Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält (1973) YTS

Reviewed by BA_Harrison 4 / 10

Witchfinder General-ly poor.

If you think that the 'torture porn' sub-genre started with Saw and Hostel, you're very much mistaken: way back in the late '60s and early '70s, there was a brief craze for films collectively known as Hexploitation, in which women accused of witchcraft were tortured and killed by sadistic men in the name of the church. It began with the success of the excellent Witchfinder General (1968), and continued with the likes of Jess Franco's The Bloody Judge (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Mark of the Devil (1970) and Ken Russell's The Devils (1971). Had the label 'torture porn' existed back then, they would most definitely have been categorised as such.Having no doubt enjoyed financial success with Mark of the Devil, director Adrian Hoven returned to the sub-genre for more sadism and brutality in Mark of the Devil Part II, another account of an innocent woman branded a witch and subsequently subjected to all manner of nastiness. Beautiful redhead Erika Blanc stars as Countess Elisabeth von Salmenau, who falls foul of wicked Balthasar von Ross (Anton Diffring), persecutor of innocent women who gets his kicks from seeing his victims' bodies being broken and burnt. However, unlike the first film, this sequel doesn't feature such a great cast (only creepy Reggie Nalder returns; Udo Kier and Herbert Lom wisely did not) and the torture is quite ridiculous, almost cartoonish in its nature, which takes away from the overall effect: where the original film was cruel and disturbing, this one is unimaginative, frequently so bad it is funny (not the intended reaction), and, disappointingly, fairly dull in places.Not nearly as shocking or as entertaining as a film featuring pervy nuns, a drooling rapist jailer, and assorted sadistic deviancy should be. 3.5/10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

Reviewed by CrimsonRaptor 4 / 10

Torture, Taboos, and Twisted Faith ??

Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält is exactly as lurid and heavy-handed as its title suggests. Released in 1973, during a European exploitation wave obsessed with medieval sadism and religious hysteria, this German-Austrian production lures with the promise of dark eroticism and moral outrage but delivers a clunky, unpleasant mix of theatrical cruelty and sluggish pacing.Visually, the film occasionally conjures a sense of decayed menace. Stone dungeons soaked in candlelight, convent corridors thick with foreboding, and muddy village squares all evoke a suitably bleak atmosphere. Cinematographer Franz Xaver Lederle occasionally frames scenes with painterly restraint, but the impact is dulled by the film's erratic editing and murky print quality, which varies wildly depending on the version viewed. What might have been moody and oppressive quickly becomes muddy and monotonous.Tonally, the film leans into its worst impulses. While some period dramas explore superstition and injustice with nuance, Hexen geschändet flattens everything into a cycle of accusation, humiliation, and punishment. It is less a coherent narrative and more a loose patchwork of sordid vignettes stitched together by vague moral panic. The score wavers between melancholic organ drones and jarringly upbeat cues that feel bizarrely misplaced given the subject matter, further muddying the film's already confused tone.The performances are as uneven as the script. Herbert Fux, a familiar face in European sleaze cinema, gives the most arresting turn as a fanatical inquisitor, sneering and sweating his way through every scene with manic relish. He alone seems to understand the feverish energy the film aims for. The rest of the cast, particularly the women playing accused witches and helpless villagers, are reduced to one-note victims, alternating between hollow fear and passive nudity. They are given little to do beyond suffer, often graphically, for the camera.Despite its provocative themes and shock-value title, the film fails to offer insight, suspense, or even sustained tension. It wallows in degradation without ever interrogating the madness it depicts. There is no real character development, no arc of resistance or redemption, only a parade of cruelty that numbs rather than disturbs. Where other films in the witch-hunt subgenre, such as Witchfinder General or The Devils, manage to balance their brutality with commentary or atmosphere, Hexen geschändet settles for crude spectacle.

Reviewed by Murph-15

Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält

1973 [GERMAN]

Drama / History / Horror / Thriller

Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält

1973 [GERMAN]

Drama / History / Horror / Thriller

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Movie Reviews

Witchfinder General-ly poor.

Torture, Taboos, and Twisted Faith ??

A kinder, gentler "Mark"

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