Bloody Pit of Horror (1965) User Reviews

The Crimson Executioner Will... Entertain You Immensely!

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 6/10 · 5 April 2008]

"Il Boia Scarlatto" aka. ("Bloody Pit Of Horror") must be one of the cheesiest Italian Horror films ever made, and yet (or, more precisely, therefore) it is about as much fun as a film can get for my fellow lovers of Horror from Bella Italia. This was made in a time when Italian Gothic Horror was at its peak - and while a variety of genuine Italian Gothic masterpieces was brought to screen around that time (such as Margheriti's "Danza Macabra" and "The Virgin of Nuremberg", Caiano's "Nightmare Castle", everything that Mario Bava made...), director Massimo Pupillo came up with goofy, but incredibly fun productions such as "5 tombe per un medium" (aka. "Cemetary of The Living Dead", an absolute priority on my list of films that I have yet to see) and this "Bloody Pit Of Horror". Pupillo's films have since gained a certain cult-status among Italian Horror enthusiasts, and this film illustrates why. While "Bloody Pit Of Horror" is an immensely cheesy film that, in spite of a cool Castle setting, has zero scare moments, it is very imaginative in terms of (nowadays demure) sleaze and nasty torturing devices. Several centuries ago, a dispiteous mass murderer, the Crimson Executionner, was put to death with one of his own gruesome devices. In present time (1965) a couple of people - a photographer, an editor, a writer and several sexy chicks - are looking for a castle to make photos for a Horror book. We all know how (cheesy low-budget Horror) fate is - they happen to enter the castle where the Crimson Executioner was executed centuries ago...

The film stars Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield's muscle-man husband, whose acting skills are not exactly awe-inspiring. The performances are generally awful, but that only makes the film more fun. The film begins with a Marquis de Sade quote, and the castle setting is awesome. The crimson executioner must be one of the goofiest (and most hilarious) villains ever in a Horror flick - He wears a ridiculous red hood and only talks about himself in the third-person ("The Crimson Executioner will torture you"). His evil deeds are accompanied by a stereotypically goofy 'eerie' score that resembles the "Treehouse Of Horror" theme from the Simpsons. The torturing devices are actually very imaginative, I don't wanna spoil the fun so I won't give a description. "Il Boia Scarlatto" guarantees pure fun and is an absolute must see for my fellow Italian Horror buffs and lovers of amusing trash. If this film doesn't put a smirk on your face, you lack humor entirely! Enjoy!

"No one can say that this was an accident!"

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 19 April 2020]

I can only conclude that director Massimo Pupillo, alias Max Hunter, told Mickey Hargitay to go as over-the-top as he possibly could when he revealed his alter ego as the Crimson Executioner. The former Mr. Universe of 1955 excels at hyping his well muscled torso by oiling up and striking a notable pose or two before dispatching a coterie of uninvited visitors who have chosen his castle for a photo shoot. There are a number of ingenious torture methods on display, like the icy water deal, and perhaps my favorite, the spider web of death. As you might expect, the Crimson Executioner has one of the brightest costumes you'll come across in a horror flick, and I couldn't help thinking he'd be right at home in an installment of Lucha Libre. According to the opening credits, the movie is filmed in 'Psychovision' and of this I have no doubt, although I think that term can be better attributed to the mind of the director and the script writers who came up with this mindless gore fest. Born in 1964, Mariska Hargitay would only have been a year old when this thing came out, making me wonder if she ever saw it when she grew up. It would have given her a whole new perspective on dear old dad.

so it's not Shakespeare . . .

[tracyfigueira · 5/10 · 9 May 2009]

This movie has everything: beautiful women, great set design, garish color photography, cool music, and quite possibly the worse acting performance in history by the late great Mickey Hargitay, the legendary Hungarian body builder who was the husband of Jayne Mansfield and the father of Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.") He plays a head case obsessed with the "harmony" of his "perfect body," and fears the "contamination" of "inferior beings," especially women. When a group of cover girls, their photographer, writer, editor, and crew break into his castle in Italy to take cover pictures for upcoming paperbacks, he assumes the persona of "The Crimson Executioner," a centuries old serial killer executed in 1648. The ensuing torture scenes are pretty intense, but there's little actual blood and gore. My favorite scene was the girl tied to the giant spider web. Although allegedly based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade, "Bloody Pit of Horror" is actually quite tame by the standards of today's torture porn and not to be confused with more graphic (and disturbing) efforts like Pasolini's "Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom." "Bloody Pit of Horror" is good if not exactly clean fun for lovers of cheesy horror, scantily clad models, and really bad acting. The production values are about par for an early "Doctor Who" episode, and the fight-scenes are straight out of the old "Batman" series. More proof that the Italians are the world's greatest purveyors of crap cinema.

