The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) User Reviews

A Corman Type Poe Flick meets Bava in Germany!

[sherlock-34 · 7/10 · 21 November 2000]

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.

Visually stunning Teutonic Horror.

[BrentCarleton · 7/10 · 15 February 2006]

It is fortuitous that this film has at last reached the light of day again, (via DVD) since it provides a welcome reminder of the type of Saturday matinée "scary" fare 1960s parents could safely drop the youngsters off to see--in some ways similar to 1962's "The Magic Sword."

Boasting a very "Siegfried" style hero in Lex Barker, a particularly comely brunette heroine, and Christopher Lee at his most cadaverously malevolent, horror fans should not be disappointed in the regulation personalities. Nor will they be disappointed in the abundance of Gothic contrivances: snakes, skulls, potions, glass coffins, razor pendulums etc. etc. And to those with questions about the logic of the narrative, don't bother with them--the rapid fire pacing won't wait for you to find an answer anyway--if nothing else this film does move!

Ultimately, however, it is in the visuals that this film most impresses. Production design and color are of a very high order indeed, ranking very favorably against Jack Asher and Mario Bava, and it is impossible to believe that the previous work of these two gentlemen is not deliberately evoked here.

Much could be observed in this connection, but suffice it to say that rarely has a nocturnal forest been presented more balefully, with gnarled trees juxtaposed against an ultramarine sky.

Even more in its favor is the effective use of a medieval Bavarian town, whose quaint architecture seems right out of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Here is an example of location shooting that counts for something! Overall, although the credits credit Edgar Allan Poe as the basis of the story, the piece feels altogether more like a "penny-dreadful" hybrid pastiche of the aforementioned Hoffmann and Ludwig Tieck.

Highly recommended for admirers of the genre.

Gothic horror

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 11 July 2009]

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.

Spooky Goth Horror

[Coventry · 7/10 · 2 July 2009]

This "Castle of the Walking Dead" contains – hands down – one of THE creepiest sequences I've ever seen. A carriage with four people inside is on its way to a sinister castle with a dark past when suddenly the driver notices they're going through a woods where there's a dead body hanging from nearly every three! The sight of and atmosphere during this particular sequences is truly horrific. In fact, the entire film somewhat relies on powerful isolated sequences of the macabre, as the story itself is quite familiar and routine Gothic stuff. "Castle of the Walking Dead" is another loose adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's legendary tale "The Pit and the Pendulum"; which also already existed in a version directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. The film gives top-billing to veteran actor Christopher Lee, but apart from the intro sequence and the exquisite finale, his role isn't too extended. Lee plays the malicious and murderous Count Regula, who gets quartered for the all the vicious crimes he committed, but of course not before placing a curse on the judge who pronounced the death sentence and the last female victim who managed to escape and get him arrested. 35 years later, their unaware relatives are lured to the castle where the score shall be settled once and for all. I'm a big fan of Gothic horror and, generally speaking, rather forgiving when there are shortcomings. That's why I'm still very fond of "Castle of the Walking Dead" even though it definitely could have been even better. Many isolated sequences are terrific, but the wholesome is a bit incoherent. Once the almighty Christopher Lee is resurrected again, the quality level of the film rises again. His character is masterfully malevolent (another evil count consuming the blood of virgins to gain eternal life) and this great actor's natural horror charisma already delivers half of the powerful impact. The scene with the giant pendulum remains a brilliant highlight, regardless of how many times you've seen this before in other films. The titular castle is like a theme park full of wondrously sinister Gothic attractions. It even has vultures patiently waiting outside of the pendulum room!

Unreal & surreal...

[the lioness · 20 December 2001]

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.

Not really scary but a great deal of fun

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 1 June 2008]

Christopher Lee is the villain of the piece in this story of a nobleman who was in league with the devil who is quartered, vowing revenge on the families of those that caused his death. Years later letters seemingly from the dead man are sent to the children of those involved asking them to come to his castle. They of course go and find their host very much alive. In all my years of watching schlocky horror films I never saw this film before and I don't know why because its a good little rainy night film. There is something fun about this film, which is not really scary, but which does keep you on the edge of your seat simply because it plays with the typical madman in a castle genre. I just had a good time watching this, and I can't say anything more about it then that.

