Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel

My memories of seeing "The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism" as it was called on US local television in the mid Seventies date back a quarter of a century. I well remember the first time I saw the movie. I wasn't expecting anything at all special, certainly nothing as gripping and fascinating as this. The movie has a real feeling of something you would read about in a crumbling old manuscript in a deserted, dusty library. Lee is terrific as always and has a tremendous presence, even though he is only on screen for brief periods. Lex Barker is surprisingly effective as the hero, and Karin Dor is beautiful and elegant as always, as the heroine. The sets really steal the movie, though--inspired by the weird paintings of Hieronymous Bosch, they give a sense of ancient evil, laced with a perverted sort of fanciful whimsy, to the scenes in the castle.

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.

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.

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.

What a cool-o little flick this is! Christopher Lee is Count Regula (say that name real fast and see what it sounds like) who, at films beginning, has a spiked mask nailed to his face and is then drawn and quartered in a public square for the torture/murders of 12 virgins. 35 years later, the daughter of the woman who turned him in and the son of the man who sentenced him, are brought to an eerie castle in the deep dark woods.

There's a GREAT spooky carriage ride through the creepiest forest in the world, where dead-pale bodies hang from the branches. The castle looks pretty convincing; drippy stone walls lined with human skulls and draped with cobwebs, its corridors choked with vultures. There are pits filled with poisonous snakes and hairy spiders, skeletons everywhere. A pretty blond maid is nearly impaled on a board full of spikes and The Pit and The Pendulum is re-enacted, with all of the sweaty tension of the original tale. Christopher Lee looks wonderfully terrible - a shambling, blueish corpse with a nail-hole scarred face, absolutely void of emotion as he plots his revenge against our beautiful couple. There's a lot of tension here, lots of icky-yucky moments and a genuinely creepy atmosphere that seeps into every single frame. There's also a rare, non-saccharine and totally satisfying happy ending. Don't miss this one, it's really great!