A bevy of models are tortured by a muscleman in tights

[thomandybish · 4 March 2001]

SPOILER: BLOODY PIT OF HORROR is a camp offering with homoerotic overtones. The reason for this is Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield's muscleguy husband. A group of models, a book publisher, his secretary, a horror writer, and a hairdresser encrouch on an old castle(the same one visited by a group of dancers in THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA)to shoot photos to be used as the basis for illustrations on pulp horror books. Hargitay is the master of the castles, and initially orders the group to leave, but relents when he sees the secretary, who used to be his girlfriend. Hargitay becomes unhinged when he sees the sexy goings-on of the models and dons red tights, a medallion and a hood, believing himself to be the late "Crimson executioner". He tortues the scantly clad lovelies in the dungeon with boiling oil, the rack, an iron maiden, a giant spiderweb and a revolving thingamajig with swords that kinkly peel of parts of the models lingerie the closer they revolve to it. The male characters are also dispatched in various ways(the coolest: the hairdresser attempts to drive for help and is shot with an arrow by one of Hargitay's servants in the middle of a left turn, and corpse slumps over the steering wheel, the car going in a continuous circle). Hargitay, who is dubbed with the rest of the cast(it's an Italian flick), goes way over the top. Give it a looksee if your a masochist or lover of models in distress!

Atrocious, but admittedly fun

[tomgillespie2002 · 4/10 · 18 October 2012]

When a group of photographers and models sneak into an apparently abandoned castle to do a photo-shoot, they are immediately asked to leave by the castle's inhabitant, Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay). But when he recognises his ex-fiancé Edith (Luisa Baratto) amongst the group, he changes his mind and gives them the freedom of the castle. Lurking in the castle's dungeons, where the group have set up, is the preserved body of an executed serial-killer named The Crimson Executioner, and when his coffin is disturbed, his spirit is released and enters the body of Travis. Soon enough, bodies are dropping like flies while the 'hero' Rick (Walter Brandi), desperately attempts to save them.

Former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay made a moderately successful career for himself after appearing in the excellently madcap Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) with his wife Jayne Mansfield. He was mainly employed in B-grade Italian horror movies such as the twisted Delirium (1972), and he is just about the only good thing is Bloody Pit of Horror, also known as The Red Hangman, A Tale of Torture, and most hilariously, Some Virgins for the Hangman. Although his role is completely ridiculous, he has a hulking presence that brings a likability to Travis, even when he is wide-eyed, tightening the hold of a rack. Plus I couldn't imagine anyone else being able to pull off those red, spandex pants.

The sets have a bright, technicholour warmth about them, reminiscent of some of the classic Hammer horrors and Roger Corman's Poe adaptations, that give the film a nicely Gothic, if slightly camp, feel. But ultimately it is as effective as wrapping a ribbon around a turd, failing to cover up the sheer atrocity of its direction. It is so over- the-top and silly that the film ends up feeling like a cartoon, containing torture scenes that include a woman stuck in a giant web with a spider so badly constructed, I don't know if it was meant to be real or not. That said, I still found this quite fun, but I don't feel good about it.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

It's Craptastic!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 28 May 2009]

It's really hard to score THE CRIMSON EXECUTIONER. On one hand, it's a horribly made little film that is embarrassingly bad. On the other, it's so terribly funny because it is so bad! The film begins with some really obnoxious people breaking into an old castle to take some publicity pictures. However, it turns out the place is NOT unoccupied and the crazy owner tells them to get lost. Oddly, however just moments later he asks them to stay. So, they do and over the course of an evening, the crew members and models are killed off one at a time by the crazy homeowner--who thinks he's the reincarnation of a sicko named the Crimson Executioner. Actually, the guy's outfit makes him look a lot like Diabolik from another Mario Bava film, but that's neither here nor there.

The film is filled with lots of sadistic torture and is reminiscent of the German film, THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (talk about a great title). However, unlike the German film, this one is much sillier and the horrible punishments really don't look all that realistic--just cheesy. But, because it is made so poorly (with horrible dialog and action throughout), it is worth seeing to have a few laughs. Otherwise, if you do skip it, your brain might appreciate it!

