Mark of the Devil (1970)

★ 6.1 1h 36m IMDb
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In 1700s Austria, a witch-hunter's apprentice has doubts about the righteousness of witch-hunting when he witnesses the brutality, the injustice, the falsehood, the torture and the arbitrary killing that go with the job.

Mark of the Devil

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Cast

Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom as Lord Cumberland Died 2012 · Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary Herbert Lom (born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru; 11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012) was a Czech-born British film and television actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 193...
Udo Kier
Udo Kier as Count Christian von Meruh Died 2025 · Cologne, Germany Udo Kierspe (October 14, 1944 – November 23, 2025), known professionally as Udo Kier, was a German actor. Known primarily as a cult character actor who portrayed eccentric and deviant figures, he appe...
Olivera Katarina
Olivera Katarina as Vanessa Benedikt Age 86 · Beograd, Serbia Olivera Katarina (Serbian Cyrillic: Оливера Катарина; née Petrović (Петровић); born 5 March 1940), also previously known as Olivera Vučo (Оливера Вучо) and Olivera Šakić (Оливера Шакић), is a Serbian...
Reggie Nalder
Reggie Nalder as Albino Died 1991 · Vienna, Austria Reggie Nalder may be far from a household name, and he may have appeared in many films of questionable artistic merit. But he has provided film buffs with indelible cinematic images and characterizati...
Herbert Fux
Herbert Fux as Jeff Wilkens - Executioner Died 2007 · Hallein, Austria Herbert Fux (25 March 1927 – 13 March 2007) was an Austrian film actor and politician. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1960 and 2007. Fux was born in Hallein, at the age of five he moved w...
Johannes Buzalski
Johannes Buzalski as Advocato Died 1977 · Kwidzyn, Poland Johannes Buzalski was a German actor. He became particularly popular during the 1970s with the film series Laß jucken, Kumpel and Graf Porno..

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 6/10 Aug 30, 2023
**_Robbing, ravishing and murdering in the name of the Church_**

In the early 1700s, a witchfinder & his apprentice (Herbert Lom and Udo Kier) come to a village in Austria to take over the job from a corrupt local witch hunter (Reggie Nalder). The noble pupil, however, starts to question his mentor when a woman he is fond of is falsely accused of witchcraft (Olivera Katarina).

“Mark of the Devil” (1970) is a West German production inspired by the success of “Witchfinder General,” aka “Conqueror Worm.” Producers even wanted the same director, Michael Reeves, but he unexpectedly perished at the age of 25 of an accidental overdose.

The opening wildly exaggerates the number of people who were executed between 1300-1800 under the accusation of being witches; it cites 8 million, but scholars place the figure around 40,000. Exaggerated or not, these kinds of injustices happened in the name of God, a scam to steal land, money, and other valuables from innocent people, not to mention rape beautiful women. The historicity of the proceedings is helped by being filmed in an Austrian castle where actual witch-finding interrogations had taken place (cited below).

Other movies from that era inspired by “Witchfinder General” include “The Bloody Judge” with Christopher Lee, “The Blood on Satan’s Claw” and “Twins of Evil.”

While “Mark of the Devil” proved even more successful at the box office due to its ad campaign, which gave free vomit bags to moviegoers, I prefer “Witchfinder General.” For one, the dubbing isn’t good in this and is reminiscent of Spaghetti Westerns. Yet “Mark” has its points of interest. It’s basically a meshing of “Witchfinder” and the later “The Last Valley.” Sure, it’s infamous in light of the several torture scenes, but they’re not so shocking these days after the so-called torture porn craze; they’re still disturbing and eye-opening though.

What I appreciate most is the authentic locations and the character study of dubious people who gravitate toward positions of power so they can abuse innocent citizens, fulfill their lusts, and further the corrupt political institution that fuels the injustice. Thankfully, there are noble souls who recognize the corruption and take a stand. Yet even those who rise up in protest can make grave mistakes in their pursuit of justice.

The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot in Castle Moosham in Salzburg, Austria, and nearby Mauterndorf, which is five miles east. Krems in Lower Austria is also listed, which is almost a 4-hour drive northeast of there.

GRADE: B-
JPV852 7/10 Oct 25, 2023
Surprisingly good and well acted drama featuring great performances from Herbert Lom, Udo Kier and Olivera Katarina. Some gruesome torture scenes isn't gratuitous and serves an actual story and characters. Seems like the sort of movie that Arrow would release and instead landed with Vinegar Syndrome, a distributor not exactly known for high quality works and more in the super low budge exploitation realm. Well worth checking out. **3.75/5**

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