Witchfinder General

Plot synopsis:
In 1645, during the English Civil War, Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), an opportunist and witchhunter, takes advantage of the breakdown in social order to impose a reign of terror in East Anglia. Hopkins and his assistant, John Stearne (Robert Russell), visit village after village, brutally torturing confessions out of suspected witches. They charge the local magistrates for the work they carry out.
Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) is a young Roundhead. After surviving a brief skirmish and killing his first enemy soldier (and thus saving the life of his Captain), he rides home to Brandeston, Suffolk, to visit his lover Sara (Hilary Dwyer). Sara is the niece of the village priest, John Lowes (Rupert Davies). Lowes gives his permission to Marshall to marry Sara, telling him there is trouble coming to the village and he wants Sara far away before it arrives. Marshall asks Sara why the old man is frightened. She tells him they have been threatened and become outcasts in their own village. Marshall vows to Sara, "rest easy and no-one shall harm you. I put my oath to that." At the end of his army leave, Marshall rides back to join his regiment, and chances upon Hopkins and Stearne on the path. Marshall gives the two men directions to Brandeston then rides on.
In Brandeston, Hopkins and Stearne immediately begin rounding up suspects. Lowes is accused at his home and tortured. He has needles stuck into his back (in an attempt to locate the so-called "Devil's Mark"), and is about to be killed, when Sara stops Hopkins by offering him sexual favours in exchange for her uncle's safety. However, soon Hopkins is called away to another village. Stearne takes advantage of Hopkins' absence by raping Sara. When Hopkins returns and finds out what Stearne has done, Hopkins will have nothing further to do with the young woman. He instructs Stearne to begin torturing Lowes again. Shortly before departing the village, Hopkins and Stearne execute Lowes and two women.
Marshall returns to Brandeston and is horrified by what has happened to Sara. He vows to kill both Hopkins and Stearne. After "marrying" Sara in a ceremony of his own devising and instructing her to flee to Lavenham, he rides off by himself. In the meantime, Hopkins and Stearne have become separated after a Roundhead patrol attempts to commandeer their horses. Marshall locates Stearne, but after a brutal fight, Stearne is able to escape. He reunites with Hopkins and informs him of Marshall's desire for revenge.
Hopkins and Stearne enter the village of Lavenham. Marshall, on a patrol to locate the King, learns they are there and quickly rides to the village with a group of his soldier friends. Hopkins, however, having earlier learned that Sara was in Lavenham, has set a trap to capture Marshall. Hopkins and Stearne frame Marshall and Sara as witches and take them to the castle to be interrogated. Marshall watches as needles are repeatedly jabbed into Sara's back, but he refuses to confess to witchcraft, instead vowing again to kill Hopkins. He breaks free from his bonds and stamps on Stearne's face, at the same time that his army comrades approach the castle dungeon. Marshall grabs an axe and repeatedly strikes Hopkins. The soldiers enter the room and are horrified to see what their friend has done. One of them puts the mutilated but still living Hopkins out of his misery by shooting him dead. Marshall's mind snaps and he shouts, "You took him from me! You took him from me!" Sara, also apparently on the brink of insanity, screams uncontrollably over and over again.

Tags: gothic, bleak, violence, cult, atmospheric, claustrophobic, romantic, sadist

Review:
'Witchfinder General' is a very good film which deserves to be seen by a wider audience, and Michael Reeves death is a tragedy for all movie lovers..
England, 1645: in the midst of civil war, opportunistic witch-finder Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his sadistic assistant John Stearne (Robert Russell) travel from village to village forcing confessions from suspected witches for both profit and personal gratification.
After the pair torture and execute priest John Lowes (Rupert Davies), taking advantage of his beautiful niece Sara (the lovely Hilary Dwyer) in the process, roundhead soldier Richard (Ian Ogilvy), Sara's fiancé, swears an oath of revenge.The last film from British horror director Michael Reeves, whose promising career was sadly cut short at the age of 25 by an accidental overdose, Witchfinder General is a brilliant account of the barbarous acts perpetrated against so-called witches during the 17th century, supposedly all in the name of God. Benefitting from Reeves' unflinching direction and a faultless performance by Price as a man who must surely qualify as one of cinema's most loathsome villains, the film is not only a thoroughly effective piece of sickeningly violent horror entertainment, but is also at turns a chilling lesson on one of the darkest periods in British history, a devastating indictment of human nature, a heart-warming love story, and a satisfyingly brutal revenge drama..