Perfect bodies

[samhill5215 · 4/10 · 4 January 2010]

Surely nobody goes into this laughable cheese-fest expecting to see a quality horror film. Even by Italian standards - Bava and Argento excepted - this is utter nonsense. The horror part is well, what horror part? The plot is utterly predictable, no surprises there. The dialog is just as predictable. As for the scenery we are treated to some spectacular vistas (they caught my wife's fancy long enough to pause in passing and in her determination to avoid taking part in my passion for horrible films) and the castle where the action takes place is really cool! So what else is there to recommend this? It's all about perfect bodies, a good number of them, enough to keep members of both sexes entertained. Mickey Hargitay who plays our villain has, as he so proudly informs the audience often enough, THE perfect body. He puts the rest of us puny males to shame with the utter certainty that no matter how hard we try we'll never reach that level of physical beauty. On the other side of the gender barrier the women are equally gorgeous. They are all curvaceous, luscious, mouth-watering eye candy to awaken the man-beast in every male out there. Bear in mind there is no real nudity. The closest we get to risqué scenes is just the hint of the top part of nipples. Otherwise it's all designed to tantalize the male spectator with the prospect of revealing the hidden parts without doing so. How delicious! Well, perhaps not for recently pubescent and inexperienced teens. For them it might be too frustrating.

One final point. The hero is the exact opposite of our gorgeous villain. A Joe Pesci look-alike, he's not exactly my idea of a hero and he in fact gets beat up pretty regularly until he finally prevails with strategic karate chops. Makes you wonder why he doesn't use them before he gets punched out within an inch of his life, but I digress. The heroine is clearly above his league in the looks department but also not as sexy or exotic as any one of the other four women. So I'm not sure but maybe the producers were trying to insert a moral about looks and death but who knows? Any way you look at it this movie will keep you chuckling and salivating neither of which is a bad thing.

Classic horror, not bad as it looks like!

[Gunnar_Runar_Ingibjargarson · 5/10 · 18 June 2008]

This is definitely a MUST PURCHASE DVD for any die-hard euro-horror fan! This ridiculous and extremely entertaining 1965 Italian horror-romp stars Mickey Hargitay (Jayne Mansfield's husband) as "The Crimson Executioner". He struts around bare-chested wearing red tights and admiring his muscular body in the mirror as he rubs it all over with oil. When a film crew comes to his castle, he starts torturing and killing them off one by one, overacting all the way! Mickey is a true ham and jumps around the screen like a lunatic throughout. One great highlight is a room with a giant spiderweb and a hungry spider. And then, of course, there's the torture chamber. There's a rotating torture device that Mickey ties bikini-clad women up to and as it turns a sharp blade rips and tears at their skimpy brassieres and lightly scrapes their flesh! And with Mickey running around half-naked throughout in his red tights, were they also going for a gay audience? It's all quite tame by today's standards, but at the time, this must have been quite a sensation! It's a great sleaze-trash classic NOT TO BE MISSED! The DVD presents the film in it's U.S. 73-minute abbreviated version. 9 minutes were trimmed out of the complete version ("A Tale of Torture") by it's American distributor. The deleted scenes are included as a supplement (including the alternate title sequence), but it's too bad they didn't restore the footage back into the film. Something Weird offers the complete 83 minute version "A Tale of Torture" on VHS under the "Bloody Pit" title so you would have thought this would be the same print. BUT it's not... maybe because the print used here looks a lot better than the "Torture" print and it's fully letter boxed whereas the "Torture" print was only marginally letter boxed. Also, the movie has never looked better than this transfer...the colors are vibrant and sharp and the detail is quite good (although there is some minor artifact). So, having the deleted scenes as a supplement only was probably a good decision.

"My perfect body... in the poisonous clutches of The Lover Of Death!"

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 3 April 2005]

• Seeking locations to use for photographs for a series of horror books, a group stumbles on what they believe to be a deserted castle. The castle happens to have been the former home of The Crimson Executioner - a centuries old murderer who was himself put to death in his own castle, but not before putting a curse on anyone who enters his castle. Of course, the castle isn't deserted, but instead is the home of a retired actor seeking solitude. He allows the group to spend one night and get as many photos as they can. His one request - don't go into the dungeon. Naturally, our group of photographers and models immediately make a beeline for the lower levels of the castle and discover an array of torture devices. The devices, it seems, will make good props for their photos. But something goes wrong and one of the male models is killed by falling spikes. Was it an accident or is there a murderer in the castle? It's not long before other members of the group begin to disappear. Has The Crimson Executioner come back to make good on his threat?

• I honestly don't know when I've had this much fun watching a movie. In general, I hate the term "so bad it's good". But in this case, I think it applies like nowhere else. Bloody Pit of Horror has most of the trappings that are present in movies I look for - a big creepy castle, a dungeon, torture devices, scantily clad women, and a bizarre madman bent on killing everyone. What the movie lacks, however, is effective atmosphere and believability. But, if you don't take things too seriously, it's a nice little ride.

