Witchfinder General

Devil's Advocates #3

by Ian Cooper

"Witchfinder General" (1968), known as "The Conqueror Worm" in America, was directed by Michael Reeves and occupies a unique place in British cinema. Equally praised and vilified, the film fictionalizes the exploits of Matthew Hopkins, a prolific, real-life "witch hunter," during the English Civil War. For critic Mark Kermode, the release proved to be "the single most significant horror film produced in the United Kingdom in the 1960s," while playwright Alan Bennett called the work "the most persistently sadistic and rotten film I've ever seen." Steadily gaining a cult reputation, unimpeded by the director's death just months after the film's release, the film is now treated as a landmark, though problematic, accomplishment, as it exists in a number of recut, retitled, and rescored versions. This in-depth study positions the film within the history of horror and discusses its importance as a British and heritage film. It also considers the inheritance of Hopkins, the script's relationship to the novel by Ronald Bassett, and the iconic persona of the film's star, Vincent Price. Ian Cooper conducts close textual readings of specific scenes and explores the film's various contexts, from the creation of the X certificate and the tradition of Hammer gothic, to the influence on Ken Russell's "The Devils" (1971) and the "torture porn" of twenty-first-century horror.

Genres: Film

ebook

First published February 1, 2011

Reviews

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil’s Advocates series, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) is dedicated to exploring individual horror films. I’m contracted to write a volume on a different film, so I’ve been reading some of these to make sure I get it right. Witchfinder General isn’t a movie I particularly like. Having grown up with Vincent Price, it’s difficult to see him as this evil. Ian Cooper notes that, pointing out that the difficulty is, for many, that Price often injects humor into his roles. There’s no humor in this movie and it is difficult to watch.

That doesn’t mean that Cooper doesn’t do it justice. His analysis is quite good, and he doesn’t sugar-coat the movie. Part horror and part historical drama, although with a very unhistorical ending, Witchfinder General follows the nefarious career of Matthew Hopkins, an historical figure who was responsible for more than 200 deaths during England’s witch trials. I said there wasn’t much humor here.

The movie isn’t the book, however. I suspect most readers of books such as this watch the movie first. Many of use advocate doing the opposite, but in the case of film analysis you need to understand the subject. If you have watched Witchfinder General and you want to better understand what you saw, this is the book for you. One of the earliest exemplars of “folk horror” the movie has some intriguing elements beyond the seemingly unrelenting violence. Cooper is a great guide to finding those elements.

[Bob Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good monograph on the cult classic. I especially like the way the author ties in the influence of Don Siegel on director Michael Reeves and compares this to the influence of Siegel on Sam Peckinpah (although I have some quibbles with his assessment of Peckinpah's work). WITCHFINDER GENERAL (also known as THE CONQUEROR WORM) was a real-game changer for all involved: it firmly established Reeve as an up and coming director (although sadly it would be his last film) and features a unique subdued performance by Vincent Price, which would turn out to be one of his best. But the path to completing this masterpiece was as tortured as the methods of the witchfinder. Definitely seek out the film (although realize that's it's more of an historical drama than a horror film) and follow-up by reading the book.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Reeves' infamous, controversial Witchfinder General gets the Devil's Advocates treatment – a thorough, passionate and knowledgeable little book, admirably dedicated to its cause. As subject matter goes, he couldn't have picked much better than Witchfinder General – a very odd film, even by the standards of late sixties' horror. Writer and educator Ian Cooper certainly makes the most of these rich pickings, crafting one of the best books on film I've ever read.

You can read Joel's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Ryan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mix of firsthand evidence and speculative biography writing, regarding one of England's most intriguing characters. One annoyance was that the footnotes were in the back of the book.

[Nathan "N.R." Gaddis]

Cathedral
"Hopkins (Witchfinder General)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKV7W...