John Hillcoat To Direct The Remake of the Historical Horror Film WITCHFINDER GENERAL
The 1968 historical horror drama Witchfinder General is getting remade by director John Hillcoat (Lawless) and producer Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive).
For those of you not familiar with the original movie, is starred the great Vincent Price and was based on a novel written by Ronald Bassett. The story is set in 1645 Norfolk, England, it was “a fictionalized study of real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and the heinous crimes he committed during the English Civil War.”
The original film also featured a lot of torture and violence, which as you might image, stirred up some good controversy at the time. As it played at drive-ins and grindhouse theaters, it became a cult classic. With Hillcoat and Refn bringing this story to life again, I imagine they’ll also want to push the limits in regards to crazy content.
Jon Croker (Woman In Black 2) has been hired to write the script, and here’s the synopsis for the original film:
A disturbing tale of evil set during the English Civil War. When Matthew Hopkins is appointed Witchfinder General by the Puritans under Cromwell, he is empowered to travel the countryside with his henchmen and collect a fee for each witch from whom he extracts a confession - a policy which is exploited to the full.
Refn had this to say in a statement:
“For almost 20 years, Rupert Preston has not only been one of the main distributors of my films, he has also been one of my closest partners in entertainment. It is with extreme pleasure that both Rupert and I can incorporate John Hillcoat into our group as director for our production of Witchfinder General. It gives me enormous satisfaction to produce John’s vision and bring the retelling of this classic British film to a new audience.”
Hillcoat added:
“I am excited to work with fellow filmmaker Nic Refn, a maverick auteur and who, together with Rupert Preston, have been fully committed to independent cinema over the years. I’m drawn to the dynamic departures behind this remake. The idea of a world pushed to extremes where fear preys upon all, unleashing religious fanaticism, rival factions, tribalism, heretics, and witch hunts… feels strangely familiar in today’s world.”
Vertigo’s Rupert Preston goes on to say:
“We’re huge fans of John’s work and thrilled that John and his company, Blank Films, have come on board. It’s an incredibly powerful and iconic piece and is now a re-imagining of the original film rather than a straight remake. It is set to excite and resonate with a worldwide audience.”
I’m actually looking forward to seeing how this new adaptation of Witchfinder General turns out!
Source: Deadline