• The madman is played by the one time husband of Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay. Hargitay is one of those Mr. Universe types. While he may not be much of an actor, he is wonderful as The Crimson Executioner. There have been killers in other movies who enjoy their "work", but none can match the enthusiasm of The Crimson Executioner. Toward the end of the movie, he traps everyone who is still alive in his torture chamber. Watching him literally run and jump from one torture device to the next is like watching a kid on Christmas morning. He actually has an orgasmic look on his face as he puts one of his victims on the rack. And his "costume" is just too much. He wears red tights, a red hood, a black leather belt, and a black mask that covers his eyes.

• Another thing to keep an eye (or ear) on is the dialogue. The Crimson Executioner has some of the "best" lines I've ever heard. He goes on and on about how perfect his body is. And, how he must kill the people who have come into his castle to preserve the purity of his body. My favorite of these monologues takes place in front of a mirror. As The Crimson Executioner applies a liberal coating of oil to his chest he says, "Mankind is made up of inferior creatures, spiritually and physically deformed, who would have corrupted the harmony of my perfect body." You just don't hear lines like that in just any old movie - it takes something special like Bloody Pit of Horror

• There are so many other points of the movie I would like to write about, but they really must be seen to be believed. For example, The Crimson Executioner has a group of henchmen that dress in matching outfits. It's as if they're appearing on the 1960s Batman television program. Another example, the reaction of the crew after one of their co-workers is killed. Do they immediately leave the castle like normal people would? No - they decide to finish their work in the castle for extra money and call the police in the morning. Yet another example, the room with the giant spider web, mechanical spider, and arrows that shoot from the wall is simply sublime. I could go on for days.

One of the Worst

[Hitchcoc · 2/10 · 4 November 2009]

I'm probably in the wrong place. Most of the reviewers have a connection to this genre, so maybe it's unfair for me to write about it. I'm looking at it as a film in the general sense. This is utter crap. It always amazes me how people in horror movies go about their business, even though their group is being murdered methodically by some unknown force. This happens here. The girls continue to pose, even though there are less of them. At least they sent one guy to the police; that's something. The rest of it is exploitative soft-core pornography. Mickey Hargetay is interesting. I like his daughter on Law And Order: SVU. She's a better actress than he is an actor. Almost everything out of his mouth is so stupid that at no point could I care. Then there's all that torture. I got a kick out of the girls going around a cylinder while he pushed blades toward them, cutting them a little at a time. Just a terrible movie.

Mickey Hargitay's Shining, or should I say, well-oiled Moment

[Jenabel_Regina_del_Mundo · 10/10 · 13 January 2004]

I can't recommend this piece of 1960's Italian Eurotrash highly enough! Mickey Hargitay has never been better than he is here, as the reclusive actor gone mad and possessed by the evil spirit of the Crimson Executioner. So, what's a guy to do, but oil his bare chest, don bright red tights (it looks like he has an armadillo down his trousers, no wonder all the girls are so scared of him!), a big shiny gold pendant, a black Zorro-type eye mask and a cute little red hood. Then he proceeds to sadistically torture and kill a group of young fashion models who have the misfortune of accepting his hospitality.

The torture chamber is vast, stylishly equipped, and just the sort of thing you wish you had down in your own basement. The gore is laughably lame and fake, but it's the sheer leering lasciviousness of this film that makes it such a turn-on. FX? Forget about that, and forget about plot too: this film's fuel is good IL' testosterone. That's why it doesn't have to make sense.

Mickey easily upstages all the other actors, chewing up the scenery with a conviction that's almost a bit spooky. But mostly his grandiose performance will evoke howls of laughter. His character is possibly the most verbose serial killer/psycho in film history. He gets to deliver some truly choice bits of camp dialog that will have you rolling on the floor laughing your ass off. If I had been one of his victims in the bloody pit of horror, I would've screamed "Will you PLEASE just SHUT UP about your perfect body and KILL ME, already?!!"

Deservedly considered a camp classic by straights and gays alike.

Hargitay made one other worthwhile foray into the Eurotrash genre, called "The Reincarnation of Isabel." Together these films would make an absolutely fabulous double bill. Both these flicks are real crowd pleasers and are sure to make your video party unforgettable. If you require a third Hargitay feast, add "Delirium" to see Mickey's foray into the giallo genre.

The opening credits inform us "Based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade." Very loosely.

I urge you to run right out and obtain your own copy of this masterpiece, to shamelessly wallow in over and over again.

What's your name again? The Crimson who??

