Robbing, ravishing and murdering in the name of the Church
In the early 1700s, a witchfinder & his apprentice (Herbert Lom and Udo Kier) come to a village in Austria to take over the job from a corrupt local witch hunter (Reggie Nalder). The noble pupil, however, starts to question his mentor when a woman he is fond of is falsely accused of witchcraft (Olivera Katarina).
“Mark of the Devil” (1970) is a West German production inspired by the success of “Witchfinder General,” aka “Conqueror Worm.” Producers even wanted the same director, Michael Reeves, but he unexpectedly perished at the age of 25 of an accidental overdose.
The opening wildly exaggerates the number of people who were executed between 1300-1800 under the accusation of being witches; it cites 8 million, but scholars place the figure around 40,000. Exaggerated or not, these kinds of injustices happened in the name of God, a scam to steal land, money, and other valuables from innocent people, not to mention rape beautiful women. The historicity of the proceedings is helped by being filmed in an Austrian castle where actual witch-finding interrogations had taken place (cited below).
Other movies from that era inspired by “Witchfinder General” include “The Bloody Judge” with Christopher Lee, “The Blood on Satan’s Claw” and “Twins of Evil.”
While “Mark of the Devil” proved even more successful at the box office due to its ad campaign, which gave free vomit bags to moviegoers, I prefer “Witchfinder General.” For one, the dubbing isn’t good in this and is reminiscent of Spaghetti Westerns. Yet “Mark” has its points of interest. It’s basically a meshing of “Witchfinder” and the later “The Last Valley.” Sure, it’s infamous in light of the several torture scenes, but they’re not so shocking these days after the so-called torture porn craze; they’re still disturbing and eye-opening though.
What I appreciate most is the authentic locations and the character study of dubious people who gravitate toward positions of power so they can abuse innocent citizens, fulfill their lusts, and further the corrupt political institution that fuels the injustice. Thankfully, there are noble souls who recognize the corruption and take a stand. Yet even those who rise up in protest can make grave mistakes in their pursuit of justice.
The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot in Castle Moosham in Salzburg, Austria, and nearby Mauterndorf, which is five miles east. Krems in Lower Austria is also listed, which is almost a 4-hour drive northeast of there.
GRADE: B-
