Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Manthast Absolutely amazing

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

steveo122 I didn't want to. I had been a Vincent Price/horror fan, at that time, all my life and this put a serious dent in my 'innocent' enjoyment of 'scary movies'. As there is no 'witchcraft' or any supernatural element, the 'horror' is based on human cruelty/brutality, which I still contend is distinct from 'horror'. In fact, I can see this being described/credited/blamed as the granddaddy/progenitor of the brutal/cruel branch-off that supposed horror movies subsequently took. However, if horror movies are judged on the level of dread for what's coming, then fine... Even now, despite the datedness of the production (obvious red paint blood), the script is not bad and it is still possibly one of the cruelest movies made. Price's work as a 'highly fictionalized' real life person is one of his evil best.

GL84 With a fear of witches among the local peasants, a vengeful witch hunter and his assistant travel to a remote village supposedly steeped in witchcraft, and once a group of soldiers learns of their treacherous behavior set out to hunt them down and bring them to justice.There is a lot that really impresses in here. One of the main features involved here is the fact that the film is for the most part historically accurate in what happens. The characters, the towns, the accusations and the tortures and executions are all real- life scenarios and events that makes what happens all the more terrifying in knowing that what happened to the people in the film where actually done in real life. Watching the torture scenes where people are chained to a rock wall, stabbed and sliced with knives or constantly slapped around until a confession is heard, dumping the bodies into a river to see if they sink or swim and adjust the punishment according to what happened are extremely brutal and uncompromising, which makes them all the more terrifying when added to the realistic attitude and feel to the film. The realism extends to more than just the violence, which has some really impressive sets and setting, with the towns being realistically captured and giving off an impressive air of menace and foreboding that really works to the film's advantage. The rural villages and countrysides are even better as the wide-open spaces and large plains make them all the more spectacular and a real treat for the eyes. It also extends beyond that as well as Price has never been more evil, and he's never been this campy. You are never given the impression that you are supposed to like him or celebrate his acts, and this is one factor that makes the movie work. It's a great performance that really enlivens the proceedings and is an absolute joy to watch. This really isn't that bad of a film without a lot to dislike, but what's there is pretty big. The biggest issue is that the film itself doesn't seem as gory and violent as the reputation gives it. Returning to its grim tone and torturous violence today seems like a humdrum exercise, not because it has lost its power, but because the model it ushers in is a worn-out, overused feel to those of us with a passing interest in what happened. The tortures mainly consist of being slapped around until a confession and then the real torture begins, but the fact that most of the torture time is spent with the slapping technique, it leaves the feeling that it's more brutal in reputation than in practice. It also wastes a great opportunity by never concerning itself with any sociological or historical analysis of what that led to the conditions under which the witch-hunts occurred. It would've been a lot more interesting had the film actually done the trials and accusations to really amp up the rest of the hypocrisy and corruption present. That would've added to the feeling of total dire that the film exudes, and is a shame that it wasn't done in that manner. All in all, it's not bad but does feature a few big flaws.Today's Rating/R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language, an off-screen Rape and a mild sex scene.

Leofwine_draca In the world of '60s British horror cinema, few films were as gritty, downbeat, disturbing or downright violent (not to mention mean-spirited) as this one. In fact, none were. WITCHFINDER GENERAL is a landmark in the history of cinema, and along with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, it helped to usher in the new wave of ultra-violent '70s gore films where a happy ending could no longer be guaranteed. It's a brilliant film but also a depressing one to watch; nobody will come out of this with smiles on their faces (unless they're sociopaths), instead a feeling of cold sickness (your mileage may vary) similar to the gut punch of THE EXORCIST. I love this movie because of the way it paints the English countryside; an idyllic and beautiful rural landscape, packed with lush foliage and picturesque villages, accompanied by the famously lyrical 'Greensleeves' type music. Yet into this Eden comes death; painful, protracted death. It's a film which focuses on death. Death by drowning, burning, hanging. and many other varieties.One of life's ironies is that director Michael Reeves himself died after the production of this, his last film. His career had been interesting but short-lived, but at least this and THE SORCERERS are worth seeing. Vincent Price dominates the cast as the cold-hearted Matthew, a man you hate yet also one of his more human portrayals of a monster; there's no over-acting here, just a realistic persona of a man without a conscience and out for his own ends. Supporting him are the gleefully sadistic John (believed to be a woman in historical stories) who enjoys 'pricking witches' and beats a fair number of people to watch. Hilary Dwyer is the damsel-in-distress who undergoes rape and torture and screams her head off; Ian Ogilvy is surprisingly deep as the Roundhead who finds himself pushed over the edge by the murderous antics. There's just enough time for Patrick Wymark to show a convincing cameo as Cromwell himself and Rupert Davies to undergo sadism as a priest accused of conspiring with devils.Comment has been made that the structure of this film is similar to the classic "revenge western", with Ogilvy riding through a rugged and wild landscape in search of his wife's abuser. That may be so, but the film is still unpredictable throughout, right down to the manic climax. It's an affecting piece of work that rewards close viewing and which still packs the same impact today as it did thirty years ago. Horror fans should buy immediately. Oh, and watch out for a cameo from Steptoe himself, Wilford Brambell!

Joris Well, that was disappointing... I learned about this movie through doom metal bands like Witchfinder General and Cathedral, so my expectations were somewhat different than what I saw. I don't really know what I expected (maybe something more in the lines of A Field in England), but in any case something far less conventional than what I saw. It surprises me that this movie was so heavily cut in censorship. Maybe I underestimated the conservative sentiments in 1960s Britain... In any case, apart from Vincent Price, nothing about Witchfinder General makes me feel like I'm watching a horror movie. Some imagery certainly gives away director Michael Reeves' sentiment to the genre, but I thought he would've added more of an occult sensation in the picture. If Reeves didn't die an unfortunate young death a few months after this was released, I don't think it would've become such a cult hit...