Another flick in the "burn the witch" cannon that was semi-popular in the late 60's/early 70's (Witchfinder General, Mark of the Devil, et al). Price is a vicious magistrate fixated on ridding the countryside of witches. When he makes the mistake of letting Oona, the mistress of the old religion, live, she curses his family and the death of each member is preceded by... the cry of the banshee! A mostly entertaining flick that sometimes sags under Hessler's somewhat limp direction and an unconvincing (though wisely just glimpsed) monster that actually resembles an art project I did in Grade 7.
And there's cool, unexpected, though maybe not 100% appropriate Terry Gilliam opening credits.
A final thought: Were these "burn the witch" flicks popular during their release in reaction to the then-burgeoning Women's Lib movement?
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