19. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) - Witchfinder General (1968)
Witchfinder General is one of the most downbeat horror films ever made in Britain, so it follows that its central character, real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins, should be one of the most coldblooded people Vincent Price ever played. Theres no underlying campiness to Hopkins, no sassy one-liners and certainly no nudge-wink acting from Price (in one of his most commanding performances) to let you know that its all in jest. Whether inserting needles into the back of a suspected witch (in order to locate the Devils mark) or allowing his assistant to torture a young woman (after raping her first), Hopkins is not someone you take lightly. The approach to the character reportedly caused tension on the set, with Price telling director Michael Reeves, Ive made 87 films what have you done? To which the 24-year-old filmmaker replied, Ive made 3 good ones.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
