A superb cast (Herbert Lom! Udo Kier!! Reggie Nalder!!!) are all that kept me from giving this a lower rating. It's fairly well put together, but the much-hyped torture scenes are extremely tame. This is supposedly the first film where barf bags were given out to ticket buyers, but unlike Fulci's ZOMBI 2 (another film that utilized this gimmick) there's NOTHING here to make you puke. This is about as gory as a latter day Hammer horror.
A witchcraft chiller very much in the vein of films such as Witchfinder General, Blood On Satan's Claw and The Bloody Judge. This film features many scenes of sadistic torture and violence accompanied by a beautiful music score!
Alrighty, for starters this is a German film, and as such it's in German go figure! The version I watched was dubbed in English. Now that we've got that out of the way, I actually didn't really know what to expect going into this. It's a witchcraft based period piece mixed with exploitation and if I wasn't sure the two could mix happily then I am now. This was actually very entertaining, looks like it had a decent budget and it had a little bit of everything mixed into the story to keep most people happy.
The way the story works is that there is a head erm witch hunter who is all powerful and greedy and evil. Even though he knows people are innocent, he tortures them and kills them on suspicion of witchcraft anyhow because he doesn't want people to think he's gone soft. It's pretty impressive what will get a person thought of as a witch, for example one couple putting on a puppet show for their children are condemned. Udo's character falls for a lovely free spirited barmaid accused of witchery by another witch hunter who is evil because she rejected his advances. Udo is torn on wether to set her free and betray his leader or to let her sit in the jail.
There are actually many stories going on, plenty of people being tortured and burned, we even have a nun rape in the beginning of the film. Anyone coming to this film for violence and torture should be pleased, but those who like a nice story also are rewarded, this does have everything and it was a very nice surprise.
A wonderful film, well-acted and well done scenes. It was not a gore fest, the violence was there but the ultimate aim was to show the persersities of using superstion over scientific, rational proof, the faith over empirical knowledge. A well sone film, the torture scenes were really a delight to see, not as disturbing as Hostel, maybe it's the music, which was more gorgeous than it being ugly or grotesque or anything else.
Heretics tortured by the fistful hardly makes for good entertainment (even if those back in the 18th century believed so) but the whole is difficult to take your eyes off of mostly due to bravo performances by Udo Kier, Reggie Nalder & Herbert Lom. It just goes to show that nothing is as horrifying & disdainful as man's fear through ignorance & his own condemned repeating history
This movie actually has a good point and some well done scenes for 1970. Unfortunately the acting and make-up is a little chessy and a few of the story lines were under developed.
MCT:August 1, 2008
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