Dark and relentlessly violent, "Witchfinder General" (or "The Conqueror Worm") follows Matthew Hopkins--a soldier in the employ of Oliver Cromwell during one of the bloodiest periods in England's history--as he scours a lawless countryside in search of witches, warlocks, and satanists, rounding them up in order to torture, imprison, or kill them (and sometimes all three). Price, more sadistic than ever, is fine as Hopkins (all the actors are top-of-the-line) but the real star of the film is its magnificent look, with its rolling fields, dense forests, and dank, creepy dungeons. This is not a movie for the faint of heart, as the promotional posters available at the time made abundantly clear; don't let your kids anywhere near this, they warned audiences, and if you're a little squeamish yourself, you shouldn't see it, either. The film's final image--a chilling freeze-frame--is memorable, too. Based on Poe's "The Conqueror Worm", and an unforgettable example of what genuine, over-the-top horror looks like. Definitely worth seeing--if you have the nerve.
Review of Witchfinder General