Indeed, far from being frightening, Matthew Hopkins comes across as little more than a methodical businessman, his moral quandaries not necessarily absent, but merely set aside to make room for his wages.Perhaps the critics' rejection of 'Witchfinder General' has something to do with the accusatory manner in which Reeves frames the violence, capturing the executions, not from a moral high-horse, but as one of the curious spectators who circles around to gawk at the morbid spectacle of murder.
Reeves (who, at 23, probably never expected this to be his last film) uses the English countryside to great effect and summons up a great sense of period as well as contrasting it powerfully with the fear and violence of Hopkins' deeds.The plot threatens to be a poor device to show this history in gory detail but generally it works well enough because it makes the characters and the actions as important as the specific story involving Marshall.
Support from Russell, Heath and others is mostly good apart from one or two bum notes in small areas  the victims are convincing which was important to make the horrors convincing.Overall an impacting little film that has a basic plot but greatly benefits from the cruelty of the piece, strong direction and good performances led by a great Price.
I don't really understand the top reviewer's problem with 'Witchfinder General' is, it seems as though he's almost reviewing real life, as he alludes to Hopkins not meeting his fate as he does in this film.Well of course he doesn't - this is, after all, a motion picture, and people need to be entertained - not ruthlessly tortured as to how such an evil man basically got away with the deaths of what must surely be thousands of innocent English women, and probably countless American's too.
The other actors simply hold on for dear life as Price literally bribes the stage, then has sex with it, before setting fire to it - absolutely stunningly powerful acting that I believe has rarely been bettered.In a way, his performance as Hopkins when compared with some of his other notable roles such as Henry Jarrod in House of Wax - the camp and stagey villain, mirrors the real life black and white psychology of man, here Price is in seriously disturbed mode, a foul villainous man who oozes menace, malice and distaste for the stupid mortals he often finds himself rubbing shoulders with.To say that 'Witchfinder' is a horror film in the conventional sense ('a scary or malevolent force that must be overcome') would be accurate, but it would be doing it a wild disservice: just as saying 'Don't Look Now' is a film about a child dying, that 'The Wickerman' is a film about crazy pagans, and so on: Witchfinder General is absolutely not a film about witches, nor is it really a film about witchtrials, descriptions like this undersell the film entirely.
It completely threw open the doors for what horror could be (remember: up until the 70's it was a jumpy, if not forgettable and often quite silly fare - as in some of the excellent Hammer pictures) a shatteringly powerful psychological examination of the darkest recesses of the human psyche, and though the ending is predictable, deserved, and utterly justifiable, there is no doubt that my last point is proved sublimely by said provocative finale.See Witchfinder General now: see a (formerly) joke actor reinvent his career in a staggering fashion, see the most malevolent and evil human being ever committed to celluloid, see the insanity of five hundred years ago, or even just stay for the beautiful British country side, all the while beset by the disgusting characters who have soiled and destroyed it..
I have only ever seen the cut version of this film,so i cant comment on it being gory or frightening.Its a very interesting story nonetheless and a very true one.No one actually knows what really happened to Matthew Hopkins,we would love to believe he was murdered as he really was such an evil man,he terrorised all of Essex and all of East Anglia.He just walked into villages and towns promising to rid them of their witches for large amounts of money,which he was paid.Money was his real motive.He also had some old hag as his helper,i cant remember her name,but she was just as evil.Between them they made trumped up charges against hundreds of people,men as well as women,although usually the old and vulnerable,any old woman who lived on her own and owned a black cat,would be a target.The worst place Matthew Hopkins left his legacy was in Manningtree a pretty little town,just outside of Colchester in Essex.Many locals claim Manningtree to be haunted by the spirits of his victims,they often hold ghost walks there, some even claim he is there in spirit.The witchfinder General has always been common folklore in East Anglia and Essex and i believe now hes known all over Britain,even though he never worked out of the South East of England.Because this is a true story you could never call this a horror film,it is more of a history film,but then i saw the cut version.Its a shame Britain doesn't still make films like this,instead of the countless nitty gritty depressing kitchen sink dramas,about prostitution and drugs and bad housing and abortions,and teenage pregnancies,i could go on but I'm already feeling depressed..
In 1968 no one had seen the gory video nasties from the 1980s and Vincent Price was best known for starring in rather camp horror B movies , so I guess you'd have to live in the context of 1968 to understand the controversy There's another thing and that is it's always billed as a "horror film" when broadcast on television but was WITCHFINDER GENERAL originally marketed as a horror film in 1968 ?
