Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General (titled onscreen as Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General) is a 1968 British period folk horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Hilary Dwyer, Robert Russell and Rupert Davies. The screenplay, by Reeves and Tom Baker, was based on Ronald Bassett's 1966 novel Witchfinder General. The film is a heavily fictionalised account of the murderous witch-hunting exploits of Matthew Hopkins (Price), a lawyer who falsely claimed to have been appointed as a "Witch Finder by Parliament during the English Civil War to root out sorcery and witchcraft. The plot follows Roundhead soldier Richard Marshall (Ogilvy), who relentlessly pursues Hopkins and his assistant John Stearne (Russell) after they prey on his fiancée Sara (Dwyer) and execute her priestly uncle John Lowes (Davies).
Plot
In 1645, during the English Civil War, Matthew Hopkins, an opportunistic witch hunter, takes advantage of the breakdown in social order to impose a reign of terror in East Anglia. Hopkins and his assistant, John Stearne, visit various villages to torture confessions out of suspected witches. They charge the local magistrates for the work they carry out.
More details
| author | Tom Baker |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | England |
| director | Michael Reeves |
| editor | Howard Lanning |
| events | English Civil War Matthew Hopkins/Philip Wittebane witch hunt |
| genre | historical horror |
| keywords | brandeston civil war devil\'s mark east anglia end enemy soldier horrify john stearne kill lavenham matthew hopkins mutilate reign of terror roundhead shoot suffolk survive suspect the king torture witch hunter |
| musicBy | Paul Ferris |
| producer | Arnold Miller Louis M. Heyward Philip Waddilove |
| productionCompany | American International Pictures Tigon British Film Productions |
| publisher | Tigon British Film Productions |
| theme | war |