Customer Ratings & Reviews

This film, while successful upon it original 1968 release, was relegated in US cinemas to midnight/drive-in screenings like Vincent Price's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (indeed, its original US title was the somewhat-catchy "The Conqueror Worm," the title of a Poe poem). Had the film received the same mainstream distribution as "Rosemary's Baby"(also released in 1968), it quite possibly could've led to an Oscar for Price for his brilliant, haunting portrayal of the title character. Price's character, one Matthew Hopkins, travels the English countryside with his unscrupulous sidekick making money by torturing innocents suspected of witchcraft. One such individual, a kind priest, dies as a result of such action, which, in turn, incurs the wrath of his niece(whom Hopkins has designs on) and her lover, a soldier. The film also gained some noteriety due to the drug-induced death of its director, Michael Reeves, following the completion of filming.