Witchfinder General (Michael Reeves - 1968)

Witchfinder general was directed in 1968 by Michael reeves, and produced by Tigon Films, Reeves had also directed films like "The long ships", "The sorcerers" and "the oblong box". Witchfinder general is basically about a man who travels the country from county to county, village to village and is consulted upon people who have done wrong, these people are said to be witches. His job, along with his assistant is to find and execute these witches. Meanwhile a soldier is on the hunt for this executer, after he had a run in with his soon to be wife, when he finds him in somewhat unusual circumstances, he axes him to death, before his fellow soldier shoots him in the head. The soldiers last words were "you took him from me".

The film showed off an era when the hippy ideal was at an end and the was a rise in anti-authority. People were no longer taking orders from higher authority people, they were making a stand. The film shows people taking orders, and the goings on seem to be strange and wrong, as soon as someone stands up, in this case the soldier, his wife is tortured as punishment for him. The film shows how big authority figures can be so powerful.

The film is put into the horror category because of the brutal scenes that the film contains, it does not contain your normal horror iconography like, monsters, dark sky's and thunder and lightening, but the amount of gore fits this film into horror genre. This film is more about putting a message across and thats why we subject ourselves to watch it and the violence involved. Scenes of brutality include, a man being axed to death, people being lowered off a bridge to drown, people being hung from a tree and someone being burned to death. It shows the authority that some people have, and as we watch we realize that what is being shown is wrong, this factor keeps you watching and interested.

The original lead role was given to Donald Pleasance, but people, and the producers saw this as ineffectual and a very much ludicrous authority kind of figure. The AIP wanted Vincent Price to play the leading role as they saw him more fitting to the role, so the director had a re-think and as he did the script was gradually changed.