It is a time in England when civil war torn the country apart and and law-and-order has broken down. There's a corrupt man, Matthew Hopkins poses as a witchhunter, using bogus accusations to satisfy his greed and lust. One of the victims is a village priest and Hopkins also takes sexual advantage of the priest's niece, Sara. Once her betrothed, Richard Marshall learns about the situation, he's filled with anger and vows vengeance on Hopkins. Wow, it's surprisingly brutal and can be very difficult to watch. This is an accurate portrayal of the corrupting influences of power, money and religion. It manages to capture the beauty of the English countryside and depict witch hunting in all of its cruelty and barbarism. Those execution sequences are very disturbing for 60s film. We got the usual stuff like hanging and burning but this film gives you a sense of hopelessness and those piercing screams make the experience more uncomfortable. We got a nihilistic ending as well. Vincent Price delivers a very serious and frightening performance. They did a great job on the set and costume design as they feel very authentic and pull me into the era. A tough watch but I enjoyed the overall experience.