Interesting looking but poor film

[funkyfry · 3/10 · 20 October 2010]

Christopher Lee hams it up in blue-face in this odd little German horror film that tries to imitate the Hammer Films of the time and presents the audience with few saving graces. One of those is the photography, which is pretty interesting even in a public-domain over-saturated DVD print.

An interesting aspect I noticed was that the effects shots in the forest, which are the most compelling visual aspect of the film, seem to have been done later and quite a bit more weird than the script must have implied. The guy who is the coachman (Dieter Eppler) stops the coach and complains about 3 crows, not seeming to notice all the disembodied hands and arms also sprouting quite clearly from the trees.

As with many of Lee's horror films from this period, his appearances are brief. Most of the action goes to former Tarzan actor Lex Barker, a stunningly poor actor who wears every emotion the director gives him on his sleeve. Gorgeous Karin Dor does just what the film asks of her and nothing more. Vladimir Medar provides an ongoing irritating presence as the faux-priest who is obviously a highwayman (this gives Barker a chance to raise his eyebrows in doubt, which apparently is supposed to make him seem intelligent).

There are many amusing bits that make this watchable in a "so bad it's good" kind of way. We were particularly amused by the inappropriate MOR music that would play whenever the group was traveling around in the carriage.

The ending of the movie provides excuses for G-rated exploitation as half-dressed "virgins" are seen in various torture poses. The whole device with the cross is one of the most obvious and stupid endings in history, just a cliché. This film would barely hold the audience down in a double feature. All the "scare" elements are typical too -- "oh look, a rat!" "Oh look, a bunch of snakes! How gross!" -- designed perhaps to get girlfriends to make the perfunctory move into their boyfriends' arms at the drive-in. This is lazy storytelling (notice how Medar's character continually runs away for no reason and reappears also for no reason with whatever information the other characters need) and lazy film-making and I would have been angry if I had spent more than $1 for the film.

Pretty Good Gothic Film

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 17 May 2016]

This film has some of the best Gothic imagery I've seen from a 1960s horror film. Very, very atmospheric with skeletons, a dark and scary forest, the 7 dark riders representing the 7 deadly sins, old castle, medieval torture devices, a dungeon, horse and carriage, spiders, scorpions, snakes, death lingering all around and more!

The story is pretty good - Count Regula has killed 12 virgins and is put to death 35 years earlier, fast-forward in time to our story the Count has been resurrected and in need of his 13th virgin victim to complete his task of becoming immortal!

I find liked the long (very long) carriage ride to the castle the best because that is where we get some of the greatest spookiest scenes. I also liked Anatol, the counts right-hand or helper, he's very eerie.

Unfortunately, Christopher Lee might get 20 to 25 minutes of actual screen time... too bad but the story is meant to play out that way for his character.

7.5/10

horror from the director of Winnetou

[dromasca · 5/10 · 2 July 2008]

Does anybody remember that some of the best Wild West and Indians films were made in Germany in the 60s, inspired by novels of Karl May? The director of these series was Harald Reinl, and here we have a try of his in another genre, which was to become very popular and mainstream in the coming decades. Inspired by a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this film is visibly aged, with some very conventional dialogs and avoidance of any explicit violence on screen. Yet it succeeds to suggest much of the atmosphere that in later movies of the genre required a lot of ketchup by using a strong visual language and very elaborated and sometimes sophisticated settings. Watch the scenes in the castle of count Regula and remember that they were filmed more than ten years before H.R.Giger borrowed his talent for the start of the Alien series. See the exquisite use of light and colors in the scene where the coach approaches the castle and you get some of the best use of color processing in the pre-computerized film era. All these make the film interesting to watch despite of its aging and not so original story line.

The Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism (Harald Reinl, 1967) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 5 January 2011]

This was another desirable title, largely because of Christopher Lee's involvement, which had a tortuous {sic} history for me; ordered as a SE DVD (paired with Joe D'Amato's DEATH SMILES AT MURDER [1973], which I also eventually obtained separately and which I may well get to in this current Euro-Cult month-long marathon), it was abruptly deleted, then I acquired it in an Italian-dubbed version, before settling on this English-language copy which, however, cuts off abruptly at the very end! Being a German production, as with the Krimi genre in comparison with the Italian Gialli, I wasn't as enthused by the end result as that country's brand of Gothic Horror (such as THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG [1963], another Lee vehicle which I have just watched)! Still, the film looks good, though the score often becomes incongruously jovial.

The opening scene sets the tone for the rest, as depraved aristocrat Lee (disappointingly, his presence in these type of films amounts to just a fraction of the duration each time!) is brutally executed – via spiked mask and dismemberment!; typically, before expiring, he swears vengeance on Karin Dor (a would-be victim who escaped his clutches and reported him to the authorities) and Lex Barker (as the judge who condemned him). His re-appearance bafflingly occurs only 35 years after the fact, by which time his exploits have already been rendered by troubadours into mass entertainment – but, then, the lookalike relatives of his two nemeses are not only unfamiliar with one another but have no knowledge of the curse hanging over their heads!

A disciple who had himself survived the gallows and become immortal(!) proceeds to revivify Lee and he immediately kidnaps and hypnotizes Dor – with Barker finding himself an unwilling guest in Lee's castle when he eventually sets out in pursuit (after having already saved her from a bandit raid). The castle is equipped with any number of torture devices/death traps, such as swinging pendulum and snake pit – but, naturally, Lee's plans are ultimately thwarted at the eleventh hour and he and his disciple crumble to dust (much like a vampire would; incidentally, one suspects Lee had insisted on utilizing a classic Dracula line here, "The blood is the life", in an attempt to lend this a semblance of prestige!).

Barker and Dor in a somewhat different environment

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 18 March 2016]

"Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel" or "The Snake Pit and the Pendulum" (there are several alternate titles to this one) is a German 80-minute film from Germany and you can look out for German and English language version of this relatively short movie. Lead actor Lex Barker (who looks like Alec Baldwin occasionally) made this one already very much at the end of the Winnetou franchise that he, lead actress Karin Dor and director Harald Reinl became famous for. And you can also say "at the end of his life" as he died pretty prematurely only slightly over 5 years after this film here was made. It is a mix of horror, mystery and drama and of course a touch of romance was always there in the films from that time, especially with that final shot. The horror component is delivered by Christopher Lee here, who once again plays a vampire. The name is Regula this time although the Dracula reference is obvious. I like Lee as an actor, especially as Scaramanga, but here he was really not enough to let me enjoy this film. Then again, he is basically only in this film in the first 10 minutes and last 20 minutes, the rest is all about Barker's character. I personally wondered why they would even go to this place all of them with the danger waiting there for them. Truly reckless and strangely enough the carriage driver, the only one who acted reasonable and preferred not to go gets killed and presented as a coward while the brave ones survived. This doesn't make sense, they weren't brave in my opinion. They were foolish. Oh well.. I guess films were surely of a different crop back then. I do not recommend this film here. Thumbs down.

Give us more!

[mido505 · 8/10 · 25 September 2005]

