Mark Of The Devil [1969] [1984]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-02-05 rating:
Hilarious for all the wrong reasons
This is one of those low budget, unintentionally funny horror films that could have been entertaining if it didn't take itself so seriously. It has an interesting plot, a village plagued by an unjust witch hunter, but the acting is absoloutely atrocious. It reminded me of all the absoloute poorest actors from other low budget films such as Bronx Warriors, Tower Of Evil, and Cannibal Terror, all brought together and given lessons on how to act terribly. A one star review is avoided only by the torture scenes, which, for a 60's film, are quite impressive, although they do look a bit dated today. One thing I found very bizarre was that when I bought this on video, the entire plot is given away on the back of the box. I presumed the film would carry on from the where the back of the box blurb left off, but it actually gives away the whole story, from start to finish. This is something I just can't understand. Buy this film if it going cheap to watch the torture sequences, but they're not really good enough to justify watching the film a second time.


review by: date: 2004-01-10 rating:
notoriously over-rated
I am a horror fanatic, and I read so much about this film - how it broke new ground, went places that 1960's cinema did not dare to go...etc.- that I felt it should become part of my precious and precocious collection. Reviewers would name-drop 'Mark Of The Devil' as a paeon of gore film-making, as something to be compared by. Sadly, this is not the case. Its rubbish - the work of an amateur film-maker (who has gone on to make little more than American TVMs), and it does not deserve the 'cult' plaudits which have been rudely stolen away from the infinitely superior 'Witchfinder General' (which it follows in plot, but not quality). Herbert Lom escapes with his reputation, but the remaining cast are clearly aesthetic additions designed to distract from the cinematic catastrophe occuring in front of the viewer. Yes, the scenery is tremendous, but I suggest you watch the phenomenal Werner Herzog if thats your thing. Yes, the gore factor is high (in places), but you're constantly reminded that you're in movie-land by the awful performances of the victims. This film has all the production qualities of a soft-porn film, with the subtlety and intelligence of a lead-lined breeze-block. I give it two stars because I've yet to have a 1 star review published on Amazon.

Note 1: when this film first went out in cinemas in the US, sick bags were provided for the audience. I'm not sure why they did this, but perhaps it was because of the appallingly contrived romance scenes between the two leads.
Note 2: Star Udo Kier latterly appeared in The Story Of O - a French pseudo-bondage film, in which he turned in a similarly Mahogany perfomance. How do these films ever get made...?

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Similar categories

Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Horror & Suspense . 1960s
Video . Video . Categories . Horror & Suspense . General
Video . Video . Refinements . Condition (condition-type)
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Horror
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . 18
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1960 - 1969
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . VHS

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