Witch-hunting is a topic made in exploitation heaven. Not only do you have the opportunity for extended sequences of mutilation (usually female, per grindhouse orders), but you also have the moralistic universe swirling around the money shots, covering you against charges of inhumanity. Cecil B. DeMille no doubt smiles down upon the films that engage in such hypocrisy, and it's easy to see Michael Armstrong's Mark of the Devil currying favour with him, tied as it is to both horrible tortures and condemnation of horrible tortures. Yet for all its terrible, pioneering gore, what sticks are the film's scenes of various witchfinders standing around debating the viability of the practice, which somehow manage to take the curse off the whole sleazy enterprise. Mark of the Devil isn't exactly The Crucible, but it's just interested enough in its subject matter to make you wonder if the story justifies the gore or if it's the other way around.

Our time frame is the 18^th century, our place somewhere in Europe. Count Christian von Meruh (Udo Kier) arrives in town to deal with allegations of witch activity and doesn't like what he sees. Local inquisitor/illiterate lech Albino (Reggie Nalder) has been blackmailing the women for their sexual favours, sending those who resist to be tortured and burned--a situation that chills the naïve but virtuous Christian. He naturally appeals to the authority of his mentor, Count Cumberland (Herbert Lom), a man he identifies with fairness and mercy--but that's before he falls for the comely Vanessa (Olivera Vuco). She, despite being set up by Albino, arouses no pity in Cumberland, and thus the stage is set for a disillusionment of epic proportions--to say nothing of the burnings. And the stretchings. And the gougings.

The film is justly famous for its "realistic" gore, including a tongue-pulling--immortalized on the cover art of Blue Underground's DVD reissue--worthy of Herschell Gordon Lewis. But none of it lands with the impact it ought to. Unlike the similarly-themed (and roughly contemporaneous) The Devils, it lacks an overarching aesthetic approach: where Ken Russell blended his outrages with his drama, filling you with dread for what horrors might lurk around the corner, the tortures of Mark of the Devil are merely baroque interludes in an otherwise meat-and-potatoes affair. One questions the relevance of the grisly scenes to the real action going on outside--they're such a persistent nuisance as to feel like mini-movies of their own, that lack of cohesion seemingly betraying the uncredited direction of Armstrong's eventual replacement, Adrian Hoven.

Still, it's a testament to the material that the narrative manages to overpower the grue. While the script (by Armstrong and Hoven, writing as Sergio Sasstner and Percy Parker, respectively) is bare bones and style-free, because it takes great pains to emphasize the corruption of the witch-hunting apparatus (the prosecutions are marked by various Catch-22s and illogical logic), the dialogue-driven encounters constitute more than just downtime between torture scenes. Not much more, perhaps, but the film does enough to keep you interested in what twisted reasoning will inform the next ugly decision. Mark of the Devil remains frighteningly true to its convictions, down to a fittingly sardonic ending that shows the pervasiveness of the system and how doing the right thing won't always keep you alive. Not bad for something that bills itself as "positively the most horrifying film ever made!"

Will Blue Underground's hot streak never end? Mark of the Devil is another sensational transfer from the Cadillac of exploitation labels--the film looks better on disc than many major-label releases do. The 1.85:1, 16x9-enhanced presentation (from an amazingly clean source print) is supremely well modulated; fine detail is razor-sharp while the vivid palette comes through without oversaturation. Even the Dolby 2.0 mono audio is astonishing, round and potent and just as defect-free as the image.

The typically lavish selection of extras begins with a Michael Armstrong commentary track moderated by FANGORIA contributor Jonathan Sothcott, both of whom occasionally sound muffled due to mike problems. The former is genial and garrulous, offering much praise for his collaborators (with the exception of Hoven) and backstory on the crazed multinational nature of the production. He's genuinely surprised about public shock over the gore and at the same time keen to point out which torture devices are the genuine article. Overall, it's a fun, informative track, even if Armstrong is loath to point out what Hoven actually shot.

Four featurettes offer talking-head featurettes with cast members Kier ("Fear and Loathing in Austria" (7 mins.)), Herbert Fux ("The Devil's Torturer" (13 mins.)), Gaby Fuchs ("Burn Gaby Burn!" (7 mins.)), and Ingeborg Shoner ("The Devil's Assaulted" (7 mins.)). These are worth checking out for the personality quirks that shine through, with an amusing Kier disdaining the interview process, Fux taking it all too seriously (but at least addressing the Armstrong/Hoven controversy), Fuchs summoning memories from her relatively few days on set of how they accomplished the tongue-rending, and Shoner reproving the horror genre (though she says she enjoyed working with Herbert Lom). Also included: a massive gallery of stills and promotional materials featuring shots of the deleted "supernatural" finale that was destroyed by Hoven; three radio spots; and the film's trailer.-Travis Hoover