The Castle of the Walking Dead is the first film that I have seen directed by Harold Reinl, the filmmaker who helmed numerous 'krimi' (German-made horror-thrillers based on the works of Edgar Wallace, precursors of the Italian 'giallo'), several entries in the 'Dr. Mabuse' series, and most of the 'Karl May' westerns. If this movie is any indication, Reinl is a major talent ripe for rediscovery by fans looking for a cinema that revels in flamboyant visual pyrotechnics, rather than in quotidian literacy and a politically correct 'sensibility'. Reinl may not be Mario Bava, but his extravagantly baroque camera style is nonetheless extremely impressive. The Castle of the Walking Dead is relentlessly designed; each shot has been carefully thought out and executed to its fullest illustrative potential. Set decoration, lighting, and camera movement are all carefully integrated; there is almost no shot that is arbitrary, accidental, or unnecessary. Reinl is an obvious practitioner of the great expressionist tradition in cinema, in which the significance of each shot is determined by the director's architectural and illuminative insight, in opposition to current film dogma, in which the subordinate elements of the shot (the acting, the script) dictates its formal structure. Significantly, only Christopher Lee, a performer who, like Lugosi, his predecessor, understands the physically revelatory importance of the actor to the overall impact of a film, is able to rise to the director's challenge. The Castle of the Walking Dead is ultimately derivative, badly acted, and pointless, but, for fans of cinema, can be a joy to behold. I should note that the DVD that I watched was faded and crappy; one can only hope that in the future the rest of Reinl's output will be rediscovered and restored with the loving care that it deserves. I can't wait.

A classic of Gothic horror

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 31 May 2018]

The ridiculously named "Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism" has everything you need to be a classic of b-grade Gothic horror. It's got fantastic locations, brilliant sets, beautiful ladies, capable actors, and Christopher Lee.

The film begins with Lee, who plays a male version of Countess Bathory, being drawn and quartered for his crimes against young women.

The film jumps forward a few hundred years or so with a group of people who are travelling through the European countryside in search of the evil Count Regula (no, he's not called Dr Sadism) and his castle. We get that staple of Euro-horror: everyone the band of adventurers ask for information refuses to give any. No one will speak Regula's name. The movie stops short of the whole "travellers enter a bustling pub or restaurant and when they mention the name of the castle/bad guy everyone stops talking immediately", but it gets its point across.

When the people finally arrive at the castle - it seems to take longer than it should - they encounter the count's creepy servant, and realise his plans for them.

The castle is probably the best set I have ever seen in a gothic horror flick. They should all look that good. It has everything you expect - medieval decor, torture devices, weird paintings, and even a mad scientist set-up with bubbling beakers and lots of tubes.

The count himself, of course, is Christopher Lee, a brilliant choice who unfortunately feels a bit under utilised here.

The movie is also just so much better photographed than perhaps any other movie of its kind. Jess Franco made a bunch of movies like this in the '60s, but none of them looked this good. The scenery on the way to the castle, particularly, is breath taking.

However the movie is not perfect. The only real problem I had with it was its structure. It takes too long to get to the castle, and then too long for the evil Count to appear.

I can easily imagine that this might not be a problem for many viewers, however, and regardless, I feel confident in recommending "The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism" as a must-see for anyone interested in Gothic horror on the big screen.

More boring than the title eludes.

[megoobee · 3/10 · 3 October 2021]

Not much in the way of torturing goes on in this movie. I thought maybe it would be a prologue to current "Saw" or "Hostel" type movies. Nope, not even close. You get introduced to the good doctor at the beginning of the movie and he goes away for 35 years. Then people show up and take a horse and buggy ride together. They talk, they talked some more and later talked even more. Some of it is back story related but for the most part, useless banter.

So they eventually get to their destination and you would think this would be where people start dying in horrible ways. Nope, they do some talking, talked some more and later talked even more. Christopher Lee was asleep during most of his scenes. Seriously, he fiddled around around with a lab beaker, then twiddled this thumbs waiting for the protagonist to stop hurting him. (You may be surprised to know that during the climatic battle at the end, they do some talking, talked some more and later talked even more.)

So predictably, the protagonist prevails and everyone leaves the so-called torture chambers alive. Wow, queue the razzberry sound please.

Wow, where did this come from?

[Gafke · 12 December 2003]

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!

