Inquisition (1977)

Inquisition is a 1977 Spanish horror film which belongs very much to the then very popular sub-genre of witch-hunter movies.

Inquisition was Paul Naschy’s first film as director although he was already well established as a screenwriter and horror star. Naschy also wrote the screenplay for Inquisition.

Although this is a Spanish movie the setting is France in the 16th century. There’s a very good reason for this. Despite its reputation the Inquisition in Spain was not particularly brutal and was not particularly concerned with witch-hunting. Its main focus was on heresy. The witch craze was much more of a French and central European thing. Naschy was quite knowledgeable when it came this sort of thing so his choice of France as a setting was undoubtedly deliberate. He chose France for the same reason Ken Russell set The Devils in France (and for the same reason that Aldous Huxley set his source novel for that film, The Devils of Loudon, in France).

Three travellers arrive in a small provincial town named Peyriac. On their journey they pass through regions devastated by plague. The three travellers are the chief inquisitor Bernard de Fossey (Paul Naschy) and his assistants and they are on the hunt for witches.

At this stage you’re expecting a straightforward witch-hunting exploitation movie but throughout the film Naschy throws in subtle twists. There really are witches in Peyriac. But are they actual witches, or are they just deluded?

The three inquisitors are soon busily burning women at the stake. Most of those targeted by the inquisitors have no involvement at all in witchcraft, but some do. People are being denounced all over the place. In some cases the denunciations are inspired by a desire for revenge or the hope of personal gain. In some cases they’re the result of hysteria.

The inquisitors are fanatics. They take all accusations at face value. They assume that anyone accused of witchcraft must in fact be a witch. Their cruelty is breathtaking. On the other hand they do seem to believe sincerely in what they are doing. What they are doing is wrong and evil but they believe it is righteous.

Bernard is staying at the home of the mayor. He notices the mayor’s two beautiful daughters, Catherine and Elvire. In particular he notices Catherine (Daniela Giordano). Bernard has a reputation as an ascetic immune to temptation but he is clearly tempted by Catherine.

Catherine’s devoted maidservant Madeleine (Mónica Randall) will play a key role in the story. She is a witch. Or she may be a witch. Madeleine is friendly with an old woman named Mabille who is also perhaps a witch.

Catherine has a lover and she has perhaps not been sufficiently discreet about this dalliance. For Catherine it is more than a dalliance. She is madly in love with Jean.

The household servant Rénover (Antonio Iranzo) is ugly and embittered. He lusts after the young women of the household. He is also sly and treacherous.

It’s obvious that Bernard’s attraction to Catherine and Rénover’s treacherous nature will lead to trouble, which is what happens.

Throughout the story there are subtle ambiguities. Much of the plot hinges on a murder. More importantly it hinges on Catherine’s interpretation of that event, and her interpretation is based on a dream. It is possible that this dream is inspired by a supernatural agency although this is far from certain. Of course if it is supernaturally inspired then the dream might be true or it might be false. The audience’s interpretation of that murder is also crucial since it will determine our attitude towards the behaviour of two key characters. We need to know if the dream is true or false, but we don’t know.

There are plenty of lies and delusions in this tale, and there are multiple levels of lies and delusions. Some of the lies may be partly true.

Whether anything supernatural actually occurs is also uncertain.

The motivations of key characters seem straightforward and then as the movie progresses we find ourselves having doubts. The guilty might not be as guilty as we had assumed. The innocent might not be as innocent. The characters might themselves fail to fully understand their own motivations.

There are several villains some of whom are more purely villainous than others. The evils that occur in this story are to a large extent a result of a society that has become insane and deluded, as happens to human societies again and again and sadly always will happen.

Naschy doesn’t try to manipulate us into hating or despising, or feeling sympathy for, the central characters (or the minor characters for that matter). We have to make our own judgments.

The movie looks good and Naschy tried hard to make it look authentic.

The rather outrageous exploitation elements (there’s quite a bit of nudity, sex and gruesomeness) could easily cause a viewer to overlook the subtleties and ambiguities. In its sleazy way Inquisition is complex and even slightly cerebral. To appreciate the movie fully you need to think about it. Don’t assume this is just a sleazy exploitation movie.

The movie is of course going to be compared to movies like The Devils, Witchfinder-General, Jess Franco’s The Bloody Judge and Blood on Satan’s Claw but Inquisition has its own flavour. A fine directorial debut. Highly recommended.

Mondo Macabro’s Blu-Ray looks great and there are extras including an audio commentary.