[Coventry · 7/10 · 28 September 2006]

Terrific, cheesy exploit-entertainment, this trashy…sorry BLOODY pit of horror! It's typical & campy Italian smut from the mid-60's; the era during which talented directors like Mario Bava ("Black Sunday") and Antonio Margheriti ("The Virgin of Nuremberg") scored big film-hits with their atmospheric Gothic horror movies. The less gifted but nonetheless ambitious directors naturally wanted to cash in on this successful trend and that resulted in fun flicks like this one. "The Bloody Pit of Horror" benefices from a great castle setting and some excellent scenery (marvelous torture devices), yet all the rest genuinely defines laughably inept and amateurish film-making. Regardless of the Gothic surrounding, the film doesn't contain one moment of tension and all the "gruesome" torture sequences end as randomly as they started. The one and ONLY reason why this film is comical instead of scary is due to the main character. The legendary Mickey Hargitay, who sadly passed away recently, portrays one of the oddest madmen ever to hit the TV-screen. His character Travis Anderson firmly believes he's the reincarnation of a medieval lunatic and submits a group of photographers & models that trespass his castle to some severely maniacal torture, using the ancient devices in his dungeon. His name is the Crimson Executioner (although Little Red Riding Hood would have been a much more appropriate name) and he clearly WORSHIPS himself. Whenever he's not playing torture games on his guests, he admires himself in one of the numerous mirrors of his castle or covers his exceptionally muscled chest in gooey massage oil. He never says "I" but always uses his full nickname to start even the shortest new sentence. "The Crimson Executioner will do this", "The Crimson Executioner shall that", "The Crimson Executioner bla bla bla…" Surely this film doesn't evoke many sentiments of fright or disturbance, but it's enormous fun to observe and at least it's never boring. The version I own on DVD suffers from one of the worst dubbing jobs in the history of cinema and the dialogs aren't exactly highly intellectual, either. For instance, two males open an eerie Iron Maiden coffin and the lifeless body of a young girl falls out. One of them says: "no one can daresay this was an accident!" Gee, you think? Needless to say "The Bloody Pit of Horror" is exclusively recommend to fans of trashy cult cinema. I'm sure the Marquis de Sade himself would have loved it.

Mickey Hargitay as "The Crimson Executioner" Cries Out for Blood!

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 8 March 2009]

"At a remote castle, a group of models and a photographer are on location for a photo shoot. What the group doesn't realize is the castle is not abandoned, as they were led to believe, as a deranged and muscular madman has taken up residence in the castle. He believes himself to be the reincarnation of an executioner who was assigned to protect the castle against invaders, and the photographer and models are his next victims," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Translated from the Italian as "Bloody Pit of Horror"(but "The Crimson Executioner" would have made more literal sense). This film feature a stupendous "over-the-top" performance from good-looking muscle-man Mickey Hargitay (as Travis Anderson). In real life, Mr. Hargitay was freshly divorced from buxom actress Jayne Mansfield. Herein, there are no women to rival Ms. Mansfield, which is good when you consider the contraption in Hargitay's dungeon that slowly slits into the bound models' protruding breasts.

***** Il boia scarlatto (11/28/65) Massimo Pupillo ~ Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi, Luisa Baratto

The Marquis DeSade never had this much fun!

[Nozze-Foto · 11 February 2002]

Jayne Mansfield and her husband, Hungarian bodybuilder Miklos "Mickey" Hargitay were in Italy to shoot PRIMITIVE LOVE when Mickey took time off (about a weekend, judging from the quality of the movie) to shoot this one based (allegedly) on the writings of the Marquis DeSade. I have read some of the Marquis' books and while they are full of sex, violence and politics they describe no one like The Crimson Executioner. Okay here we go. Some people arrive at a remote castle to shoot photos for the covers of pulp novels (they are popular in Europe to this day!). The owner of the castle lets them use his dungeon but suddenly up pops some guy in red tights and a Lone Ranger mask claiming to be the 300 year old Crimson Executioner and it is his duty to punish them for their immoral behavior. I know we are supposed to sympathize with the innocent victims but the models up to this point are depicted as so self centered and empty headed it is hard to feel sorry for them even as we watch them being tortured. Then again maybe it is because the ordeals are so unconvincing. I mean, the girl on the rack has her arms bent even as C.E. is turning the wheel; and somehow I doubt the mechanical spider device he dreams up was widely in use back in the 17th Century. One very effective moment has one man trying to drive for help only to be shot through the neck by an arrow. The car drives aimlessly in circles with his dead body at the wheel. Nothing else in the movie approaches that level of intensity. Walter Brandi is good as the hero. He was also in THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA and SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES. Femi Benussi, who seems to get the worst of the tortures (maybe because she is blonde) was also in TARZANA, THE WILD GIRL. Mickey Hargitay also played Hercules once and did a few other movies too. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said Mickey was one of his role models. Does that mean Arnold might remake this movie? Let's hope someone talks him out of it.

Spaghetti Horror

[JoeB131 · 1/10 · 11 March 2012]

Yup. This is early 1960's Italian Torture Porn. Without much torture or porn.