Nice German production has Christopher Lee as an evil count and very loosely based on Poe's ¨THe Pit and the Pendulum¨

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 19 August 2022]

¨Torture chamber of Dr Sadism¨ is a classic Gothic terror loosely based on the horrific story "Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum" and competently directed by the prolific German director Harald Reinl . Entertaining as well as thrilling horror film produced by Constantine Films , with a monumental team of terror , and an European all-star-cast such as Christopher Lee , Lex Barker and Karin Dor . Vintage chiller German picture with eye-popping images , some good shock scenes and slick direction . Decapited , quartered and drawn for sacrificing 12 virgins , the creepy Count Regula (Christopher Lee) is placed together 40 years later to go on his wicked ways . As the sinister Count executed for murdering twelve virgins in a bid for immortality goes back to life , seeking vengeance on the daughter of his intended thirteenth victim and the son of his prosecutor . To find out exactly what happened Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker) goes to the eerie stronghold . The villain count lures to Roger von Marienberg and Baroness Lilian von Brabant (Karin Dor) to his foreboding castle in order to right an imagined wrong . Regula has a torture chamber which he often uses to punish his victims . There are various bloodcurling torture instruments , such as : ¨Iron Maiden¨ and a ¨pendulum¨ . Unbelievable ! . Until You See It With Your Own Eyes! Beauties! The Prey of a Monster's Desires! A mature person's trip through the ultimate in horrific wickedness !. A New High in Horror!

A stylish and first-rate chiller film , confidently realized , plenty of enjoyable moments , goose bumps , scary scenes and plot twists . This is a true terror movie , great fun , it is immaculately staged , stylishly realized , very literate , confidently made and full of attractive , horrific images . Shivering terror has strangely been more skillfully made than in this agreeable horror Harald Reinl directed . A familiar story that has certain Bava and Corman feel , although it doesn't live up to its material or title . The picture packs striking scenarios including mists rise the ground , lugubrious castle , creepy corridors , frightening grottoes, shrieks come from gloomy coffins , and vague shapes move behind the dismal castle gone to the bad , including terrific art direction . The astoshing torture threatening to quivering Lex Barker paying tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" and to Roger Corman. The wall paintings bear remarkable resemblance to "The Last Judgement" from "The Garden of Earthly Delights¨ by Hieronymus Bosch . Excellent cast and special mention for Christopher Lee chewing the scenario on a loopy screenplay . This standard Horror film was shot in budget enough and only remotely derived from the classic Edgar Allan Poe story , but beware of the heavily edited DVDs.

This Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel (1967) also titled The Blood Demon (Ireland, English title) , Blood Demon (United States) The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (United States) , Torture Chamber (United States) or The Blood Demon was well directed by Harald Reilm . German director of commercially successful entertainments, often Heimatfilms, war dramas or crime thrillers . Reinl began in films as a stunt skier for Arnold Fanck in 1930 and then doubled for Leni Riefenstahl in The White Intoxication (1931). A junior ski champion, he managed a French ski school during the 1930s, before taking up full-time directing just prior to World War II. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1950s and '60s, cleverly anticipating genre trends, especially with his series of Karl May westerns (The Treasure of the Silver Lake , Winnetou I , Winnetou: Last of the Renegades) , Adventures (The Crazy Jungle Adventure, Night on Mont-Blanc , Romarey: operation Mazaref, Bergkristall, Hell Hounds of Alaska, Nibelungs ) , Thriller or Euro-spy (Death and Diamonds , Agent X against the red tigers, Jerry Cotton ,Fatal Gun Shots on Broadway, Death in a Red Jaguar) and Edgar Wallace krimis (The Fellowship of the Frog , The Invisible Claws of Dr. Mabuse, The forger of London) . Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent horror movie . Worthwhile watching.

So delightfully creepy that I scared myself into laughter.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 1 October 2019]

This really is a delightful house of horrors that can only be gotten to through a venture through a dark and very expensive looking Forest. It is possessed by the spirit of an evil count executed through being drawn and quartered 45 years before. Now he's been brought back to life (in the form of Christopher Lee) and seeks vengeance on the daughter of one of his intended victims who managed to escape. Being summoned to this spooky castle, Lex Barker and Karin Dor meet and fall in love, but they are at the non-mercy of the mad Christopher Lee.

