Witchfinder General (1968)

Time for another Vincent Price classic. Though it might not be a straight up horror flick, Witchfinder General from 1968 does have it's fair share of horror elements. As the title suggests it deals with witches, but more as a historical and cultural phenomenon than something supernatural. The horror lays in the depiction of torture and abuse which the accused men and women went through. But lets dive into the story. 

Vincent Price plays a professional witchfinder in England during the Civil War. He and his partner travel the land, seek out potential witches and usually manage to drag confessions out of them. People pay good money to get rid of individuals they don't like so witchfinding is apparently good business. Not surprisingly they do however make enemies in their line of work.

As a kid I became very interested in the European witch trials. At universityty I even based my bachelor's degree in history on the topic. Though this movie might not be a 100 percent accurate it's still a pretty damn good and gruesome flick. The torture scenes are truly horrific and are probably some of the most effective I've seen. When it came out it must have been a very shocking experience.

Vincent Price is, not surprisingly, the main attraction of this movie. He's just so delightfully evil and sinister and seems to grow worse throughout the movie. The other cast is not bad at all, but they just can't compete with the master himself. He's perfect in every sense of the word.

Interestingly enough 'Witchfinder General' also has a lot of western elements. It kinda reminds me of movies like 'Chato's Land' and 'The Great Silence' with all the horse riding, tavern brawls and its themes of vengeance and injustice.

I'm always glad to see a movie that deals with the historical and cultural aspects of witchhunting. If you're somewhat interested in the subject and have a love for Vincent Price, 'Witchfinder General' is the movie for you.