First of all Vincent Price gives what is regarded as his best performance and it is fairly impressive though he could have played the role in an even more cynical manner and parts of the script do pick up on the ridiculous trials of the time such as if a suspect is thrown into a river and drowns they're not a witch !
MATTHEW HOPKINS: WITCHFINDER GENERAL Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoIn 17th century England, a corrupt witchfinder (Vincent Price) targets the family of a young girl (Hilary Dwyer) who is betrothed to a vengeful soldier (Ian Ogilvy).Condemned on its initial release for scenes of horrific violence and heavily cut by the British censor (though subsequently restored for home video), Michael Reeves' swan song contrasts the lush beauty of the English countryside - stunningly photographed by veteran cameraman John Coquillon - with the hypocrisy of Price and his sadistic sidekick (Robert Russell), both of whom are sanctioned to commit murder in the name of a disputed king.
An Excellent and Violent Low Budget Movie in a Dark Age. In 1645, in England, Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price, in a magnificent performance) is an unscrupulous and greedy witchfinder, faking and forcing evidences of witchcraft of some persons in different locations to receive payment for the confession, judgement and execution.
Although being a low budget movie, this film is excellent: very violent, but having and excellent direction and cast, highlighting the performance of Vincent Price, one of the best I have ever seen.
Examples: Embarrassingly weak day-for-night photography, poor direction of minor characters (some of them just aren't believable at all) and most critically, he just does not do a good enough job of depicting Richard Marshall's rage and thirst for vengeance - it just doesn't come across until the final scene - all of a sudden he's screaming like a madman and it simply isn't a logical result of what's gone before.Vincent Price is quite good, of course, and I'm not suggesting that Reeves doesn't show some flourishes at times but I think most viewers will find the whole enterprise ragtag and amateurish.
Price plays Matthew Hopkins, known as the Witchfinder General, as he goes on a witch hunt while England is in turmoil with civil war.
He is a member of Cromwell's new model army but finds a dual purpose in his life after Sarah is violated and her priest uncle (Rupert Davies) is tortured, tried and hanged as a witch.Using a form of photography which is truly dark in all aspects, this film succeeds in chilling the viewer where it has to, especially with the shocking ending which leaves no doubt as to what will happen to the principal characters.
Ian Ogilvy is the dashing Cromwellian soldier out to avenge his fiancé's rape and the murder of her father by Hopkins & Co. Reeves best and last film is a stylish picture postcard-like advertisement for the English countryside and it is a little harrowing at times thanks to the reinstated torture scenes,witch burnings/drownings.although thanks to their poor quality they do take a little away from the final edit of the film.
It seems to be reacting against the antiquated morality of the Hammer movies; this time, the middle-aged righteous crusader is the villain.Vincent Price gives one of his best, most restrained performances as Hopkins.
In any case, apart from Vincent Price, nothing about Witchfinder General makes me feel like I'm watching a horror movie.
Released in 1968, the British film "Witchfinder General" (originally known as "The Conqueror Worm" in the USA) details the infamous witch-finding exploits of Matthew Hopkins in Eastern England circa 1645-1647.
Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his colleague John Stearne travel from village to village brutally torturing "confessions" out of suspected witches and charging the local magistrates for the "work" they carry out.Some call the film "the original torture porn" and I suppose it was pretty radical in 1968, but it never struck me as being a torture-obsessed film.
As far as Hopkins' death goes, tradition tells us that disgruntled villagers caught him and subjected him to his own "swimming test," although there's no actual evidence to support this; most historians believe he died of tuberculosis at his home shortly after his torturous escapades in 1647 (only 27 years old).One of the film's highlights for me is Hilary Dwyer, who plays the soldier's fiancé/wife.
The year is 1645 - the middle of the English Civil War. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), an opportunist and witch hunter, takes advantage of the breakdown in social order to impose a reign of terror on East Anglia.
This 60's telling of Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General, is a classic of it's time, starring Vincent Price as the titular character, and featuring Ian Ogilvy.
Vincent Price playing as the evil Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins does a fantastic job as the central villain, he's absolutely ruthless and cunning as he is essentially above the law, a very lawful evil character.Although I was kind of expecting more like hundreds of people being burned alive considering that this is one of the many films my mother couldn't sit through watching as to how gruesome and near to the reality of the past it is.
Remembered now for the fact that it was helmed by Michael Reeves - who was only 24 at the time, and would later kill himself of a drug overdose, thereby curtailing a promising career - THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL is a low-budget Gothic movie notable for a scene-chewing performance by Vincent Price in the title role.
