Le Vampire et le Sang des vierges

This is an unknown surreal little masterpiece of horror! Borrowing loosely from Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulem", director Reinl does a masterful job of pacing and fills the screen with surreal and spine tingling images. There is atmosphere a plenty throughout the film and a sense of uneasiness. The set pieces and costumes are beautiful and are enhanced by the color filming of the movie. Christopher Lee is the rejuvenated Count Regula out to destroy the last member of one of the families that put him to death. Karin Dor is the last female member of one of the families and her blood will give the count what he needs for his "life exlixer". A fun and atmospheric movie that one can watch over and over again. Just beware the heavily cut video rental version and try to find the complete print.

Recently viewed this little gem as "The Torture Chamber of Dr. sadism". Originally released in the US and UK as "The Blood Demon", while it's German title was "Die Schlangengrube und Das Pendel". An odd film that seemed to be a sort of German take on a mixture of Bava with one of Corman's AIP Poe efforts.

Count Regula (Christopher Lee) is drawn and quartered for the death of 12 maidens, but swears his revenge. 35 years later a disparate group ends up at the Counts ruined castle. The 4 travelers are Baroness Lillian (Karin Dor of Bond fame), her maid Babette, Roger (Lex Barker, former Tarzan and a huge star in Germany) and the monk Fabian (a hilarious turn from Vladimir Medar). As it turns out, Roger and the Baroness are the descendants of the folks that originally put the Count to death and he wants revenge. The crazed servant Anatol lures them to the castle and reanimates the Count. The Poe elements then come into play as Roger faces a deadly pendulum and Lillian is faced with a pit full of snakes. Do they foil the reanimated Count or meet their doom? Check this fun film out to see for yourself!

I expected this to be a really bad film, but was very surprised to find that I enjoyed it tremendously. Christopher Lee's performance is all menace, but with just a smattering of black humour to keep things moving. Lex Barker, more than a decade after playing Tarzan, looks great and is a perfect heroic figure. Karin Dor is lovely and does a fair bit of over the top shrieking, but still manages to give a convincing performance. This was a whole lot of fun! A bit of dark humour, Grimm's fairytale mixed with a Mario Bava sensibility and a little Poe thrown in for good measure makes for a superior European horror flick. Hopefully a nicer print will turn up or a DVD release, as the Magnum Entertainment video that I viewed was murky, faded and very badly edited.

Castle of The Walking Dead is the video version of the Constantin Film, Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel, and as such is shortened by approximately 15 minutes from the original. This film, released in 1967, is interesting for several reasons although it is certainly no classic. The careers of Lex (`Tarzan') Barker and Christopher Lee crossed briefly here and the presence of the lovely Karin Dor (wife of director Harald Reinl), whom readers may recognize from her role in the Fu Manchu films (which also starred Lee) of the same era, added a bit of grace to an otherwise grim story. Castle of . . . is an interesting mix of excellent atmosphere hampered by odd editing and sometimes laughable storyline. I was impressed by the sets and grim mood the film projected from beginning to end, and the presence of Lee makes this must see viewing for his many followers. However, this was far from his best work and one wonders if he was not overextending himself during this very busy period in his career.

Set in what appears to be 17th or 18th century Germany, Count Regula (Lee) is drawn and quartered for his offenses. 35 years later, his manservant Anatole, (ably portrayed by Carl Lange) initiates a rite to bring him back to life on Good Friday. The good Count requires the blood of 13 virgins for this to be achieved and, you guessed it, Dor as Baroness Lillian Von Brabandt is to be number 13. So the countess, and Barker as Roger Montelise, son of the judge who condemned the count many years before, are duped into visiting Regula's castle. One of the few scenes in the film which combines outstanding atmosphere with sold story line comes when Montelis and his party are being coached to the castle. A very frightening and disturbing ride it was through a forest of hanging bodies and detached limbs, giving some much needed credibility to a mostly mediocre offering. At the castle, the flow of the story breaks down. Several scripting mistakes are painfully obvious. Two examples: In one scene, Anatole is shot in the chest by Roger's man and we see a small amount of dark red blood before the bullet hole supernaturally closes. A few minutes later, Anatole cuts his wrist and green blood drips to Regula's coffin. In another, it is established that the `undead', Anatole and Regula, cannot bear the presence of a Christian cross in the same room with them. Yet instead of throwing it in his face and escaping, Dor meekly obeys Anatole's harsh command to remove it from his sight! But, in the end, the good guys win, vanquishing the risen to life Regula and the evil Anatole. They are taken away by the same coach they came in on and we are led to believe they lived happily ever after. Castle of . . . will be of interest to fans of European and/or obscure horror and the previously mentioned Lee cultists. Years ago I viewed the longer version, released under the American title, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism and the added 15 minutes enhances the story greatly, so find that copy if you can. Castle of . . . was another release from InterGlobal Home Video, whom collectors like me owe a huge debt to.

Next to "The Whip and the Body", this has got to be Lee's weirdest movie.

Lee plays Count Regula which is a very fitting name since he "regularly" frequents the local village & steals away young girls to his castle. He tortures them & uses their blood for his "life elixir". His final victim manages to escape to inform the local authorities and he is executed for his crimes (check out how its done). He manages to come back years later to exact his revenge on the descendants of his last victim & the judge/magistrate that sentenced him to death.

Among the actors you've got to check out is the guy who portrays the Count's butler/servant. He's really wild. In some scenes, he actually steals the scenes from Lee!This guy takes the phrase "loyal servant" to a whole new level! If the average household of today had a madman like him in service, we'd all be in trouble!

Lex Barker is the Count's adversary/good guy here. Sometimes Lex acts as if he's sleep-walking through his scenes. His voice also never seems to change its tone. The other performers are good.

The locales are incredible. I believe this film was shot in Germany.Very beautiful & peaceful but don't be alarmed horror fans. You will love the scenery around the Count's castle. Can you picture a countryside littered with dead bodies everywhere? You will once you've seen this movie.

For those of you that love a little ham in your horror, this one's for you! Its very hard to find in mainstream video stores so you may want to check the ones that cater to specialized genres. It will be worth the search.

We see Christopher Lee as Count Frederic Regula, who used the blood of 12 virgins for his experiments. He is drawn and quartered but not before swearing vengeance on the descendants of the Judge and the woman who escaped and turned him in.

Now, we come some years later, Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker) has come to claim his inheritance. He is joined on his journey by a somewhat randy priest, Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar), and a young woman, the the beautiful Baroness Lilian von Brabant (Karin Dor) and her servant Babette (Christiane Rücker). They were travelling in a separate coach that was beset upon by robbers, who took their horses.

The setting near the castle is surreal, with body parts seemingly growing out of the trees.

Carl Lange as the Count's servant was particularly good. Lee, himself, was particularly evil in his appearance. Karin Dor did this film the same year as she was a Bond girl in You Only Live Twice. The art direction was excellent in the castle, with many strange paintings, and the cinematography was superb. The buzzards in the castle were a nice touch, as were the scorpions and spiders and snakes. Roger's escape from the pit with the pendulum can only be described as miraculous.