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Rating: Short was the life of Michael Reeves, the English director who died at 26 from an overdose of barbiturates, just at the beginning of a promising career.
Born on October 17, 1946, in Sutton, Surrey, and died in London on February 11, 1969, Reeves seemed by all accounts a director dedicated to horror films, in the style of Hammer.
He made a mark as a collaborator of Lorenzo Ricci in the film "Il castello dei morti vivi" (1964), but his first direction was the poorly-received "Il lago di Satana" in 1966, also made in Italy with Barbara Steele as the protagonist. This was followed by "The Sorcerer" with Boris Karloff (1967) and especially "Il grande inquisitore" of '68. Then, death came.
With his last film, Reeves foreshadows a destiny of greatness; at the age when Orson Welles debuted, Reeves ended his career with a film that, under the guise of a classic Hammer package, presents a movie that seems like a horror but is actually a historical tale.
Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) is the Grand Inquisitor, devoted to witch hunting in 17th-century England, during the civil war that divided the Royalists from Cromwell's Papists. His mission is actually a cover to unleash his sadistic and erotic instincts. Besides enjoying the sufferings inflicted on the innocent accused, he takes advantage of his power to engage with young supposed witches or relatives of the victims, promising clemency in exchange for these special favors.
Accompanying him is his accomplice John Stearne, (Robert Russell), a violent and coarse criminal with whom Hopkins shares profits and excesses. One day, the two criminals go to a village where some peasants claim to have recognized the village priest as a follower of Satan. In reality, the priest is completely honest and innocent, but this does not slow down the Inquisitor's depravity; after torturing him and having him imprisoned, awaiting hanging, he takes advantage of the charms of the daughter, Sarah (Hillary Heat), promising her a special treatment for her unfortunate father. Hopkins will then have the priest hanged out of spite towards Stearne; he had abused her, and Hopkins breaks the pact with Sarah to spite his companion. The priest will be executed with two other women after "incontrovertible" proof: thrown with a rope from a bridge, they will be recognized as Satanists if they try to swim.
The daughter Sarah, engaged to a valiant ensign of Cromwell's army, Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), when found by the latter, alone and terrified in the rectory, will recount everything to her fiancé who will swear vengeance on the cruel Hopkins and his henchman.... The film continues with the ensign’s desperate manhunt until the tragic conclusion. Neither the promotion to captain nor Cromwell's trust in Marshall will induce the latter to deviate from the course of his revenge.
Although in my opinion somewhat overrated, "Il grande inquisitore" is a fascinating and peculiar film. While operating on classic directing and acting registers (superb, the version in the original language is a must-see), Reeves' film subtly carries a violent tone perceived in every frame, exploring the peasant world rich in superstitions and (under the radar) the English Civil War; a directorial stamp that, at the time, was truly unusual. Price is great and gives Hopkins the perfect mix of hypocrisy and cruelty, of "witch-like" ability for psychological coercion of victims, always restrained by a controlled and effective acting for contrast. Stearne is his exact alter ego, a drunken, violent, cruel, and self-satisfied monster. But the most effective weapon of the film is the ability to transform the "good" into revenge-thirsty beasts. Above all stands the final scene (which I won't reveal, of course) closing with Sarah's desperate scream, stopped during the scrolling of the end credits and commented by a melancholic madrigal by Paul Ferris. In the American market version, Ferris' music was not used as Metro refused to pay royalties to the musician.
All immersed in the English countryside, rarely so well photographed (one of the film's strong points).
This film by the unfortunate Michael Reeves was a source of inspiration for the less convincing "The Devils" by Ken Russell, more agitated but less effective than "Il grande inquisitore".
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