Mark of the Devil (1970)

Original title

Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält

Directed by

Michael Armstrong, Adrian Hoven

Genre

horror film

Country

Germany

Runtime

1h 37m

Rated

18

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 107 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 17th century Austria, a rogue witch hunter falsely accuses villagers of witchcraft and tortures them. A younger witch hunter starts to question his own role as he witnesses the cruelty.

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What happens

Mark of the Devil (German: Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält, lit. Witches Tortured Till They Bleed) is a 1970 West German historical horror film directed by Michael Armstrong, and starring Olivera Vučo, Udo Kier, Reggie Nalder, Herbert Fux, and Herbert Lom. Its plot follows a witch hunter in 17th-century Austria who begins to question his pursuits after witnessing a rogue witch hunter dubiously accuse the townspeople of a small village, and employ increasingly sadistic methods of torture against them. It is most remembered for US marketing slogans devised by Hallmark Releasing Corp. that included "Positively the most horrifying film ever made" and "Rated V for Violence", while sick bags were given free to the audience upon admission. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Jonathan (1970)
• Angels With Dirty Wings (1970)
• Witchhammer (1970)
• Fear Has 1000 Eyes (1970)
• Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
• Rendezvous with Dishonour (1970)
• The Bloody Judge (1969)
• Mädchen mit Gewalt (1970)