling shape intrude! .There's lots of screaming when there's this much at stake! A blood-red thing that writhes from out . The scenic solitude! It writhes! - it writhes! - with mortal pangs .The mimes become its food, And the angels sob at vermin fangs In human gore imbued. EDGAR ALLEN POE .The depraved must die... BEWARE the Witch Hunter!LEAVE THE CHILDREN HOME! ...and if YOU are SQUEAMISH STAY HOME WITH THEM!!!!!!! He'll hang, burn and mutilate you. He's the... Witchfinder General
This one deals with a graphic delineation of witch-hunting in England during the Cromwell period . This film has been framed of painting too violent and bloody a picture of the old times , but its power is remarkable and undeniable . Vincent Price gives a sterling acting , as usual . Here Vincent Price unleashes a reign of fire and fury , as he's totally convincing as a nasty witch finder .The production values is pretty good considering its short budget . The motion picture was well directed by talented young filmmaker Michael Reeves . The only made three films : The sorcerers , The She beast , and his third and last film : Witchfinder General . Michael Reeves took over the directing duties for the foreign horror film , "Castle of the Living Dead" . Most people agreed that Reeves' work improved the film . He was chosen to direct ¨The oblong box¨ (1969) , was also linked with the movie "Scream and Scream Again" but he died during the pre-production . Both films would end up being directed by Gordon Hessler . As he deceased soon after due to an accidental overdose at age 25 . Rating : 7/10 . A must-see for Vincent Price fans.
The picture was based on historical events about judge Matthew Hopkins and his assistant : The work of Hopkins and John Stearne was not necessarily to prove any of the accused had committed acts of maleficium, but to prove that they had made a covenant with the Devil. Prior to this point, any malicious acts on the part of witches were treated identically to those of other criminals, until it was seen that, according to the then-current beliefs about the structure of witchcraft, they owed their powers to a deliberate act of their choosing .The witch-hunts undertaken by Stearne and Hopkins mainly took place in East Anglia, in the counties of Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk , Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, with a few in the counties of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.They extended throughout the area of strongest Puritan and Parliamentarian influences which formed the powerful and influential Eastern Association from 1644 to 1647, which was centred on Essex. Both Hopkins and Stearne would have required some form of letters of safe conduct to be able to travel throughout the counties. According to his book The Discovery of Witches, Hopkins began his career as a witch-finder after he overheard women discussing their meetings with the Devil in March 1644 in Manningtree. In fact, the first accusations were made by Stearne and Hopkins was appointed as his assistant. Twenty-three women were accused of witchcraft and were tried at Chelmsford in 1645. With the English Civil War under way, this trial was conducted not by justices of assize, but by justices of the peace presided over by the Earl of Warwick.Four died in prison and nineteen were convicted and hanged. During this period, excepting Middlesex and chartered towns, no records show any person charged of witchcraft being sentenced to death other than by the judges of the assizes .Hopkins and Stearne, accompanied by the women who performed the pricking, were soon travelling over eastern England, claiming to be officially commissioned by Parliament to uncover and prosecute witches. Together with their female assistants, they were well paid for their work, and it has been suggested that this was a motivation for his action.
This one deals with a graphic delineation of witch-hunting in England during the Cromwell period . This film has been framed of painting too violent and bloody a picture of the old times , but its power is remarkable and undeniable . Vincent Price gives a sterling acting , as usual . Here Vincent Price unleashes a reign of fire and fury , as he's totally convincing as a nasty witch finder .The production values is pretty good considering its short budget . The motion picture was well directed by talented young filmmaker Michael Reeves . The only made three films : The sorcerers , The She beast , and his third and last film : Witchfinder General . Michael Reeves took over the directing duties for the foreign horror film , "Castle of the Living Dead" . Most people agreed that Reeves' work improved the film . He was chosen to direct ¨The oblong box¨ (1969) , was also linked with the movie "Scream and Scream Again" but he died during the pre-production . Both films would end up being directed by Gordon Hessler . As he deceased soon after due to an accidental overdose at age 25 . Rating : 7/10 . A must-see for Vincent Price fans.
The picture was based on historical events about judge Matthew Hopkins and his assistant : The work of Hopkins and John Stearne was not necessarily to prove any of the accused had committed acts of maleficium, but to prove that they had made a covenant with the Devil. Prior to this point, any malicious acts on the part of witches were treated identically to those of other criminals, until it was seen that, according to the then-current beliefs about the structure of witchcraft, they owed their powers to a deliberate act of their choosing .The witch-hunts undertaken by Stearne and Hopkins mainly took place in East Anglia, in the counties of Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk , Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, with a few in the counties of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.They extended throughout the area of strongest Puritan and Parliamentarian influences which formed the powerful and influential Eastern Association from 1644 to 1647, which was centred on Essex. Both Hopkins and Stearne would have required some form of letters of safe conduct to be able to travel throughout the counties. According to his book The Discovery of Witches, Hopkins began his career as a witch-finder after he overheard women discussing their meetings with the Devil in March 1644 in Manningtree. In fact, the first accusations were made by Stearne and Hopkins was appointed as his assistant. Twenty-three women were accused of witchcraft and were tried at Chelmsford in 1645. With the English Civil War under way, this trial was conducted not by justices of assize, but by justices of the peace presided over by the Earl of Warwick.Four died in prison and nineteen were convicted and hanged. During this period, excepting Middlesex and chartered towns, no records show any person charged of witchcraft being sentenced to death other than by the judges of the assizes .Hopkins and Stearne, accompanied by the women who performed the pricking, were soon travelling over eastern England, claiming to be officially commissioned by Parliament to uncover and prosecute witches. Together with their female assistants, they were well paid for their work, and it has been suggested that this was a motivation for his action.