Gordon Hessler
Price had just scored with
WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968; released in the U.S. as The Conqueror
Worm), so production on another witch movie with the same star
began the following year in October 1969. Like Witchfinder, this
also tried to tenuously link the proceedings with the writings of Edgar
Allan Poe in order to cash in on the highly-profitable Poe adaptations
made by Roger Corman just a few years earlier. Poe's name was splashed all
over the posters (some even attributed a false quote to him) and it begins
with a quote from Poe's "The Bells" ("In the startled ear of night, how
they screamed out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, they can
only shriek, shriek, out of tune...") but in actuality this film has
almost nothing to do with the author's work. Director Gordon Hessler
(who'd previously made the Price films THE OBLONG BOX [1969], another film
very loosely based on Poe, and SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN [1969; released
1970]) wasn't pleased with the initial script written by Tim Kelly, so he
brought in Christopher Wicking to re-write the entire thing, though both
men receive billing in the credits. The music score by Wilfred Josephs was also rejected by
Hessler and had to be replaced by a new one composed by Les Baxter.
In 16th Century England, Court of Common Pleas magistrate Lord Edward
Whitman (Vincent Price) is overseeing the convictions, torturing and
executions of
witches supposedly spreading evil in the area. Just like Matthew Hopkins
character in Witchfinder, Whitman is clearly just in it for his own
sick pleasure. He has a young woman branded with a hot iron ("H is for
Heretic!"), whipped through the streets and then secured in the village
square on a rack where superstitious townspeople pelt her with rocks.
While holding a lavish feast, he has the children of a dead convicted
witch entertain him and his guests before killing both. Edward has
recently taken a much-younger wife, Patricia (Essy Persson), who
disagrees with what's going on and calls him a murderer. She's banished to
her room where her stepson Sean (Stephen Chase) rapes her and she
begins going mad. Alex has
two other children with his first wife; Harry (Carl Rigg), who's
just arrived back home from his university studies, and Maureen (Hilary
Dwyer), who refuses to take part in all the witch stuff and is more
interested in her romance with Roderick (Patrick Mower). Roderick
was found as a little boy wandering in the woods, had been adopted into
the Whitman home and has a strange calming effect on man and animal alike
that may have something to do with an ancient medallion he wears around
his neck. Father Tom (Marshall Jones) believes Roderick may
actually be descended from witches but he's quickly silenced.
A constant howling is heard through the woods, which Edward attributes to
wolves or injured dogs. Others - including Patricia - believe it's a
"banshee" and the entire Whitman family is cursed to die. Sean, who uses
his stature as the magistrate's son to terrorize and harass the villagers
and defile the women, discovers servant girl Maggie (Quinn O'Hara) is
in possession of charms and gets her to rat out a supposed real
witch named Oona (Elizabeth Bergner). Alex and his soldiers descend
on Oona and her barely-dressed young followers and slaughter half of them
as a warning for them to stop their ways. Oona proceeds to curse Edward,
his flesh, his blood, his wife, his children and his house, while praying to
Satan to send "an avenger" to come and kill off the Whitman family.
The rest plays out in a pretty predictable fashion. Oona gathers her
surviving followers in a secret location underneath a cemetery and starts
chanting and poking voodoo dolls. Sean is killed by something and
villagers, thinking it's a demon dog, hunt down a rabid dog and kill it.
Patricia begins to lose her mind and is slain and others in the Whitman
family start being targeted. At the same time, Roderick's mysterious
lineage is coming to light. By the way, the "banshee" of the title is not
a banshee as it is usually defined.
Though not great, this benefits from good costuming, art direction, acting and
music, as well as an effective surprise ending. Taking
advantage of the then-newfound freedom from censorship, there's lots of
bodice ripping and exposed breasts, too, as well as some bloody moments.
Things open with great Monty Python-style animated credits courtesy
of Terry Gilliam. The cast also includes the wild-eyed Hugh
Griffith as a drunk grave-digger, Michael Elphick and Andrew
McCulloch as two of Edward's goons, Sally Geeson (sister of
Judy) and Quinn O'Hara as witches and Stephen Rea in his film debut as a
villager.
★★1/2
