5. Witchfinder General - Matthew Hopkins
Vincent Price has never been as evil as the heinous villain Matthew Hopkins in Michael Reeve's cult classic Witchfinder General. Set during the English civil war, Hopkins terrorises East Anglia - accusing women of being witches, torturing them to elicit a confession and then burning them at the stake. Richard - a Roundhead soldier is in love with the charming Sara whose uncle is a priest. He asks for her hand in marriage and her uncle says yes but warns them to hurry because evil is coming to town. Richard has to go off to his regiment but promises Sara that no harm shall befall her. Hopkins and his assistant Stearne arrive in town and round up suspects. Sara offers sex to Hopkins in exchange for her uncle's freedom. Hopkins is called away to another village before the gruesome act takes place but Sarah has the misfortune to be raped by Stearn. When Hopkins returns and learns of Sarah's defilement, he will not touch her and instead orders that her uncle be tortured. Before leaving the village Hopkins executes Sara's uncle and two other people. Richard comes back to find Sarah and the village in a terrible state. He vows to kill Hopkins and Stearne and sends Sarah away to a safer place after they stage their own wedding ceremony. Whenever Hopkins finds out that Richard is looking for blood, he sets a trap for him and takes both Richard and Sarah into a castle to torture them. Richard and Sarah are tortured but refuse to confess. Richard breaks free of his restraints and picks up an axe, laying into Hopkins. Soldiers flood the castle and one of them shoots Hopkins who is half dead. Richard begins shouting 'You took him from me! You took him from me!' while Sarah, half mad, screams in horror over and over again. Frequently derided by critics for his hammy appearances in dubious horror films, Vincent Price plays it deadly straight in Witchfinder General. This is without a doubt his finest hour as he terrorises and tortures the whole of East Anglia with murderous intent. Given immense power as the country has gone to hell in a hand basket, Hopkins satisfies his degenerate whims by handing out trumped up and spurious charges of witchcraft to anyone he dislikes. His repulsive sidekick Stearne, helps him enforce his rule of terror. Vincent Price is very low key in his performance as Hopkins - he is the epitome of calm, collected evil. Apparently director Reeves and Price fought like cat and dog on the set of Witchfinder General but they managed to give their all despite a shoestring budget and create a brilliant study of a heinous man's reign of terror in England all those years ago.