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* MercyKill: One of the soldiers does this to Hopkins, who is still alive after being savagely hacked with an axe by Marshall.
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* MercyKill: One of the soldiers does this to Hopkins, who is still alive after being savagely hacked with an axe by Marshall. [[spoiler:As he only has one bullet, he realizes too late that he can't put Marshall out of ''his'' misery, leaving Marshall to go finally and fully insane.]]
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* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Hopkins is dead, and his reign of terror in England is presumably over, but Marshall and Sara are severely traumatised and possibly permanently insane as a result of their terrible experiences.]]
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* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Hopkins is dead, but Marshall and Sara are severely traumatised and possibly permanently insane as a result of their terrible experiences.]]
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* ArtisticLicenseHistory: You can read about it [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchfinder_General_(film)#Historical_accuracy here]] at Wiki/TheOtherWiki. Though its worth noting that the novel it adapted its story from also uses some Artistic License.
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* ArtisticLicenseHistory: You can read about it [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchfinder_General_(film)#Historical_accuracy here]] at Wiki/TheOtherWiki.Website/TheOtherWiki. Though its worth noting that the novel it adapted its story from also uses some Artistic License.
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* HeroicBSoD: Richard gets a short thousand-yard stare when he realizes Sara is telling him that Hopkins defiled her.
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* HeroicBSoD: HeroicBSOD: Richard gets a short thousand-yard stare when he realizes Sara is telling him that Hopkins defiled her.
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[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/105a5eb228a5e86a7a3adfa5dac568a1_1.jpg]]
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* ChristianityIsCatholic: Initially averted - the film touches on the divisions within the Church of England, and the fact that Reverend Lowes is targeted partly because the Puritans consider his High Church practices too ''close'' to Catholicism; but in the final scene we see Puritan soldiers making the sign of the cross, a ''very'' un-Puritan thing to do.
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: In addition to a highly fictionalized Hopkins, we have a cameo by UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell.
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: In addition to a highly fictionalized Hopkins, we have a cameo by UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell. (Stearne and Lowes were also real people.)
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* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Apart from the character of Hopkins and some of his torture techniques, all of the film is fictitious.
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* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Apart from the character characters of Hopkins and Stearne and some of his their torture techniques, all of the film is fictitious.
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* HeroicBSoD: Richard gets a short thousand-yard stare when he realizes Sara is telling him that Hopkins defiled her.
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* TheSociopath: Matthew Hopkins, who pretends to be a Puritan hunting witches, but is really just torturing random women to death for money.
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* TheSociopath: TheSociopath:
** Matthew Hopkins, who pretends to be a Puritan hunting witches, but is really just torturing random women to death formoney.money.
** John Stearne. While Hopkins at least ''tries'' to pass for someone who genuinely wants to rid the world of evil, Stearne is an ObviouslyEvil sadist who makes no attempt whatsoever to hide that he's only working with Hopkins so he can hurt people.
** Matthew Hopkins, who pretends to be a Puritan hunting witches, but is really just torturing random women to death for
** John Stearne. While Hopkins at least ''tries'' to pass for someone who genuinely wants to rid the world of evil, Stearne is an ObviouslyEvil sadist who makes no attempt whatsoever to hide that he's only working with Hopkins so he can hurt people.
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The most famous film by British 1960s horror studio Creator/TigonBritishFilmProductions (even though everyone assumes that it [[WrongfullyAttributed must have been by Hammer]]). ''Witchfinder General'', known in the USA as "The Conqueror Worm", starred horror icon Creator/VincentPrice as the notorious seventeenth-century fanatic Matthew Hopkins, the [[JobTitle eponymous]] self-styled [[TheWitchHunter Witchfinder General]]. Initially condemned by critics for its graphic violence, but a modest commercial success, the film has become a celebrated CultClassic of British rural horror.
