cinema history class: mark of the devil part ii

Session: Mark of the Devil Rip-Off Month, Week 3
Movie: Mark of the Devil Part II (1973)
Directed by Adrian Hoven

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
In a town run by a tribunal that interrogates and kills witches and heretics, a beautiful noblewoman gets on the wrong side of the authorities. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
Mark of the Devil Part II was, as Joe put it, "not a good, well-made film." Dave put a point on it by saying that it was "pretty bad." They're not wrong. For most of the movie, the plot was difficult to follow -- as if those responsible felt it was more important to shove in as much exploitation as they could. Characters seemed to come in and then disappear for no apparent reason. It really was a big miss, although I will admit that at the end parts of it did coalesce into coherence.

Despite the title, this was not a sequel in any meaningful way. The characters were different (though Reggie Nalder did appear in both films, playing similar roles), and this didn't actually continue the story from Mark of the Devil. IN fact, judging from the European trailer, this was also released under the simple title, Witches.

All that said, Reggie Nalder was deliciously evil as Natas. And I did enjoy the way the expected deus ex machina didn't quite come in time. Oh, and I was intrigued by the line, "The virginity of my soul will always belong to my husband."

Ratings:

Me: 6

Dave: 8

Ethan: 4
Joe: 9.6

Sean: 2 out of 4

Bechdel:
Mark of the Devil Part II contains a scene in which two nuns (one of whom is topless) discuss the state of their souls and then flagellate each other. That's enough for it to pass the Bechdel test.