Witchfinder General (a.k.a. The Conqueror Worm) (1968) It just occured to us.....we could have easily applied the sub-heading of yesterday's post on "The Masque Of Red Death" to this film too.....
'Vinnie Price goes medieval on your ass'.........
This time our beloved veteran boogeyman finds himself in Cromwellian England......as Mathew Hopkins, a travelling torturer who wanders around the countryside, pocketing bags 'o coin for ridding the villagers of suspected witches.....
Aiding and abetting him is his loathsome sidekick Robert Russell (John Stearne)a gleeful sadist specializing in perforating the stripped bare backs of his agonized, screaming victims......
Are we having fun yet? You betcha!
This became a cult horror film for all sorts of reasons.........starting with its upped level of torture, blood, misery and sheer nihilism that pre-dates our own era's 'torture porn' films like Eli Roth's 'Hostel' and 'Hostel 2'.......
Its very young director Michael Reeves died of drug overdose at age 25, not long after this film was released........leaving behind at total of 3 feature films as a credited director. And there's no telling where this talented kid's career could have taken him.
Reeves famously clashed with Price, whom Reeves was ordered to cast by the film's distributor.....(who else but drive-in trash-compactors American International)......
We can understand why.....Reeves wanted a down-to-earth, all too human actor to play Hopkins (Donald Pleasance was his ideal pick).....and had little use for the grand, theatrical, hammy flourishes that Price established as his 'brand' in horror films.....
They battled furiously, but eventually Reeves wore out Price to the point where the actor delivered the most subtle, naturalistic performance of his long horror career.........and it served the film well. Unlike Price's work in the Roger Corman 'Poe' films, where you're almost encouraged to chuckle at the actor's overstated evil, his Mathew Hopkins is a deadly serious, hellish force to be reckoned with. You'hate him on sight and pray for his gory comeuppance.......
And oh does he ever deserve it, as Reeves unfolds a swift panorama of hangings, stabbings, drownings, stake burnings and even some assorted blood-spurting gunshot victims. By the time the film concludes, no one has escaped hell.......they're all either horribly butchered drying or driven completely mad. It's one of the best feel-bad movies ever......
(Upon seeing the film, Price finally realized Reeves' intentions......and generously thanked him for a film that boasts what critics consider one of Price's most skilled performances...)
Energized by a richly orchestrated score by Paul Ferris, "Witchfinder General" remains a must-see for all horror fans......4 stars (****) you can't miss making it a Happy Halloween with this one.......
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