Customer Reviews

Mark of the Devil

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Back in the day (1970), this film was probably the most controversal movie ever made as it depicted the witch trials going on Europe during the darkest page of human existance. I remember reading all the controversy and I couldn't help but watch the film that caused such a ruckous. I was expecting some really cheap, gory, pointless Eurotrash exploitation flick. What I got was much, much more. First of all, THERE'S A STORY! Yes this film actually has a good plot and story and is actually fairly accurate to some of the real happenings in history. Second, THE ACTING IS REALLY GOOD. The entire cast gives it their all and makes this film believable. The only hinderence is the dubbing, but for foreign horror film fans like me, dubbing just adds to the charm. I was pleasently surprised and got a much better film than I was expecting. I would actually recomend this film to fans of Hammer flicks that came out at about the same time. I however do not recommend this film for fans of pointless gore/trash cinema as they will not get what they expect. The tagline on the box is also misleading as it tags the movie as "the most horrifying movie ever made" which isn't exactly true. Yes it had some shocking moments, but in no way is it really horrifying. By today's standards, the shocks are pretty tame. So if your a fan of atmospheric Euro horror, don't believe all the bad hype as this film is a true gem of the genre.

Mark of the Devil left its mark on me. In college it was one of the few films I owned and too poor to own cable it was viewed quite often. However these were pre-DVD days and now that this DVD has arrived I have resumed my love for this film. With a truly remarkable amount of extras for such an old film including an interview with Gabby Fuchs, who became somewhat of a cult icon among my friends, this film is worthwhile to buy.

I need to inform you that this not the "most horrifying film ever made". It is mildly sadistic and a little gory by today's standards but this film runs its entire course without any intentional humor or stupidity that is so common in today's horror movies. As Albino says "I may not be educated but I am not stupid": I want movies that at least try to take themselves seriously. This movie does that.

For a 35 year old horror film from Europe this film has had some staying power. I recommend this one to fans of horror of all ages. It is certainly something different from the hackneyed plots that the genre is so susceptible to. If you've seen the movie before get this DVD too you will be pleased with the digital quality and the copious extras... Enjoy the torture...

--Ted Murena

"Mark Of The Devil" came out in 1969, and was billed as "Positively The Most Horrifying Movie Ever Made," and looking at the time of its release, I could agree. "Night Of The Living Dead" generally freaked people out in 1968, but the recently deceased getting back up, and cannibalizing the living really does stretch credibility, where this film focuses on the cavalier attitude of Witchfinders in 1700 Austria.

People were superstitious at the time, and doing these awful things to people, and calling it "The Lord's Work," really did happen. The mere accusation of Sorcery was enough to get an indictment, and corruption of the Church has always been there; if you're accused, you have lost the battle.

Revulsion is the real star of this film, and watching these people doing these ghastly things to people, all in a days work, with God on their side, makes it excruciating to watch. One case in particular, has this LOVELY young woman on trial for consorting with the Devil; the truth? She was living with some nuns, and the Bishop raped her. The baby was seen as Satan's spawn, and the politics of the church wouldn't allow the truth to come out. She goes so far as to give a false confession, one she thought they wanted, and from there, it only got worse for her. Watching her ordeal made me physically uncomfortable; I had to keep reminding myself that she was just an actress, and this was a only film stage. But they really did this to people; that's what is so horrifying. THEY ACTUALLY DID THIS TO PEOPLE! WITH CHURCH APPROVAL! ("...doing the Lord's work is never easy...")

This is an exploitation film, but one with a story-line, albeit a tragic one, and thank God the witch trials don't happen now.

I first heard of MARK OF THE DEVIL's notoriety when I was a teenager. It had this mythology along the lines of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT & I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. I couldn't find it anywhere though. Several years later I was hired to write and direct PART 6 (!) and the company sent me the original to view. While it didn't scare me, it definitely left some unnerving tension. As a historical piece, I found it painfully fascinating. If what the opening credits claim (This is all a true stroy), then it makes it's effect that much more profound. As a horror movie, it's okay. Nothing scary happens, though the blood and torture is what clearly lends it to the genre. You could watch worse, you could watch better. It's a decent time waster (plus it stars Udo Kier!) Good luck in trying to find any of the sequels, though. Part 3 was retitled SISTERS OF SATAN, PART 4 is actually TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, Part 5 is actually RETURN OF THE BLIND - and yes, there is a MARK OF THE DEVIL 666 - the only sequel since PART 2 to be produced under the DEVIL banner!

Released in 1969 this movie came attached with the tagline "positively the most horrifying movie ever!" and once the film was released in America, became famous for the distribution of barf bags to customers. Does it live up to its tagline? Well, sort of but only when you consider when the film was made. It predated by a few years other more graphic torture films such as "Ilsa", "Salo" and "Bloodsucking Freaks" films released in the 70's , an era when things really got wild. So yes I guess back in 69' this was about as hardcore as it got.

