In 1645 the English have been engaged in a civil war. The forces of Lord Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax were pitted against those of the Royalists and King Charles I. During these unsettled times grifters ran unchecked throughout Britain. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his minion, John Stearne (Robert Russell) roamed the countryside and offered their talents as witch hunters. For a price, Matthew would arrive at a village and purge it of witches. They will torture those suspected of being a witch until they confessed. They would then hang or burn the confessed witch, get paid, and then go on to the next village.
Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) is a soldier under the direction of Captain Gordon (Michael Beint). He is from the village of Brandeston and is engaged to Sara (Hilary Heath), the niece of the village priest, John Lowes (Rupert Davies). Richard arrives home to visit his betrothed only to find that the witchfinder has tortured and killed Lowes. Richard also learns that Matthew took advantage of Sara by making her offer herself to save her uncle.
Hopkins and Stearne become separated when soldiers try to commandeer their horses. Hopkins goes to the village of Lavenham. They have at least three witches that need to be tortured and burned. Lavenham is also the village where Richard sent Sara. Stearne finds out that Hopkins is in Lavenham. After he reunites with Hopkins the two men find out that Sara is also in the village. Knowing that Richard will be looking for Sara, the two witchfinders decide to set a trap to capture them both and, under the authority of the local magistrate, they plan on torturing and killing them both as witches.
“The Witchfinder General” AKA “Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General” AKA “The Conqueror Worm" was released in 1968 and was directed by Michael Reeves. It is a British historical horror film. The movie was based on the book “Witchfinder General” by Ronald Bassett.
The American version of the film was called “Edgar Allan Poe’s The Conqueror Worm”, or “Matthew Hopkins: Conqueror Worm” even though the movie has nothing to do with Poe. The American producers, AIP, wanted to connect the movie with the Roger Corman/ Edgar Allan Poe series of films it did that featured Vincent Price. Price narrated the poem “The Conqueror Worm” at the beginning and ending of the American version.
There actually was a witchfinder named Matthew Hopkins and a John Stearne who lived during the British civil war in 1645. It is believed that they killed and tortured somewhere around 300 people, mostly women. Hopkins and Stearne were active for only two to three years as witchfinders. The title of Witchfinder General is one that Hopkins gave to himself. Matthew Hopkins died in Manningtree, Essex in 1647. The cause of death is believed to have been pleural tuberculosis. His age at the time of his death is thought to be somewhere around 28.