Witchfinder General

Film - 1968

7,0

39K

Witchfinder General it's a movie with Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Rupert Davies, Hilary Dwyer, Nicky Henson Full cast. Directed by Michael Reeves. Original title Witchfinder General Genres Drama, Horror, History.

reviews plot trailer physical support

Where to watch in streaming

Subscription

Streaming rent

Buy

reviews

Review of

Balkan Castevet

The film is part of the British folk horror genre that began in the late '60s and continued into the '70s; but unlike titles like The Blood on Satan's Claw, which is wonderful, Witchfinder General aims very straight at almost creating a historical fresco of the period where the witchcraft element is not in the foreground. Vincent Price in the role of the inquisitor is superb, he has a charisma and stage presence of an excellent level, the shots from low to high place him as a disturbing figure and above everything else, he is the law, and he takes advantage of it as he pleases. He is a rather sneaky character, he has no scruples to accuse, kill at will, takes advantage of young women, would betray anyone to have advantages. The film, as well as for Price, works in recreating autumn landscapes with the colors of the very present earth, the browns, greens, oranges, which through well-constructed shots they create the right atmosphere. The beginning is already excellent with the preparation of the hanging with the direction always having a broad scope, showing a lot of the landscape. Reeves, director, also gives western echoes to the film, not only for the horse chases but also for how the subjects are framed on stage and how the sun is used to compose the shot. All this manages to give visual power, the film is very "dry" in style, there are no pop colours, but this does not deprive it of a certain emphasis also thanks to the many shots from above, the two scenes of the executions in the cities are beautiful. It is also a very violent film, this is not only present in the story but is also widely shown in all its forms. Violence always attributable to the inquisitor, the perfectly successful villain of the film. On the writing, the love story between the soldier and Sara, the girl, is interesting and well written as are the motivations of the first one who Read all

plot

England, 1645. The cruel civil war between Royalists and Parliamentarians that is ravaging the country causes an era of chaos and legal arbitrariness that allows unscrupulous men to profit by exploiting the absurd superstitions of the peasants; like Matthew Hopkins, a monster disguised as a man who wanders from town to town offering his services as a witch hunter.