‘Men sometimes have strange motives for the things they do...’
Even horror obsessives have blind spots. Despite my love of British folk horror, this was my first time watching arguably the first British folk horror movie, Witchfinder General. Along with The Blood on Satan’s Claw (which I also haven’t seen), and The Wicker Man, the three of them form a unholy trilogy of films that set the template for the rest of the genre to follow. Vincent Price is magnificent…
Matthew Hopkins (Price), self-appointed Witchfinder General during the English Civil War, scours the British countryside with his brutal sidekick, John Stearne (Robert Russell), in search of ‘witches’. And by ‘witches’, I mean totally normal people, mostly women, who Hopkins has decided are witches and who he then tortures while claiming a large sum of money for his troubles. When the dastardly pair arrive in an East Anglian village to interrogate the local priest, it becomes clear that their malevolent endeavours are going to end badly for everyone involved.
Despite a famously troubled production (Price and director Michael Reeves clashed constantly on set), there is no denying the visceral power of Witchfinder General. The violence is either sharp and savage or prolonged and visceral – never have a woman’s screams been more haunting than they are during several scenes here – and this senseless and cruel barbarity becomes even more sadistic when juxtaposed with the ancient beauty of the English countryside – something that has been exploited throughout cinema ever since.
As previously mentioned, Price, always reliable, is sensational here. The almost imperceptible glint in his eye or subtle half-smile on his face at the merest mention of torture helps to establish Hopkins as a true bastard of the highest order. Russell too is a ghastly figure and the two of them together, prowling the countryside like rabid dogs on the scent of human flesh, are a true sight to behold.
Witchfinder General is not just hugely influential, it’s also hugely entertaining and truly terrifying at times – vital filmmaking.
