Released theatrically in 1970, Michael Armstrong’s film Mark of the Devil is essentially remembered for two things: a U.S. marketing campaign that championed the film as ‘rated V for violence’, and theaters passing out barf bags emblazoned with the film’s name to each and every paying patron to see it. While this is one more example of the great marketing afforded to exploitation and horror films in decades past, the shame of it is that this film can easily stand on its own merits. It is, after all, arguably the best witch-hunter film out there (right up there with Vincent Price’s classic Witchfinder General aka Conqueror Worm).

After an opening voiceover (which tells viewers that the events of this film are a recreation of three true stories—a statement of highly dubious worth to be sure), a very young (and very foppish looking) Udo Kier stars as Count Christian von Meruh. Christian is an apprentice witch-hunter, working under the guidance of the revered (and feared) Count Cumberland (Herbert Lom). Christian and Cumberland take their witch-torturing show on the road, winding up in idyllic little village with a penchant for heresy. Local witch-finder Albino (the suitably hideous Reggie Nalder) has been busy putting witches out of their misery for quite some time.

Unfortunately, Albino hasn’t been following the rules (odd to think that there were actually rules and protocols for the witch trials, but I digress). He’s just been busy killing and torturing anyone he doesn’t like, anyone who won’t sleep with him (which is essentially any woman who isn’t blind…), or anyone who has some money he can take.

Things seem destined to change for the better—well, at least as good as they can get when you have an insane group of religious zealots running your town with a taste for handing out death sentences—when Cumberland and the idealistic Christian arrive. As proof of this, Christian saves the buxom bar wench Vanessa (Olivera Vuco) from Albino’s slimy clutches. He even lets her spend the night at his castle, but unfortunately, Albino has other plans for her. He re-arrests her and Cumberland finds her guilty of being a witch. Off to the slammer for her…

Of course, it’s hard to feel too bad for her (or some of the other people who get busted as witches in this film). I mean, if you know a guy is a morally judgmental witch-finder, would you come on to him and say you really wish you could bewitch him? Isn’t that sort of taking unnecessary risks, no matter how dreamy that Udo Kier really is? Or how about the puppeteer who gets busted later in the film—would you perform a play even mentioning the word witch in front of one of the witch-finder’s goons? Seems sort of dumb to me, but what do I know?

Anyway, the rest of the plot essentially centers around Cumberland’s corruption and impotence (which seems to at least inspire his corruption), Christian’s disillusionment with what’s going on around him, and a lot of torture (although, unfortunately, Olivera Vuco never gets tortured or naked—I’m not sure why this is, but I’m putting it down in the biggest disappointment category for this film). Eventually, we arrive at a very nihilistic ending that sort of fits with the tone of the rest of the film.

Mark of the Devil caused quite the furor on its original release because the film was rather violent and very much an exploitation film. It’s funny to view it today and imagine anyone getting too worked up over it—it’s certainly not an overtly gory or violent film by today’s standards, although it has aged fairly well otherwise.

It is, however, still unsettling. I’m not sure how much historical accuracy there is to the witch torture depicted in the film, but if it’s even close to what really happened in Europe, then I have a newfound sympathy for anyone who was accused of practicing witchcraft. While the tortures here might not be quite as gory as they would be in a film of today, they’re still rather squirm-inducing in a number of spots. Because of this, Mark of the Devil is still a mean and at least somewhat unpleasant film. Witches are burned alive, tortured on the rack, poked and prodded, subjected to the old Chinese water torture, raped, and more. You gotta hand it to those morally righteous witch-finders—they sure knew how to have a good time on God’s tab.

For a cheap horror/exploitation film, Mark of the Devil is both well made and well acted. The direction is surprisingly decent given what must have been a rather small budget. Most of the film is shot on sets that look like sets, but some of the outdoor shots of the European countryside are quite captivating.

Udo Kier and Herbert Lom are both good in the lead roles. Lom particularly shines, although it is odd to see him as a bad guy after all those Pink Panther films (although not so odd if you’ve seen him in Michele Soavi’s The Sect). This isn’t either actor’s best performance by any stretch (particularly Kier, who sort of spends the entire film staring off into space trying to look attractive), but the film would have certainly suffered without the presence of either actor.

Mark of the Devil had a DVD release courtesy of Anchor Bay a few years back—unfortunately, the disc now appears to be out of print. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend picking it up—the disc is quite nice, featuring an uncut print of the film in widescreen format with a nice picture and good sound. Horror fans really need to own a copy of this film.

Ultimately, Mark of the Devil is never quite as bad as its reputation would have you believe. It’s a disturbing film for sure, but more for the implication of just what kind of atrocities men can commit in the name of god than for the much heralded gore. By today’s standards, the film is downright tame—but don’t let that put you off seeing it, because Mark of the Devil is one of the unmitigated classics in the whole witch-finder film subgenre.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening