WITCHFINDER GENERAL is a 1968 British horror film that was released just after the production code came to an end. The violence and the sex have been ramped up compared to other films we’ve discussed, yet thankfully, these features are here to enhance what would be a very good film without them, not the main features in and of themselves. Ultimately, WITCHFINDER GENERAL is a grim character study of two fascinating characters - Cornet Richard Marshal as played by Ian Ogilvy and Matthew Hopkins, who is the title character himself, played by the great Vincent Price. Like so many of the great British horror films of the late 50’s through the mid 70’s, the atmosphere is also top notch. Wonderful use of the beautiful British country side, a great contrast to all the horror contained with in, plus very gloomy and dark dungeons and idyllic country villages throughout. A beautiful looking movie amongst grim happenings.
This film takes place in 1645 as England is in a civil war with Cromwell’s parliamentary party battling the monarchy. Cornet Richard Marshal is a soldier for Cromwell who’s fiancee’s (Hilary Dwyer) Priest uncle (Rupert Davies) gets accused of being a witch and Matthew Hopkins gets hired to interrogate the Priest to see if he really is a witch - basically torture. Marshal’s fiancée gives sexual favors to Hopkins in hopes to spare her uncle the torture, which works for a while, but she eventually gets raped by Hopkins assistant (Robert Russell) and at that point Hopkins decides to have the Uncle murdered and accuses her of being a witch. When Marshal finds out about all of this, he seeks vengeance against Hopkins and his assistant, to the point where he would risk treason and abandon his post in order to get revenge.
Vincent Price’s Matthew Hopkins is basically your garden variety narcissist, a very unsettling character who has a lot of evil habits yet either will not admit to them or justifies them in the name of God or the state. Hopkins himself never commits the physical acts of torture to interrogate the supposed witches, he leaves that to his assistant. That said, earlier in the film, there is a very telling scene where the two are speaking to each other. The assistant blatantly admits he’s a sadist, but Hopkins could never admit to such a thing when directly asked. The contrast between the two is fascinating. The assistant admits he’s a sadist and philanderer with glee who is all about making a buck. Hopkins puts on a front that he’s doing God’s work with these torturous “interrogations” and the sexual deeds he expects from young women are also of some holy pursuit. The silver he receives for his work is justified by the state. In his mind, every misdeed is justified, he simply cannot admit any human frailty in himself versus his assistant, who takes glee in his. The scene where Hopkins was told there are three witches, two of them young women and one older and he only wants to see the younger ones is quite telling. Again, all for moral reasons, Hopkins claims the younger ones tend to be more stubborn in their confessions and need more attending to - justifies his lust with some moral high ground. Price plays the role coldly and methodically versus the usual fun tongue in cheek manner he approached most of his roles. He had a lot of on the set confrontations with young director Michael Reeves, but Reeves got the performance he wanted out of Price and Price later on admitted this was one of his better roles. Indeed, it is.
Ian Ogilvy as Cornet Richard Marshal is, shall we say for 1931 DRACULA fans, the anti Jonathan Harker. That film we talked about the more restrained sexual attitudes of 1931 audiences. By 1968, the flower power free love generation was happening, so our leading couple are openly sexually active and Ogilvy himself is way more hands on and competent in dealing with his enemies who have harmed and continually threaten his lady. Gets in a huge fight with the assistant at a bar, (spoiler alert) but his pride and anger and need for vengeance eventually overtake him, including his desire to protect her. He won’t admit to witchcraft to Hopkins even if it momentarily saves her from the physical torture of having a cross branded on her back because at this point, he’s 100% consumed with hatred for Hopkins. Very chilling watching him descend into madness at the end of the film.
As far as the sex and violence, for the time, this was pretty gruesome stuff. The sex scene itself is actually pretty tasteful and as far as nudity, a brief shot of nipple. Out of the almost four hundred films I’ve reviewed at this point, WITCHFINDER GENERAL is the first film to have even a hint of nudity, though we came close to a topless Curly Joe in THE OUTLAWS IS COMING. The violence is quite gruesome but again, done with a purpose - it serves to show the low depths of the characters depravity and in the case of Hopkins, how much destruction he is willing to inflict without any remorse or ounce of guilt or even acknowledgment. His assistant smacking the bloodied young woman screaming while trying to get a confession is quite disturbing. We get the dunking scene, close up shots of accused witches hanging - including Rupert Davies’s priest, and perhaps most infamously of all, the witch burning scene of that poor young girl being tied up high on a stake and lowered down into the flames below. Very telling shot of the villagers watching this all with completely non interested, desensitized glazes. There is one kid who shows a hint that what is happening is wrong, but then the kid looks up at his mother, totally stone faced and uncaring. Top it off with the aftermath of the kids playing and burning sticks above the ashes where the witch was just burned. Ewww. Definitely some social commentary going on here, not just a basic snuff film. The ending, which I won’t give away too many details, let’s just say is beyond disturbing and that final scream repeating out over the soothing music of the final credits is very effective.
A very violent movie for its time which also has a lot of depth and one of the great Vincent Price performances, I highly recommend WITCHFINDER GENERAL. Sadly, directly Michael Reeves passed away of a drug overdose shortly after release at age 25, but it looked like he had a promising career ahead of him. He made a few other films before this I have yet to see - I really need to check them out. On a fun note and because I can’t resist metal references, lots of the British horror stuff of this era influenced the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands of the early 80’s thematically. Sure enough, there is a band called Witchfinder General who released two early 80’s albums worth checking out if you like Sabbath inspired early doom metal. The albums covers are quite infamous too - let’s just say not safe for work.
