A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Wilfrid Brambell
- Master Loach
- (as Wilfred Brambell)
Hilary Heath
- Sara
- (as Hilary Dwyer)
John Trenaman
- Trooper Harcourt
- (as John Treneman)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVincent Price regarded his performance here as the finest of his horror movie career.
- GoofsThere are several references to the value of payments in 'guineas'. However, the gold coin of that name was not minted until 1663, eighteen years after the film was set.
- Quotes
Matthew Hopkins: Men sometimes have strange motives for the things they do.
- Alternate versionsAll British versions prior to 1996 were cut by 1 min 26 secs by the UK censor on original release. The Redemption Video release restores this material from a U.S laserdisc.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Nightwatch Presents Edgar Allan Poe: The Conqueror Worm (1973)
Featured review
One of the UK's finest horror films.
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.
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.
helpful•354
- BA_Harrison
- Mar 26, 2011
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Edgar Allan Poe's The Conqueror Worm
- Filming locations
- Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk, England, UK(The trial of the witches/John Lowes is hung)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £83,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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