Mark of the Devil Part II 4K 1973 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

A continuing account of the interrogations, torture and torment, and executions of "witches" and "heretics" during the Inquisition ...

Review 4K Movie

Like the first film, this sequel belongs to the same “scary” cinematic genre that exploits the theme of “tortured witches,” where a significant portion of the running time is strictly devoted to the theme of on-screen violence, presented in the context of the powerful Inquisition. Thus, the viewer is constantly presented with a “mandatory” set of simple ingredients: witch hunters with repulsive faces, emboldened by impunity, mock innocent people, mainly girls of a certain age, who are often stripped naked on camera against a backdrop of barbaric devices. Added to this are gloomy dungeons, confessions extracted in court, slander, and, of course, after heart-wrenching torture, the beautiful actresses preferably do not lose their makeup. Mark of the Devil 2 (Hexen geschandet und zu Tode gequalt) follows this subgenre path, but due to its secondary nature in the duology, it inevitably draws comparisons to the original, and not in favor of the sequel.

Overall, the film feels like a pale shadow of its predecessor due to its frequent repetitions and the reduced number of people from the original film crew who made it into the sequel. The only remaining director, Adrian Hoven, brought not only the actor who played the villain, Albano , Reggie Nalder, in a completely identical visual plan, even leaving the same blood-red doublet and black tricorn hat, as well as the detailed character description, but changing the name for an insignificant formality. But the creative uncertainty of the production is expressed most clearly in the plot, which, surprisingly, is not an ideological continuation of the open ending of the first episode, but rather a rephrasing in which the viewer encounters a town tormented by a gang of inquisitors, within which a handful of positive characters must somehow survive, lacking the power to counteract total evil and slander. But unfortunately, the script is “dry,” and even the issues are almost blurred, because the witch hunters are portrayed as purely straightforward sadists, whereas before their motives were mercenary in nature, making them alive and real in their relationships with each other. The backdrop of the beautiful sights of life and nature, contrasting with the scary, gloomy dungeons, is made up of a young nun and a boy playing in the forest, and, of course, falling foul of the torturers, whereas in the original it was a genuinely fascinating story of an unusual love between a young witch hunter and a local tavern girl accused of witchcraft, in a performance by Udo Kier and Olivera Vuco (Olivera Vuco). Now, unfortunately, there is nothing like that to be found, nor is there any gradual ideological metamorphosis of the representative of the Inquisition throughout the entire film, except for some ridiculous climax that provokes the viewer's indignation with its implausibility, with repentance at the most unexpected moment, in the absence of any emotional drama or sudden feelings.

Perhaps the aforementioned simplification and secondary nature are the most important directorial mistakes, when otherwise the film maintains a decent level for its genre. Firstly, Erika Blanc, who was invited to play the central role, gives an excellent performance as a defenseless, beautiful mourner surrounded by the atrocities of witch hunters, in order to elicit the audience's sympathy for her. Secondly, the visuals of the ancient fortifications and the accompanying costume design are commendable in every way, creating the atmosphere of a bygone era. There are plenty of extras to show a city teeming with life. And the epicenter of the whole idea with all kinds of fake tortures of various kinds, executions, and burnings at the stake in front of a crowd of onlookers was a success, because, no matter how you look at it, the subgenre requires a constant succession of similar scenes with little respite for dialogue.

Overall, the film is very straightforward and tediously (perhaps purely for my viewing taste) monotonous in its prescribed sadism, with no right to any scripted respite in the form of an accompanying background story (except for the conditionally simplified one with the countess-widow). However, for connoisseurs of works on this theme, it can bring a certain pleasure for its visual quality, even if it does not shine with anything outstanding among similar productions.