Mark of the Devil

Most of the reviews I've read about "Mark of the Devil" tend to over-emphasize the "graphic torture scenes" aspect of the film, but if you're expecting this to be just a sickening piece of trash cinema you may be surprised. The historical context lends unexpected weight to the story, and there are some interesting character conflicts between Herbert Lom and Udo Kier. Although repellently violent at times, and definitely not for everyone (that "removal-of-a-tongue" scene is pretty grisly), this film does not deserve to be sloppily dismissed. (**1/2)

Cruel, graphic film about a witch hunter and his apprentice who go about a small town and accuse almost anyone of being a witch. They then subject the suspects to all kinds of torture untill they confess or die. Unless your idea of good entertainment is lots of graphic violence, rape and torture then this definately is not for you. Slow moving and boring despite some sick on screen images. One really sick scene that stands out is when a man is forced to pull down his pants and sit on spikes.

I will remember this as being the film with so much relentless screaming. With torture scenes that remind you of the hell details by Hieronymus Bosch. Particularly unnerving is the horrible Chinese water torture treatment on one luckless accused prisoner - That itself adds so much visual horror to the whole idea if you ever tried to imagine it in effect. It's both depressing and maddening at the same time. Which makes it all so great for being believable and historically true. Perverse Christian officials all running around committing unspeakable acts of cruelty on the innocent they deem as fit for it and to satisfy their own greed and lust. The arrival of Count Cumberland at the helm making it worse. His presence is dark and brooding and we can sense how corrupt a character he is. Another great performance is by -Udo Kier as a young devoted Christian trainee who begins to doubt the ways of Cumberland. The film is well made with good soundtrack that reminded me of the music in Cannibal Holocaust.-Buckets of blood and screaming galore fest.

Herbert Lom, Udo Kier and Reggie Nalder star in this rather infamous film about superstition and religious persecution in 1770 Austria. Supposedly taking the torture scenes and cases presented from historical documents Mark of the Devil is a classic exploitation whose reputation is preceded only by its' ad campaign. Famous for giving out barf bags I think it is a lot tamer than the hype would let you to believe. Filmed in lovely Austria Mark of the Devil is a solid flick with excellent photography. The acting is above average with the several genre vets chewing the scenery quite well. The tale of witchcraft strangely enough features no witchery and focuses on the lies and deceit of the time as the basis of the tale. If you like exploitations check out the film. There are a few bloody torture scenes but is not nearly as graphic as some would lead you to be.

Gruesome and exploitative film with abundant sensationalistic scenes and flinching shots of torture. Set in 1700 Austria, a young witch-hunter: Udo Kier, is an apprentice who follows his superior, Herbert Lom, a known Inquistor travelling across the county judging, pursuing condemning the suspicious people and the heinous underlings : Reggie Nader, Herbert Fux , Johannes Buzalski. Then the young man has serious doubts about their activities and to be aware the brutality, injustice, falsehood on the inquisitive trials. Things go wrong when the doubtful youngster has an enjoyable romance with a sexy girl, Olivera Katarina, then the latter is framed to be a hag. Along the way, other women accused to be witches : Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schoner and husband : Adrian Hoven who also produced, are cruelly tortured.

This is a B entertainment based on Historical fiction and it cannily captures outrageous scene tortures and a thunderous period full of superstition, great ignorance and fear when innocent people could be chased, and confess to acts of witchcraft just to get the torture to stop. Witchcraft, necromancy and love story do not mix, as a twisted romance takes place at a medieval set between a witch-hunter apprentice and a gorgeous sexy woman accused to be hag. These Witch Finders were inspired by "The Malleus Malleficarum", the witches' hammer , what may be the most blood-soaked book in human history, it is instructed the clergy on how to locate, torture and kill all the free-thinkiing women during Witch-hunt, in fact history tells fifty thousand are captured and burned alive at the stake. The Mark of the Devil has notoriously graphic torture scenes that add to the mayhem , though the strange part is that based on true stories. It is not for the squeamish, as the horrible tortures include a naked blonde girl was stretched on the rack, Chinese torture, slashing, stabbing, young women being tied to stakes screaming while fire burning them from below.

Other films in similar style are as follows : the classic Witchfinder General or The Conqueror Worm 1968 by Michael Reeves with Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy . The Devils 1971 by Ken Russell with Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave. The sequel : The Mark of the Devil by Adrian Hoven with Reggie Nader . And Inquisicion 1977 directed and starred by Paul Naschy with Daniela Giordiano, Antonio Iranzo.

The motion picture was regularly directed by Michael Armstrong, though Michael Reeves was first hired, as he was set to shoot it, but he passed away before filming was to start. Armstrong is a craftsman who worked as an assistant in Witchfinder General, he has directed a few films, such as : The haunted house of horror and Screamtime. He is usually a movie writer, such as Black panther, The sex thief, Shoestring, Adventures of a private eye. Rating : 5/10. And, at the time considered to be a video nasty, banned in many countries. Including vomit bags at the cinemas, rated V for violence and deemed to be positively the most horrifying movie ever made. Passable for some ambiguity, brief period piece and a lingering, grim nature.