Matthew Hopkins - Witchfinder General

Matthew Hopkins - Witchfinder General gives a fictionalised portrayal of Matthew Hopkins, self-styled witchfinder general of Civil War England. Hopkins (Vincent Price) is a cynically religious maniac, taking advantage of social disorder resulting from the war, to perform witch hunts for fun and profit. Hopkins arouses the wrath of a soldier, Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), having raped his fiancee, Sara, and executed her priest uncle. Marshall vows to exact his revenge.

Price delivers perhaps the best performances of his career. Rather than his usual campy villain, he plays the role straight, exuding a air of sadistic menace. Reeves directs impressively. His style - mobile camerawork, with judicious use of zooms and close-ups - owes little to Hammer horror. He displays a good feel for the landscape, contrasting a tranquil nature and a violent humanity.

The movie aroused considerable uproar for its violence. From the opening to the closing credits, Reeves depicts every brutality unflinchingly. But with justification. He wanted the violence to disgust rather than excite, and succeeds.

Reeves's take on the human condition is unrelentingly bleak. Marshall only succeeds in becoming consumed by the desire for revenge. Hopkins can only die once, which is not enough. Sadly, Reeves's life imitated his art. He died only months after completing Witchfinder General, an apparent suicide. He left a legacy of only three and a half films, including one masterpiece - Witchfinder General. Go see it!

Review by Keith H. Brown
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96