Mark of the Devil Part II (1973)

Original title: Hexen Geschandet und zu Tode Gequalt

Director: Adrian Hoven

Writers: Michael Armstrong, Fred Denger, Adrian Hover


Starring: Erika Blanc, Anton Diffring, Percy Hoven, Lukas Ammann, Jean-Pierre Zola, Astrid Kilian, Ellen Umlauf, Harry Hardt, Rosemarie Heinikel, Dietrich Kerky, Johannes Buzalski, Reggie Nalder

More info: IMDb

Tagline: More Horrifying Than the Original!

Plot: A tribunal interrogates, tortures and murders "witches" and "heretics" during the Inquisition.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I watched MARK OF THE DEVIL (1970) nine years ago.  That's one benefit of keeping track of what I watch is knowing when I watched what.  I really enjoyed that one.  It was fun and grisly.  I'm surprised it too so long to watch the sequel.  The internet says it sucks but I liked it.  Anton Diffring steps into role similar to Herbert Lom's in the original and the unmistakable Reggie Nalder is back as the Witchfinder General's right hand man...

That's not makeup, by the way.  Nalder was in an accident that burned a third of his face and he took advantage of that unfortunate incident.  This picture does well enough as a sequel in trying to tell its own story by keeping up with one aspect  the original did so well and that's torture, pain and suffering.  The downside is that there's not as much as the first picture and it's not as gory and harsh but there are several scenes that at least try.

Even though this picture echoes the original in many ways, it's got nice location shooting in Austria (their beautiful forests look like something from an old fairy tale) as well as a dirty, lived-in world.

I'd almost be inclined to watch it again if I came across a better print and after seeing the first one again.  I honestly don't understand the hate some films get but there are a variety of reasons and that's something that I like to discuss in person.  Stuff like that intrigues me and I enjoy engaging with other movie fans.  Don't go into this thinking it's a lousy sequel to a very good film.  Enjoy it for what it is.  I did and I'm happy for it.