There's a very silly looking pendulum, plus an assortment of rats, flesh eating birds, snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and the other various Edgar Allan Poe tortures that makes this quite a visual treat. I found myself chillled by much of it, but as quickly as I got goosebumps got the urge to laugh as well. It's a well done German horror film that is a fine version of "The Pit & the Pendulum" with mediocre English dubbing but a great deal of superb art direction.

Spooky 1960's -style monster movie (Not a Horror film) *Spoilers*

[edeighton · 5/10 · 13 October 2017]

My review of The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism

(**contains spoilers**)

This movie went by so many different names. I think I like the title that most people know this movie by "The Castle of the Walking Dead" best. The title "The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism" is very misleading and off-putting. It evokes images of Eli Roth-style torture-porn movies and this movie is nothing like that.

This movie is a delight to watch. The movie was very well shot by director, Harald Reinl. The color palette of this film was rich with blood red sky's and marine blue spooky dungeon walls. The lead actress, Karin Dor wore a dazzling purple dress. Count Regula's laboratory had bubbling viols of every color of the rainbow. Visually, this film has an artistic quality to it, from the elaborate murals painted on the dungeon walls to the surreal colors of the cave walls.

In a nutshell, this movie is great example of West German "krimi" cinema of the late 1960's, spooky but not bloody. It is clear that no expense was spared to make sure that this movie looked great. The costumes and settings and props and lighting were all top-notch. I thought that the casting was also fantastic. Christopher Lee played a perfectly creepy Count Regula. The leading man, Lex Barker, managed to portray a rugged masculine confidence in his role as Roger Mont Elise. Lex Barker is used to the strong silent physically imposing roles as he played Tarzan in a number of movies earlier in his career. German actor Carl Lange brought a wonderfully spooky presence to his role of Anatol, henchman to the evil Count Regula.

Brian Bly in his review wondered if this movie actually qualifies as Horror. Maybe not. But it does seem like an appropriate movie to watch during the Halloween season. In fact, doesn't this movie seem like something that might have been shown at 6:00pm on Halloween night in the late 1970's-early 1980's? This movie certainly has a safe but spooky feel to it that seems like it was made for a younger audience. While young movie goers of the late 1960's might have been creeped-out by the spiders, snakes, skulls, skeletons and death traps, ultimately no major character dies. In fact the "monsters" are dispelled by a simple crucifix. This movie might better be described as thrilling rather than horror.

Rather than market this movie as a Horror movie, I think this movie works better as a buddy adventure movie. If this movie had been filmed in the 1980's I imagine Danny Devito in the role of Father Fabian (the thief). This movie fits in perfectly with more familiar 1980's adventure movies like "Romancing the Stone" or "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". In fact, the movie might not have been to different had it cast Dean Martin as Roger Mont Elise and Jerry Lewis as Father Fabian. The script of this movie seems to contemplate two swinging guys hooking up with two hot chicks while a whole bunch of spooky stuff happens around them. For sure, the musical score evokes a kooky, happy, 1960's "we are all going to get laid" tone.

Decent & Atmospheric 60's Gothic

[bobtheplanet · 7/10 · 23 December 2006]

I have the Aikman Archives 2003 DVD release which has a quoted running time of 81 minutes, but I do not know if it is uncut. It says that it is digitally remastered... but that is a pretense only. The opening scenes have some severe film scratches on it, and minor scratching is visible in many later scenes, although the color is not too bad.

The charm of this film is obviously the sets and general creepiness. Story wise, it is typical of the "Revenge" and "Curse" plot lines in horror movies, but adds a few twists to make it a little more bizarre. It's mostly a vehicle for the well-realized castle and torture chambers. Huge Hieronymus Bosch paintings dominate the walls while trained vultures greedily peck at bloody leftovers. Corpses hang along dimly viewed roadside trees; and with every move a spiked portcullis or oaken door closes behind the protagonists sealing their passage. With a more coherent plot and more subtle and cohesive dialog and editing this would have been more than a "B" movie. To me, it lacks some measure of suspense, although the torture chamber sequences aren't too bad. Christopher Lee needed more screen time and better lines, and Lex Barker could have been replaced with Ron Ely or Gordon Scott (my favorite Tarzans).

