4. Witchfinder General (1968)
During the English Civil War, witch finder Matthew Hopkins stalks the verdant villages of East Anglia, looking for 'witches' to torture and burn. He has an odious assistant called John Hearne who helps him implement his reign of terror. Richard, a soldier comes home to propose to Sara, his sweetheart. He asks the permission of village priest John Lowes, who is Sara's uncle, to marry Sara. The priest is delighted but he is also concerned about all the witch finding going on - he knows the town is in Hopkin's sights. When Hopkins and Hearne reach the village of Brandeston, they set about rounding up suspects and torturing them - including Lowes the priest. Sara is forced into the terrible position of offering Hopkins sexual favours in return for her uncle's safety. Hopkins is called away and Hearne immediately rapes Sara. When Hopkins returns he is displeased at Hearne's actions, and he does not want Sara's favours anymore and he orders the resumption of torture against her uncle. Before leaving town, Hopkins kills Lowes and two women. When Richard finds all of this out, he vows to stop Hopkins. He tracks down Stearne and beats him up. Stearne returns to Hopkins and tells him Richard is out for blood. In the pursuit to kill Hopkins and rescue Sara, Richard walks into a trap by Hopkins who declares both Richard and Sara witches and begins torturing them. Richard is able to break free of his bounds and he attacks Hopkins. Some army men come in and put Hopkins out of his misery by shooting him. An hysterical Richard shouts "You took him from me!" at the soldiers and Sara just screams hysterically. Directed with finesse by the young Michael Reeves (who died shortly after filming), Witchfinder General is truly one of the best horror films to come out of Britain ever. Never has Vincent Price been so sinister and chillingly effective in a horror film. He portrays Matthew Hopkins as the epitome of pure evil - a man taking advantage of the breakdown of social order to pursue his own perverted and sadistic agendas. The labelling of people as 'witches' in the film is pure hokum. Hopkins must know this himself, so basically he is a degenerate serial killer. The cinematography in the film is lush, with the English countryside looking absolutely beautiful. The story is a powerful and disturbing one and by the end any trace of sanity among the protagonists is gone altogether. The film is also a document of a particularly repugnant era of British history.