A team of models stops by an ancient castle that owned by a crazy actor lives. Somehow, he flips and starts using torture devices to pick off and kill the characters, who express their amazement in awful, dubbed voices, a lot of which sound the same because back in those days, that's what they did with imports from Italy. They got one or two actors with no vocal range to do all the voices.

Mickey Hagritay gets to show off his muscles, and that's something, I guess. There's a lot of scenes where they almost build up to showing us female nudity.

But really, there's just a lot of silliness here for no reason.

"They desecrate it, your world of beauty... with their sordidness. The day of the Crimson Executioner has now come!" Uh....Yeah....

[jwilson09 · 1/10 · 28 May 2006]

If your like me you've often wondered what would happen if a retired Hollywood actor living in seclusion in an old European castle (complete with his own army of henchmen), suddenly became possessed by the evil spirit of a 17th century wacko that was put to death because he enjoyed torturing people just a little too much. Well wonder no more, because director Max Hunter (Massimo Pupillo) has already answered that question in the completely unbelievable and yet highly entertaining Bloody Pit of Horror.

As the film's title probably suggest to you this movie is all about subtlety and nuance. That's completely true! True, if your idea of "subtlety" is a beautiful girl chained down while some maniac pours scalding oil on her, all the while she is screaming her head off and begging for mercy. Now I don't want you to think that I am ruining the story for you because first of all there really isn't much of a story, and second, this maniac has a whole dungeon full of medieval torture devices (including a giant spider web trap?) and believe me he gets to use everyone of them on someone before this thing comes to a much welcome end. But there actually is a semblance of a story in this mess and here it is: a group of truly stupid people, made up of a greedy publisher Max Parks (Alfredo Rizzo), writer Rick (Walter Brandi) and a bunch of models and photographer are scouting locations because they need some new photos for the covers of their trash horror novels. Finally they come across the "perfect" spooky old castle for their needs. After not being able to get anyone to answer the door our not so clever group breaks into the castle so they can take their precious photos, there they are discovered by the castle's owner, Travis Anderson (played by Mickey Hargitay). Anderson is a reclusive ex-actor that has fled Hollywood to be alone. At first he demands that the group leave immediately but after seeing his beautiful ex-girlfriend Edith (Luisa Baratto), he agrees to let them stay over night. As the group explores the castle one of them accidentally breaks open the seal of the final resting place of "The Crimson Executioner", a notorious torturer and killer that was condemned and put to death hundreds of years ago. Anderson now slowly becomes the Crimson Executioner, and he must punish all sinners! One by one, the group slowly starts disappearing, only to become the victims of this madman. As the group slowly dwindles at the hands of this maniac, Rick (the only guy left) must try and save the girls from the possessed/insane Anderson. The Crimson Executioner has special plans for these wicked women (especially for Edith) and will make them pay for their sins in his special torture dungeon (which remains remarkably well preserved and in good working order after over 200 years of neglect). Finally, the few remaining survivors of their group are able to bring this horror to an end and escape the Executioner's wrath. So in a way, we do have a kind of happy ending after all, never mind the fact that nearly the entire group has been agonizingly murdered and that the few remaining survivors will have horrific recurring nightmares about this maniac that they'll have to endure for the rest of their lives, a happy ending is a happy ending.

Everything about this movie is unbelievably bad, the story, the acting, everything! The complete and unrestrained badness of this movie is what makes it an enjoyable viewing experience. I would actually have given the film a higher rating except that the film's torture scenes can actually be a little disturbing (unless you're a sicko yourself) and do somewhat hinder the unintentional humor factor of this movie. The tops in badness in this film would have to be Hargitay himself, he just chews up the scenery as "The Crimson Executioner". Of course he's not working alone here, so we can't put the blame all on him, but he does have most of the great lines and he plays them all way over the top (which would be the only way anyone could play this part). But lets not put all the blame on the bad acting, we can't forget the silly story itself, no actor could follow along with this plot or read the stupid lines contained within and not come off looking completely talentless. Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around, actors, director and writers all contribute to the unintentional comedy of this minor sixties "B" classic. But looking on the bright side, they never did make a sequel...

I laughed, I cried, I... well, I mostly laughed.

[Fermented · 4/10 · 28 February 2002]

(sub-titled "The man with the sharp popsicle sticks") As one who likes a good bad movie once in a while, when I was informed about this movie, I wondered if it was bad enough. And oh yes, it was bad enough. Hideous, awful, terrible. I loved EVERY minute of it. If you just want to laugh at stuff, this is the movie to do it with. Forget that "Royal Tenenbaums" garbage! Who needs the subtle and striking humor of "Dr. Strangelove"? This is the highest form of humor - unintentional humor. Listen carefully for the upbeat, polka beat that plays in the background. And skips. And, my favorite line: Model-prostitute person: "I don't want to stay here" Pimp-photographer: "I'll double your salary!" Mpp: "My life is worth more than that!" Pimp: "I'll triple it" Mpp: "OK, I'll do it" Just see it. you'll be glad you did.