It's hard to shock a modern audience and I've probably watched more "shocking" cinema than most.However, a shock can come given the right placement just from being so different than what ones expect that it catches one unaware."Witchfinder General" is like that.Set in the 17th century during the time of the civil unrest in England that accompanied Cromwell's Parliament against remainder forces of The Crown, "The Witchfinder General" stars Vincent Price as Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins.
In this film Price plays the role as Matthew Hopkins, who is a Witch Hunter General and seems to be interested in very young girl witches in particular.
Michael Reeves' "Witchfinder General" aka "The Conqueror Worm" of 1968 is a great, shocking Horror film about a dark period in time, starring the inimitable king of the macabre, Vincent Price.
Price brilliantly personifies greed, sadism and pure evil as Matthew Hopkins in one of the most astonishing performances ever in a Horror film.In the 1640s, a time when England is torn by Civil War between Parliamentarians and Royalists, self-proclaimed Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) carries out his unholy profession of picking out people, whom he then accused as witches.
The violence in this movie, however, is not celebrated just for the heck of it, but it is obviously meant to depict the horrors of a time of witch-hunts and brutal torture as realistically as possible."Witchfinder General", a very frightening, brilliant and grueling historical horror film that should not be missed.
If he had lived longer, his films to come would have certainly been a great enrichment to the Horror genre.All said, "Witchfinder General" is an absolute all-time horror highlight with an outstanding leading performance by Vincent Price, and, shortly stated, THE most important historical Horror film ever brought to screen.
Because of the movie, Cromwell with Richard Harris and the Witchfinder General, I developed an interest in 17th century and have bought several history books on this era for reading in my spare time.It is tragic the director died young; try and imagine what kinds of great films he would be turning out today!
Vincent Price may not have enjoyed working on the film - and Reeves himself may have preferred Donald Pleasence - but, in retrospect, it's impossible to envision anyone else in the role; and, as it turned out, Price himself was eventually grateful to the young director for giving him one of his signature roles (though Matthew Hopkins isn't quite his most evil character as it's been claimed - that has to be the Devil-worshipping Prince Prospero in Roger Corman's THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH [1964]).Reeves (whose favorite film-maker was Don Siegel) basically approached the plot as if it were a Western revenge drama and, indeed, the film's numerous passages showing hero Ian Ogilvy traveling on horseback through the beautiful yet gloomy English countryside on the lookout for Price and his equally sadistic henchman (played by Robert Russell) certainly feels like it; still, in no way does he flinch from showing the hypocrisy of the Church's 'ministers' and the callous agony they inflict (both physically and emotionally) on the gullible, God-fearing village-folk - resulting in about 1½ minutes of cuts imposed by the British censor (and which had to be culled from prints several generations removed from the original negative in order to compile this complete version!).The script is unusually literate for the genre (WITCHFINDER GENERAL had the distinction of being at once an art-house and exploitation flick!), and the film also features outstanding cinematography from John Coquillon and an exquisite score by Paul Ferris (unaccountably replaced with one composed by Les Baxter on its original U.S. release, to go along with a new title - THE CONQUEROR WORM - and the film itself be passed off as yet another Poe adaptation!!).
Matthew Hopkins was a self-proclaimed Witchfinder who started his ghastly career in 1644 in Essex,England.In a three year career he is estimated to have killed between 200 to 400 "witches".Michael Reeves "Matthew Hopkins:Witchfinder General" is based on his success as a prosecutor of witches.Vincent Price is excellent as Matthew Hopkins in this British cult classic.He is cold-blooded and incredibly cruel.The torture scenes are all brutal and unnerving to watch and there is a lot of screaming in this movie.The film is beautifully made and interesting,so anyone who likes British horror won't be disappointed.Highly recommended-especially in pair with "Mark of the Devil"(1970)..
what begins as a terrifying and fantastic horror quickly gallops along into a beautiful yet eerie chase as the hero hunts down Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General!The movie is well cast and the actors turn in some of the best performances of their career, Vincent Price is superb and chills the viewer with his disturbing portrayal of Hopkins.
Reeves perfectly catches the time period of 17th century England and Crommwells Holy War. As Matthew Hopkins, Vincent Price played the greatest role of his career.
Sad to think that the director Michael Reeves committed suicide within a year of the films release after well known spats with Vincent Price.The photography is beautiful though not particularly good quality.
Although "The Conqueror Worm" (AKA The Witchfinder General) is not a Hammer Production - at least there's no reference to it in the movie - it contains all the elements for which it's productions are famous for: the atmosphere, the horror theme, the time location and Vincent Price.