''Mark of the Devil Part II'', or in original German ''Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält'' (lit. "Witches Are Violated and Tortured to Death"), is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

released in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. It is a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to '' Mark of the Devil''.

Plot

Young noblewoman Elisabeth von Salmenau encounters a group of religious fanatics led by Balthasar von Ross and his henchman Natas. Her husband is killed and her young son Alexander is deemed the devil's spawn. Elisabeth intends to plead the innocence of her son, but when she refuses Balthasar's advances, she is also deemed a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

by the corrupt officials, and tortured.

Cast

Erika Blanc Erika Blanc (born Enrica Bianchi Colombatto; 23 July 1942) is an Italian actress. Career Her most notable role was as the first fictional character Emmanuelle in '' Io, Emmanuelle'' (1969). Blanc starred in several cult European horror films, ...

as Elisabeth von Salmenau *

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack; 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German actor. He had an extensive film and television career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. Primarily a c ...

as Balthasar von Ross * Percy Hoven as Alexander von Salmenau *

Reggie Nalder Reggie Nalder (born Alfred Natzler; 4 September 1907 – 19 November 1991) was a prolific Austrian film and television character actor from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. His distinctive features—partially the result of disfiguring burns� ...

as Natas *

Lukas Ammann Lukas Ammann (29 September 1912 – 3 May 2017) was a Swiss people, Swiss actor who appeared mainly in German and Swiss films and television shows. He continued to work steadily for over 60 years. He is best known for his title role in the ...

as Eminence * Jean-Pierre Zola as Nicholas * Astrid Kilian as Clementine * Ellen Umlauf as Abbess * as Pompanne (credited as Rosy Rosy) * Dietrich Kerky as Father Melchior *

Johannes Buzalski Johannes Buzalski (1918–1977) was a German film and television actor.Rentschler p.287 Selected filmography * '' Hello, Fraulein!'' (1949) * ''Jonny Saves Nebrador'' (1953) * ''The Confession of Ina Kahr'' (1954) * '' Heroism after Hours'' (1955 ...

as Advocate *

Adrian Hoven Adrian Hoven (18 May 1922 – 28 April 1981) was an Austrian actor, producer and film director. He appeared in 100 films between 1947 and 1981. He was born in Wöllersdorf, Austria as ''Wilhelm Arpad Hofkirchner'' and died in Tegernsee, We ...

as Count Alexander von Salmenau

Production

Although sold as a

, the film has no real connection to the first film outside of a similar time period and instances of gratuitous torture.

, who played the villain in the first film, co-stars here but plays a different character.

Release

The film was released theatrically in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by Hallmark Releasing, distributor of the first film, in 1974. It has been available on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

in a multitude of releases from different companies, all varying in terms of the violent content, and never been officially released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in the

External links

* 1973 films 1973 horror films 1970s German films 1970s German-language films Films about nobility Films about witchcraft Films about witch hunting Films directed by Adrian Hoven Films set in the 18th century German horror films Nunsploitation films West German films {{1970s-horror-film-stub