It might still scare a couple of cretins

[Cristi_Ciopron · 3/10 · 15 July 2008]

Below average (or, sub-mediocre) variation on a common, standard theme; it has no suspense, thrills, no emotion whatsoever, no creation. It is deliberately—and cheaply, pettily over—the—top. Choosing to be over—the—top is no excuse (or, better: is not enough). Even in its over—the—top, it is phony and uninteresting. A narcissistic ex—muscle-man takes as hostages a small film crew that happens to inopportune him in his mysterious, ancient castle. In the entire history of the worst Z movies, the Crimson Executioner is on a par with the dispatcher woman from VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET (in fact, the only feminine role in that film) as the campiest, stupidest performances ever.

The supposed orgy of unleashed cruelty is one of the stupidest in cinema, with the Crimson Executioner wandering like a housewife thru her kitchen. That's no way to treat horror fans! Not even one scene in the whole movie is scary.

The outrageously insipid Crimson Executioner is the worst and stupidest villain ever.

There are,beloved friends, at least three classes of over—the—top, roughly: the achieved, fine, respectable one;--the clumsy ,maybe variably silly, yet enjoyable ,amusing, funny one;--and the stupid, boring, even revolting one ….BPOH belongs to the third category.

It's main interest is that it is old—and so, exempted from the disqualifying tars of newer cinema.A movie from the '90s as bad as BPOH would still be a lot worse, since it comes from a wholly worse system.

The very fact of such flicks finding fans of their own encourages the swindlers in the movie industry.The sad performance of a horror not having one scary scene within is way too often perpetrated.

Very Very Camp

[mauchline2008 · 3/10 · 16 February 2006]

I bought this with several others on a Brentwood collection so I was not expecting much.....How right I was. Now don't get me wrong its is a fun watch it concerns a group of people who break into a Gothic castle to pose for covers on horror novels. The cast are very stereotypical you have four beautiful models (A Bimbo,The foreign Beauty,The bitchy one and the prudish one)there is also the plain wardrobe girl (Guess who survives. Of the men they are also very typical,The hero,the older man and several faceless young men. One by one they are tortured and killed by the castle's owner as he believes he is possessed by the Scarlet Exicutioner. The dialogue is terrible and the version I watched was badly dubbed but for me that just adds to the fun its also fun to guess the next victim. Its a good weekend movie but do not pay much for it.

Filmed in "Psychovision"!

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 12 October 2021]

Legendary Hungarian muscleman / actor Mickey Hargitay is front and centre in this often priceless Euro-cult horror item. Hargitay plays a former actor, Travis Anderson, who now lives as a recluse in an isolated castle. A bevy of models, a cameraman, a writer, and a publicist come to his place with the intention of shooting some Gothic horror photos. They of course make for handy victims for Travis and his equally muscle-bound henchmen; Travis is obsessed with the legacy of the Crimson Executioner of centuries past and is intent on carrying out his work of "purifying" the world.

"Bloody Pit of Horror" is bloody good fun for people desiring a dopey early example of "body count" cinema. It's lively, sadistic nonsense, but wouldn't be recommended to anybody who can't stand scenes of torture. It has a jaunty music score, a good setting, a decided lack of atmosphere, and a cheesy cast delivering cheesy performances, with a deliciously demented Hargitay leading the way. Among the horrors visited upon our chump victims: water, fire, boiling oil, the rack, and an iron maiden. There's also a hilariously unconvincing "spider" and its web.

Although, as I said, it won't be to all tastes due to its torture scenes, it supplies a fair deal of merry amusement. This viewer, for one, didn't exactly take it that seriously. At the least, there is some girl-watching to enjoy; one of Andersons' devices is a slowly moving thing that carefully tears up the models' bras a bit at a time.

A true hoot and a half.

Seven out of 10.

A photo shoot in an old castle proves deadly.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 2 July 2008]

Ex-Mr. Universe and ex-Mr. Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay plays a musclebound psychotic that owns an Italian castle. The castle is chosen as a location for a photo shoot for a collection of sexy models. The Gothic-themed shoot before long becomes a bloody pit as the Baron(Hargitay)becomes possessed by the spirit of the notorious "Crimson Executioner", sadistic and ruthless. The models and crew fall victim to the brute and his many methods of torture. Typical B-movie and American drive-in theater fare. Other players: Walter Brandi, Barbara Nelli,Femi Benussi, Gino Turini and Luisa Baratto.

