Inquisición

Paul Naschy's directorial debut amazingly emerged to be superior to most of his work for other film-makers. Thematically, it amalgamates WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) with THE DEVILS (1971): Naschy is the appointed Inquisitor who falls under the spell of a local girl (Italian starlet Daniela Giordano from Mario Bava's atypical FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT [1969] and who, in a recent interview for the "Stracult" TV program, singled out the Naschy film as her personal favorite!). He has her lover killed (intermittently depicted as in a Sergio Leone picture, with harmonica accompaniment intact!) – though, in an online review, it is stated that he was not responsible after all?! – but is eventually brought before the court himself for associating with a sorceress. In fact, Giordano has sold her soul to the Devil (seen in effectively grotesque make-up not unlike that of a villain from some contemporaneous anime[!] and, reportedly, played by the star himself) and deliberately given in to her leading man's advances in order to bring him down!! At one point, he is haunted by the vision of a scythe-wielding Death but, since she ends up sharing his fate, one supposes the girl is ultimately disillusioned by her twisted beliefs – while, ironically enough, Naschy acquires grace through martyrdom!

The period ambiance is splendidly evoked, there is discreet use of gore (notably a nipple torn off by a huge pair of pliers!) and a surprising amount of nudity (gratuitous perhaps but not really exploitative). Of course, the "Malleus Maleficarum" tome and the plague (which, again, it is stated elsewhere to be the handiwork of the Devil himself!) never seem to be too far away in this type of film. Still, Naschy's script offers reasonable subtext: his character's position is coveted by the second-in-command (who proceeds to gleefully supervise the Inquisitor's own subsequent trial), a local blind-man is constantly snitching on the usually-innocent townsfolk (though he takes inordinately long to report the real witch who schools the heroine in the Black Arts!) to the relevant authorities until he predictably gets his just desserts, while Giordano – for whom, with her true love gone, life has lost its meaning – gradually comes to realize the power of Darkness and willingly becomes its servant and vessel. Incidentally, I was under the impression that INQUISITION was one of two efforts about which the writer/director/star felt the proudest (the other being THE TRAVELER [1979], which followed this viewing in quick succession) as per "The Mark Of Naschy" website – but, having double-checked, it transpired that that film was the serial-killer thriller THE FRENCHMAN'S GARDEN (1978) which, however, seems to be rather hard to come by...

In the end of the Sixteenth Century, in France, the cruel witchfinders Bernard de Fossey (Paul Naschy), Nicolas Rodier (Ricardo Merino) and Pierre Burgot (Tony Isbert) arrive at the house of a wealthy man that has two daughters and one stepdaughter. His older daughter, Catherine (Daniela Giordano), is in love with Jean Duprat (Juan Luis Galiardo), who travels to Marseille to ask for permission to his uncle to marry Catherine. However, in the return, he is murdered by thieves on the road and Catherine fall in depression. Bernard, who has put his eyes on Catherine since he met her, hits on her. Meanwhile, the one-eye servant Rénover (Antonio Iranzo) denounces young women that has reject him as if they were witches, and they are tortured and killed. When Catherine has a dream with Jean, she believes that her beloved lover was murdered by men hired to kill him and she becomes obsessed to lean by whom.

"Inquisition" is a good exploitation movie based on the inquisition in the Dark Ages. Paul Naschy is perfect in the role of a cruel and sadistic magistrate that sentences women to be tortured and murdered in the name of the church. The romance is good and the unnecessary torture scenes and naked women was common in Euro movies in the 70's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Iinquisição" ("Inquisition")

I believe this is available in English now, but the version I saw was a Spanish language one off a full-screen PAL tape I bought in Buenos Aires. Judging from the rampant nudity, graphic violence, and general depravity it wasn't cut at least. This is Spanish actor Paul Naschy's strangely belated directorial debut. It is another entry into the 1970's "witch-hunter" genre inspired by such films as Michael Reeve's "The Conqueror Worm", Ken Russell's "The Devils", and the godawful but very seminal German film "Mark of Devil". This was a rather extreme genre which allowed for a lot of exploitative scenes of beautiful naked women being tortured, but also permitted filmmakers to at least pretend to criticize the real historical abuses of the Catholic Church. The latter would be especially resonant in Spain where in very recent times the Church had been a big supporter of the repressive Franco regime.

