Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält

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 Supposedly taking the torture scenes and cases presented from historical documents Mark of the Devil is a classic exploitation whose reputation is preceded only by its' ad campaign.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.

There's no point trying to understand the draw of a film that rolls around in the mud of the darker aspects of human nature without shame--torture, mutilation, misogyny, injustice and despair as thematic content--there's nothing new or even so unusual about being attracted to these things, and no need for apology. If there's a market for something someone will try to fill the niche.

"Mark Of The Devil" belongs in a category of exploitation film that is hard to define. It's not "scary." It inspires dread, but hardly "fear." It's not the goriest film ever made--it may have been at the time but is fairly tame today. It's not the sickest by far--Asian pseudo-snuff films and the "Faces Of Death" series raised the bar to its highest level of taboo-shattering. It IS exploitation, of course--whoever sees it is unlikely to be looking for an education on how witch hunts were once carried out. No--I put "Mark Of The Devil" in the same category as "Cannibal Holocaust," "Last House On The Left," "Salo," and a greasy, dripping handful of other films that are not far from the exploitation genre of "Sickies." These are movies that dare to point out, if they work for you, that is (there's always someone eager to point out how "boring" these movies are, of course) how truly nasty and relentlessly unpleasant life can be. Their message is, simply: "As bad as you thought things were, they're far worse." Again, discussing the appeal of that message belongs in another review, I'm content knowing it exists, and that's why movies like "Mark Of The Devil" were created.

For my money, this old, old film delivers a wallop like no other. It's campy, trashy, ugly, and beautiful all at once. It's stupid, perverse, poorly executed and mean in an almost magic way. Like "Cannibal Holocaust," it opens with a lovely, lyrical theme song that, in 90% of viewers at least, would normally inspire memories of sentiment, love, emotions of serenity and beauty. You are coaxed further along into this state by the lushly photographed panorama shots of a German countryside in full bloom, and the quaint and fascinating sight of horse-drawn carriages. Then, before you know it, you're pulled out of this reverie by being forced to witness a non-graphic but genuinely obscene depiction of the raping of a caravan of nuns. It's a nasty, ugly bit of business, and a cruel juxtaposition (not unlike similar, but somehow less revolting, moments in "A Clockwork Orange" which would come a few years later), all the moreso for the misleading score, which carries on as if the molestation of nuns is just more flora and fauna. The director knows it isn't--it's as if he's laughing sadistically at his audience perhaps--at the very least, he knew what he was doing, from a psychological stand point. This, and other similar moments in this film, are not accidental.

And therein lies the genius behind these "Sickies," above and beyond the standard, forgettable exploitation fare, no matter how realistic the gore or plentiful the nudity and foul language. Exploitation films like "Mark Of The Devil" were carefully designed to make you feel something you didn't expect to feel, something beyond fear or nausea...they get under your skin and work on your psychology. By the time the final victims are dispensed with in this type of film, the average viewer has been sated (or, most likely, overdosed) with the concept of Life As Garbage, and is invited to now return to whatever real life she/he exists in and compare. The "missing ending" to "Mark Of The Devil" notwithstanding, it is near impossible not to come away from the commonly seen end of this film without feeling depressed, angry, frustrated, exhausted and unclean. And, considering the focus of the movie is atrocity committed by man against his brothers and sisters...that reaction is certainly appropriate.

Is this type of film necessary, or even entertainment? Obviously it is, or these films wouldn't have had the shelf life they've had. Exploitation movies come and go, but some of these films rise to the top of the swill. "Mark Of The Devil" has earned its blood-stained spot on the shelf of movies that go one step (or perhaps a few more) beyond where most viewers are comfortable or even interested in going, and over thirty years later this movie still has the power to offend, disgust, provoke and amaze. Considering the variety of exploitation material available today, that's quite an accomplishment, if you think about it.

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.

I hadn't seen the British/German coproduction "Mark of the Devil" since its initial release in 1970, and could only recall one image from this now infamously violent film: an accused blonde witch having her tongue slowly pulled out. For us kids back then, this was enough to guarantee the picture an enduring rep. Having just watched the film again, almost 40 years later, I am now stunned that we kids were allowed to watch this movie in 1970 at all, featuring as it does not just that legendary tongue yank, but also whippings, burnings, a tar & feathering, thumbscrews, beatings, Chinese water torture, skewers, branding, a spiked chair, beheadings, an eyeball impalement, stretchings on the rack, and several rape sequences, all in fairly realistic detail, and all carried out in the name of the Church in the furtherance of exposing disciples of Satan. (No wonder free barf bags were famously given to all the film's theatre patrons back when!) Today, these exploitative shock elements strike me as being somewhat of a distasteful necessity, as the filmmakers are purportedly endeavoring to expose the cruelties of the age. Taking place in an unnamed locale in what seems to be the early 18th century, "Mark of the Devil" has lots more going for the adult horror fan than just these scenes of gruesome torture. Herbert Lom is quite excellent as Lord Cumberland, the impotent chief witch-hunter (the viewer must gather that if Viagra had been available 300 years ago, many hundreds of women might have been spared!), baby-faced Udo Kier very fine as his apprentice, and Olivera Vuco extremely sensuous as Vanessa, an accused hotty. The picture has been beautifully shot and handsomely produced and, perhaps best of all, features a gorgeous score by Michael Holm that will likely be running through your head for days afterward. This lovely melody is all the more striking, given the ugliness so often shown on screen. A nasty piece of Euro horror, to be sure, and most certainly not for the kiddies, the film is superbly presented here on this great-looking DVD from Blue Underground, loaded with so many extras as to make your tongue hang out....

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.