Note:Hargitay is the father of Mariska Hargitay of TV's Law and Order and even appeared once on the show.

Classic midnight horror

[haildevilman · 9/10 · 15 June 2006]

Models and photogs go to an 'abandoned' castle to take pictures for a bunch of book covers and find a man living there. He turns out to be the reincarnation of the Crimson Executioner...and an insane lunatic.

OK, it's hardly original, but it's still great.

The torture devices were imaginative even if the low budget betrayed the execution. (harhar)

Mickey Hargitay was never the best actor, but he was born for this role. And the ladies played the whole brain dead bimbo routine to perfection. (At least I hope they were playing.)

And I even liked the music. Creepy atmospheric stuff. I'm still trying to find a soundtrack. Really.

The last scene was a corker. Decent camera work too. See the DVD if you can, it's COMPLETELY uncut. It also has semi-related scenes from Mondo Cane II as an extra.

BLOODY PIT OF HORROR (Massimo Pupillo, 1965) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 19 June 2008]

I became aware of this via Tim Lucas’ Mario Bava commentaries and, later, reviews of Image/Something Weird’s SE DVD; ironically, the version I watched – while a print of much-lesser quality (probably sourced from the Alpha PD release) – runs some 8 minutes longer than the Image edition! The reviews had promised a demented and hugely entertaining entry in the realm of Italian Gothic Horrors: ‘The Psychotronic Encyclopedia’ calls it “a classic of idiotic sadism and bad acting”, while it’s “an authentic gem of ‘B’ cinema…a real icon for lovers of bizarre celluloid” according to ‘Amarcord’. Well, the second half certainly delivered on that front – but one had to make do with a deadly first half to get there; unfortunately, my viewing enjoyment was further hampered by the jerky movements associated with the DivX format…but, then, the soundtrack of the film itself seems to have been recorded under water!

Anyway, the narrative is more Poe than Sade: in fact, it’s basically an unofficial rehash of PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961) – as misanthrope/egomaniac Mickey Hargitay takes up residence in the castle of a notorious medieval sadist and, with a dungeon full of torture devices at his disposal, he soon begins to identify with his predecessor to the point that, donning the costume of The Crimson Executioner (as that nobleman was known and, for which crimes, he had been sentenced to death), Hargitay murders anyone who crosses his path! This fate, in fact, is just what’s in store for an adventurous modeling entourage – who seem to think of the castle grounds as an ideal backdrop to their kinky photo-shoots; as it happens, one of the girls involved is an ex-flame of Hargitay’s! So, the slow-going early section sees much of the proceedings taken up by the modeling angle (and the mild lechery, petty jealousy and clandestine romance that seems to be part and parcel of this particular milieu)…but, then, the Crimson Executioner – annoyed by this intrusion and the company’s apparent lack of standards – lets rip with his violent and vengeful antics, and it becomes a good deal of fun.

Though the sex and gore are very mild – since this came fairly early in the game – the climax reaches a fine pitch of frenzy as the cackling masked Hargitay contrives to trap and kill most members of the party in various unwieldy devices (but also via an attack by a rather unconvincing-looking giant spider designed by none other than Carlo Rambaldi), while setting his henchmen (wearing red-striped sailor-type shirts) onto the elusive hero; eventually, Hargitay himself expires on a hanging puppet improbably fitted with a poisoned tip! Despite the muted colors in the print I came across, the look of the film with regards to costumes and sets is both evocative and appealing; ditto for the lounge score, which is extremely typical of the era. For the record, director Pupillo is said to have had a problem with one of the girls (Rita Klein) – especially when she was supposed to display terror: he was even forced to electrocute her for real in order to get the expression he wanted for a specific scene!; by the way, the film was re-edited in 1972 and re-issued under the title I, THE MARQUIS DE SADE!

Yet another killer on the loose in a creepy castle

[Keltic-2 · 2/10 · 9 July 2000]

The plot itself has, of course, been done countless times since the beginning of film: a group of celebrities spend a night in a castle with a bad reputation and a dubious history. Of course, once they are safely locked in for the night, the killing begins. Various secret passages and spyholes, a surly owner and a lurking servant who looks more like a sailor than a butler complete the stereotype. As an example of the genre, _The Crimson Executioner_ doesn't really offer anything that stands out, apart from some creative innovations in the field of torture. Comic relief comes from the ineffectual weakling photographer and from the Executioner himself, who looks, in the words of Des Mangan (Australian cult movie fanatic) like a 'condom full of walnuts' and who has some of the most over the top and (probably unintentionally) hilarious lines you're likely to hear.