Review of Mark of the Devil (1970) by Kaylee L — 06 Aug 2007

"The Most Terrifying Movie Ever Made" this is not. (But, it claims to be.) It was originally a German film, but the dubbing was very poorly done, but I don't think that it would have been good even in it's original form with subtitles. The music was cheesy and annoying, and way to happy in the beginning where two nuns are raped randomly. It doesn't match the mood of the film at all.

The story is supposedly based upon three true cases of witch trials in Austria. While the torture used to extract confessions is historically correct, much of the dialogue doesn't fit with the time period. I felt like this film made a mockery of the true horror of the European Burning Times. The infuriating unfairness of the judgements cast down upon innocent people who are tortured until they say what their captors want to hear is all shown with clear brutality. Yet a lot of it seemed to be perverted for exploitation purposes.

I hoped for better from a film based upon the brutal burning times, but sadly, this is not the film that should represent the true horror of the time.