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The most famous film by British 1960s horror studio Creator/TigonBritishFilmProductions (even though everyone assumes that it [[WrongfullyAttributed must have been by Hammer]]). ''Witchfinder General'', known in the USA as "The Conqueror Worm", starred horror icon Creator/VincentPrice as the notorious seventeenth-century fanatic Matthew Hopkins, the [[JobTitle eponymous]] self-styled [[TheWitchHunter Witchfinder General]]. Initially condemned by critics for its graphic violence, but a modest commercial success, the film has become a celebrated CultClassic of [[FolkHorror British rural horror.
horror]].
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* ChekhovsGunman: When Elizabeth Clarke is being burned, a man called Paul (presumably her lover) is seen being restrained. [[spoiler: Paul later shows up to try and take revenge on Hopkins as he's framing Richard and Sara. Although he's shot before he can do anything directly, he's able to tell Richard's comrades where they've gone]].
* ContrivedCoincidence: Sara flees Brandestown to take up residence in Lavenham, in the hopes that she'll be safe from Hopkins. It just so happens that's the town Hopkins decides to go to after nearly being captured by Richard.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Stearne's ultimate fate, which pales in comparison to what happens to Hopkins immediately after]].
* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: It's no coincidence that Richard has to watch Sara be tortured first]].
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Sara in the last act of the film is wearing a violet dress, which only serves to highlight her virtue and valor.
* HeroicSeductress: Sara wisely realises that Hopkins wants to sleep with her, and uses the opportunity to get him to spare Father Lowes in exchange.
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Sara in the last act of the film is wearing a violet dress, which only serves to highlight her virtue and valor.
* HeroicSeductress: Sara wisely realises that Hopkins wants to sleep with her, and uses the opportunity to get him to spare Father Lowes in exchange.
* ImperiledInPregnancy: One of Hopkins's victims begs to spared because she is "with child" (although it's not known if she was or was lying in the hopes of pity). Either way she's ducked with the other two. She drowns, and Hopkins declares that she was innocent after all.
* OnlyAFleshWound: Stearne seems to forget that he was shot in the shoulder by the time the third act rolls around.
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* ScarpiaUltimatum: Initially downplayed but later made even worse. Hopkins declares Sara's father to be a witch and starts torturing him, until she, and not Hopkins, comes up with the idea of offering him sex to let her father go. He agrees, but when his depraved minion Stearne rapes her, he treats '''her''' as betraying him and has her father tortured and killed.
* SelfSurgery: One man is shot in the shoulder while fighting some soldiers who's intended to confiscate his mare. Left alone and bleeding, he sets about extracting the bullet himself with his knife, and his screams are heard as the camera [[GoryDiscretionShot pans up to the overhanging trees]].
* SelfSurgery: One man is shot in the shoulder while fighting some soldiers who's intended to confiscate his mare. Left alone and bleeding, he sets about extracting the bullet himself with his knife, and his screams are heard as the camera [[GoryDiscretionShot pans up to the overhanging trees]].
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* ScarpiaUltimatum: Initially downplayed but later made even worse. Hopkins declares Sara's father uncle to be a witch and starts torturing him, until she, and not Hopkins, comes up with the idea of offering him sex to let her father go. He agrees, but when his depraved minion Stearne rapes her, he treats '''her''' as betraying him and has her father uncle tortured and killed.
* SelfSurgery:One man Stearne is shot in the shoulder while fighting some soldiers who's intended to confiscate his mare. Left alone and bleeding, he sets about extracting the bullet himself with his knife, and his screams are heard as the camera [[GoryDiscretionShot pans up to the overhanging trees]].trees]].
* SexyDiscretionShot: The implication that Sara is offering herself to Hopkins is shown with ToplessnessFromTheBack, before cutting away.
* ShamefulStrip: Downplayed but one of the methods of torture has Stearne drilling into the victim's back. Naturally the clothing has to be ripped for that to happen.
* SelfSurgery:
* SexyDiscretionShot: The implication that Sara is offering herself to Hopkins is shown with ToplessnessFromTheBack, before cutting away.
* ShamefulStrip: Downplayed but one of the methods of torture has Stearne drilling into the victim's back. Naturally the clothing has to be ripped for that to happen.
