The first directorial effort of Paul Naschy, who by then had firmly established himself as a star of the horror genre, 1977’s Inquisition tells a story of religious fanaticism during the middle ages, when so-called “holy” men went from town-to-town, executing anyone accused of witchcraft.
Set during the days of the French Inquisition, the film stars Naschy as Bernard de Fossey, whose sole purpose is to expose heretics and those who are in league with Satan. Along with his assistants Nicholas (Ricardo Merino) and Pierre (Tony Isbert), de Fossey makes his way to the prosperous French village of Peyriac, where he informs the authorities that witchcraft is running rampant in the area.
Shortly after his arrival, de Fossey falls in love with Catherine (Daniela Giordano), the daughter of the town’s mayor. Catherine, however, is already in love with Jean (Juan Luis Galiardo), who has promised to marry her.
Like a good many of these movies, Inquisition points out how easy it once was to execute someone for witchcraft, and how the accusers themselves were often as evil, if not more so, than the condemned. A servant named Renover (Antonio Iranzo), who is blind in one eye, had been constantly ridiculed by the young women of Peyriac, and he takes revenge on them by accusing first one and then another of witchcraft. Each girl is brutally tortured until she confesses (the interrogation of Denise, played by Jenny Llata, is particularly tough to watch). Once convicted, they are burned at the stake.
But Inquisition goes a step further than most by including scenes with actual witches, who have given themselves over to the darkness. When Jean is found murdered on the side of the road, a distraught Catherine turns to her good friend Madeleine (Monica Randall) for comfort. Madeleine takes the grieving Catherine to visit Mabille (Tota Alba), a purported expert in the black arts. Mabille promises to reveal the identity of Jean’s killer to Catherine if she, in turn, dedicates her life to Satan. Convinced that de Fossey had a hand in Jean’s death, Catherine also seduces the holy man in an effort to discredit him among his peers. Already attracted to Catherine, de Fossey proves easy prey. As disturbing as the initial scenes of Inquisition are, when innocents are sent to their deaths, it’s in the second half, when witchcraft and devil worshipping take center stage, that the film delves even further into the horrific.
Along with its well-paced story, Inquisition features costumes, settings, and even make-up effects (during one of her “trips” to the sabbat, or black mass, Catherine encounters a demon that looks damn eerie) that convincingly transport us back to this most unfortunate moment in human history.
In later interviews, Naschy himself said he was proud of this movie, claiming the reviews at the time of its release praised his efforts, especially as a novice director. And rightly so: Inquisition stands alongside The Witchfinder General and Mark of the Devil as one of the best entries in this particular subgenre of horror.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
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