Like the 1961 version, this film pretty much ignores Edgar Allan Poe's original story. The action takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and focuses on Inquisitor-General Torquemada (Lance Henriksen) who, attracted to a baker's wife (Rona De Ricci) accused of witchcraft, makes plans to do away with her husband (Jonathan Fuller). Henriksen hams it up in this slick period piece, while Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon gives the torture scenes a gleefully ghoulish edge. The screenplay also has an interesting serious side to it, illustrating how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Set during the height of Spanish Inquisition. The beautiful and kind-hearted Maria is arrested as a witch when she inadvertently cries out in horror at the public whipping of a child. As Maria’s husband Antonio tries to save her, Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, determines to punish Maria with torture for the desire she inflames in him. Loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story.