This movie is every bit as depraved and exploitative as any of its British, Italian, or German models, but it was interesting in that its victim (played by Italian actress Daniela Giordano)actually DOES sell her soul to the Devil, but only in order to take a supernatural (and, of course decidedly sexual) revenge on the corrupt witchfinder/inquisitioner played by Paul Naschy. The injection of actual supernatural elements (which was a peculiar characteristic of both the Spanish and Mexican versions of these films)kind of muddies the moral waters (not to mention the perceived historical accuracy) quite a bit.

As always, Naschy makes an interesting protagonist. He has always been one of the few actors brave enough to play characters that are not only despicable but also often pretty pathetic (and he's never been afraid to kill his character off early if it serves the plot), but he always somehow gets the audience on his side, and this movie is no exception--you end feeling sorry for his corrupt and wrongheaded inquisitioner by the end.

One weakness of Naschy movies though has been his leading actresses. He always casts pretty women who are willing to do rampant nude scenes, but they are usually pretty obscure actresses and not always very talented (with the exception of Erica Blanc, Patty Shepherd, and maybe Helga Line). It's good to see that he has a strong co-lead here in Daniela Giordana, a gorgeous former Miss Italy who showed a lot of promise in the Mario Bava sex comedy "Four Times that Night" but was pretty much wasted after that in throwaway parts in second-rate Italian gialli. Good movie. Check it out

Euro-horror star Paul Naschy (a.k.a. Jacinto Molina) made a creditable directing debut with this gruesome and exploitative tale, packed with gorgeous women and pervasive Old World atmosphere. He also stars as Bernard de Fossey, magistrate and witch hunter in the 16th century. He and his cohorts arrive in the Peyriac region of France, determined to seek out sinners and transgressors. He meets a stunning young woman, Catherine (Daniela Giordano), who bewitches him. She loves another man, but when that man dies under suspicious circumstances, she's willing to align herself with Satan to see justice done.

"Inquisition" is not for the squeamish, what with its unflinching shots of torture. It doesn't dwell on these scenes any longer than unnecessary to make its point, though. Still, many viewers will wince at the sight of a girls' nipple getting twisted right off her breast. And there are some very fine looking young women here, showing off their birthday suits to great effect. Naschy did know how to please the exploitation loving crowd.

Of course, he also delivers what is considered to be one of his best films (if not THE best). He cannily captures a historical period of great ignorance, superstition, and fear, when innocent people could be persecuted, and confess to acts of witchcraft just to get the torture to stop. At the same time, there is at least one dissenting voice: the local surgeon, who dares to venture the opinion that people like De Fossey may be acting hastily.

Naschy gives one of his finest performances as the tormented De Fossey, and also gets to strut his stuff by playing The Devil and The Grim Reaper as well. Giordano is a stunner, and does a convincing job of portraying righteous indignation. A standout supporting performance comes from Antonio Iranzo as the resentful, one eyed manservant Renover, who gets back at those women who spurn his advances by accusing them of being witches.

Overall, this is a solid film notable for some ambiguity and a lingering, grim nature.

Seven out of 10.

A trio of witch hunters arrive in town to ply their trade.While this is happening,the daughter of the magistrate agrees to sell her soul to the devil for the ability to take vengeance on the man who killed her lover."Inquisition" is a fine directing debut of Paul Naschy.There is plenty of gratuitous nudity and the torture scenes are fairly nasty and shocking.Scenes such as a rotating,spiked gyre approaching the bared breast of a female victim and the obscene pulling of another unfortunate victim's nipple are as unsettling and savage as any scene from competing films such as Adrian Hoven's classic 1969 witchcraft flick "Mark of the Devil".Naschy's portrayal of the devil is fantastic as is his performance as a witch hunter Bernard.Give this one a look,if you are a fan of Jacinto Molina or Spanish horror in general.8 out of 10.