In a small village of a by-gone era, witch-hunting has reached its peak. Villagers accused of sins such as "having illicit intercourse with the devil" or "defiling the sacraments of the church" are submitted to public displays of torture and execution. Into the village arrives the character played by Udo Kier, who is a witch-hunter apprentice. As he begins to learn the tools and tricks of the trade, Kier comes to the realization that the witch trials are actually a scam to rob people of their wealth and their land and also as an excuse to lay paws on beautiful women. Kier attempts to organize a revolt against the crooked witch-hunters which in turn will lead to him getting his own taste of a little torture...

To my surprise, "Mark of the Devil" is not as pointless a film as I expected it to be. I really figured this would be mindless exploitation consisting of nothing more than torture, however the torture scenes are not at the forefront of everything here. This movie actually has a carefully constructed plot, as well as beautiful scenic shots of the Austrian countryside and a heartfelt romance story between the lead female and Udo Kier. The costumes are stunning and the acting is not all that bad. What is REALLY bad however is the dubbing which goes from awful to absolute ridiculous. I'm referring especially to the scene involving two small children trapped in a cage, their voices sound like they're coming from adults!

As for gore, yes the film displays all sorts of atrocities such as women being burned alive, guys getting their limbs and fingers chopped off with meat cleavers and other things I know I would not be allowed to list here. What makes these scenes shocking (and rather goofy in retrospect) are the matter-of-fact ways in which the torturers carry on their deeds, all the while as honky-looking villagers look on and cheer. I have trouble imagining, in any era, middle-aged women and grandmothers gleefully pointing and laughing as people get decapitated right in front of their eyes but that's what we get in this movie. Sure it drags after a while but "Mark of the Devil" is not such a bad movie and people who dig these types of flicks are bound to enjoy. Barf bags are encouraged but not mandatory.

I saw this one in a discount movie house some time after itsinitial release, so the barf bag promised in the ad was no longergiven out. An ominous circumstance, as it turned out.

The film--as I recall--was quite well done. Too well done, in fact. The story concerns a medieval witchhunter, a wretched old man who travels from town to town. At each stop, he attempts to seduce the local lovelies. If they resist, he accuses them of being witches and they are tortured until they confess, then burned to death.

Among other things, the tortures include poking a long needle through a freckle or birthmark (the mark of the devil) to see if the girl bleeds, thus proving her innocence.

Anyway, about halfway through the film, after seeing a number of these disturbingly realistic scenes, I felt my bile urging itself upward. I fought to maintain control. Then there came a scene where a girl's head was locked into some sort of cage that held her mouth wide open. The witchhunter tore out her tongue with tongs and held the disgusting, bloody thing before the camera. That was all I could take. [...] And, yes, being a resilient teen, I went back to finish the movie. What, sit alone in the lobby with my buds inside?

This is an unconventional review, I realize, but it might tell you everything you need to know about "Mark of the Devil."

I saw this movie as a child at the drive-in with some relatives. We were suppose to be seeing a Disney film I can't remember. This film gave me nightmares for years. The torture scenes are shocking to this day, and Reggie Nalder plays as evil a person that has ever been on film. The plot is shallow, but nevertheless, it is horrific. Also, at the drive in, they handed out vomit bags to people when you paid to get in.

Interesting seeing Udo Kier (Nazi Captain in Raiders of the Lost Ark) in his early days. Rather boring plot that drags among beautiful scenery. Surprising that this film is not rated as there is nudity, torture, and violence; this one's not for the kiddies! It will make you squirm in your seat during some of the torture scenes, especially the tongue scene. I first saw this movie when I was a teenager (35 years ago) and something about it stuck in my mind; I think it may have been the ending.

Well it's been a long time but I still remember this movie. I was 12 years old and my mom took me and my sister and 2 brothers to see it at the drive-in theatre.
We were scared out of our minds. We didn't use the barf bags though. I have often told people about this movie over the years I never did find anyone who saw it though. I will be buying this movie and watching it again. Nostalgia, there's nothing like it.

Any student of horror has to look back on some so-called "Giallo" films of the 70's and just wonder..why?

In "Mark Of The Devil", for instance, WHY did we need to see an innocent woman's tongue ripped out by crazed and perverse "witchfinders" and then see her burned to death, unable to scream: WHY did we need to see Count Cumberland (played in a nearly perfect constipated, corrupt "manly" feverish fury by Herbert Lom) rape the mother of two children who are locked up in a cell because they were playing with puppets? WHY did we need to see nails stuck up the a** of Baron Daume, played by some other tan Italian guy? And WHY, oh why, would we have any interest in a romance between Udo Kier (playing a Byronic Thomas More, kind of) and some idiotic but very attractive Italian woman?

The answer is difficult but undeniable: the madness of natural breasts, gore, the constant mention of the Devil in some way, and the undeniable fact that historians who study some of the Inquisition's torture techniques are really no different from the people who watch nonsense like this: the curiosity about ultimate chaos under the guise of religious purity.

A more refined version of this interesting trashfest is "Witchfinder General" with Vincent Price. That great but largely unnoticed horror star, Reggie Nalder ("Salem's Lot", "Zoltan", "The Manchurian Candidate") is here in full glory as Albino, a demented and malicious witchfinder. I don't know why he never got more attention. That nose, that burnt mouth...authentically sinister.