Witchfinder General

Original title: Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General

1968
15
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Vincent Price, Hilary Heath, and Ian Ogilvy in Witchfinder General (1968)

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.

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Folk Horror Witch Horror Drama Horror

During the English Civil War, a young Roundhead seeks vengeance against a vicious witch-hunter and his henchman, who have terrorized the soldier's fiancée and wrongfully executed her uncle.During the English Civil War, a young Roundhead seeks vengeance against a vicious witch-hunter and his henchman, who have terrorized the soldier's fiancée and wrongfully executed her uncle.During the English Civil War, a young Roundhead seeks vengeance against a vicious witch-hunter and his henchman, who have terrorized the soldier's fiancée and wrongfully executed her uncle.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

13K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations

Trivia
Vincent Price regarded his performance here as the finest of his horror movie career.

Goofs
There 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 versions
All 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.

Connections
Featured in Nightwatch Presents Edgar Allan Poe: The Conqueror Worm (1973)

User reviews189

Review

Featured review

9/10

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.