Director: Gordon Hessler
Year: 1970
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Witchcraft
Plot:
Tired of fighting against a coven, an aristocratic lord humiliates the leader of a revered witch and upsets her enough that she sends the rest of her coven out on a mission of vengeance against him and his kingdom of like-minded believers to settle the score once and for all.
Review:
Frankly, this one was overall quite decent and enjoyable but certainly has a few minor flaws as well. Among the better aspects here, the best is undoubtedly the fact that this one certainly manages to really explore the idiotic nature of misunderstanding witchcraft among those who supposedly hunt them down for a living, here basically making them the living embodiment of taking every single notion of their livelihood as meaning their indulgence in witchcraft and the need for punishment. The harassment of local weapons for wearing supposed jewels and charms of local witch clans, any sort of odd behavior, or going against even the most foolhardy of orders makes for a rather intriguing following to the authority here wherein you want to see them fail as befits their stupidity against the innocents among them.
That indeed sets up the film's two big marks in its torture scenes and the final comeuppance. The torture here is kept within realistic realms, mainly public humiliation and spectacle around whipping or branding with scalding irons, and a later scene of gaining a confession by tying one up to wooden posts and setting it on fire makes for a wholly enjoyable piece, while the revenge tactics of the final half are just plain enjoyable. The animal attacks in the forest, turning the wife on him with her behavior at the dinner reception, and finally the ending here are all part of the total package of revenge, and it really seems to be worthwhile and truly earned, which is always a plus.
On the negative side, the fact that this one tends to really ham-fist itself here when it comes to the exploitative side of things, despite that indeed being part of the film's aim, as if wallowing in those areas is beneath it. The violence and gory kills are nearly nonexistent, as are the tortures here, by keeping it in the mostly realistic realm, and there's barely any nudity despite several scenes of the hunters lecherously ripping their shirts and blouses open to torment them, as this shifts the camera around to avoid that altogether, which really questions why it would've been included anyway. As well, there's not a whole lot of action out witch-hunting since this instead focuses on them talking about the coven and the danger to him they possess rather than explicitly showing it, so it suffers from that small factor as well, though on the whole this one is quite good.
Overview: ****/5
An incredibly fun and enjoyable 70s horror effort, there are some really worthwhile factors that help keep this quite high overall against a few small flaws present that hold it down. Those with an appreciation for this era of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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