Karin Opens The Dor To Your Heart

[thejcowboy22 · 5/10 · 5 June 2014]

I remember the first time I caught this flick on late night TV. I'm watching a man being executed. Years have passed, enter Leading Man Lex Barker who travels the European Countryside. Then a brief glimpse from a window and I was hypnotized for the remainder of the movie. I was captivated,enthralled and downright smitten with our leading lady Karin Dor. Dor plays a descendant of the prosecutor who sent Count Regula (played By Christopher Lee) to his death, For reasons we don't even know. Continuing onward Lex Barker and a impostor (MAN OF THE CLOTH)played by Carl Lange complete with side arm take a faithful carriage ride to Count Regula's Castle driven by an apprehensive coachman. Traffic was heavy on that country side road that day as another carriage passes them by with Dor AKA Lilian Von Brabant and blonde lady servant Babette inside. Trouble ensues and marauders ransack their carriage.The two lovely ladies are startled as there thrown to the ground. The suspects ride off in the distance as Rev and Lex arrive and help the shaken women into their carriage. Pleasantry are exchanged and you get to see and appreciate the loveliness of Karin.The afternoon turns to twilight as dead bodies appear. The devastation around the coachman is to much and he dies from the stress. Enter Pater caretaker for the castle and count Regula's right hand man. He steals the cab as Lex and Carl watch in disbelief as the two travel on foot a short distance to the Castle to rescue to the abducted ladies. The structure is downright gloomy filled with self opening doors and endless corridors/descending bars of steel as the two stroll inside. Piano music is heard as the two men are drawn towards the sound as they meet up with Man servant Pater. He directs them to the gorgeous Lilian playing a melody on a baby grand donning a lavender Hooped dress. She is under the influence in sort of a trance as she fans her way around the room, Foul play is in order as Babette tips off our guests as the drinks being served are filled with acid. Pater just drinks his acid glass vintage without a burp. The trance wears off and Lilian comes back to reality. The rest of the movie you just watch Karin sashay around the worn torn castle filled with snakes, vultures, scorpions, trapped doors and a moving wooden plank. An anomaly of extreme as blood and guts filled the hallways of this weathered old edifice as our Froline dashes along in lavender and lace. I would have loved to see some outtakes of her skirt blowing over her head but they didn't save those things in those days. In the end goodness prevails and evil fails. Was this movie scary? Of course not! I rated this movie a five just for gazing into her beautiful face. Now it's off to German Class 101 Karin meine liebe,Ihre so schon.

Pock-marked Lee in a Teutonic potboiler

[El-Stumpo · 7/10 · 1 November 2007]

A strange West German reworking of the classic Edgar Allan Poe tale The Pit And The Pendulum. Already filmed by Roger Corman in 1961 with Vincent Price in the lead role, the Germans - with their infinitely subtle touch - throw almost every possible horror cliché into the mix. The result is a virtual smörgåsbord of unearthly delights, presided over by veteran horror actor Christopher Lee who, by playing the bloodless Count, seems to be having a leisurely walk through the Black Forest, having spent almost as much of the Sixties in Continental potboilers as he did in their British counterparts.

Looking even more pale and cadaverous than his Dracula appearances, Lee plays Count Regula, a creature of pure evil sentenced to be drawn and quartered whilst wearing a spiked mask (trust Teutonic sadism to add a generous amount of Bava's Black Sunday). Before he expires, he curses the Judge (American B-actor Lex Barker) and his entire Von Marienberg family; thirty five years later his estranged son Roger (also played by) is summoned to Regula's now ruined castle, along with Lillian, the daughter of the woman who framed him (striking German actress Karin Dor, also a Bond villainess in You Only Live Twice the same year).

Their carriage passes through some genuine old German towns (complete with authentically craggy townsfolk) and into a hostile and increasingly surreal landscape - bodies hang from trees with severed arms for branches - towards a castle crawling with vultures and every other possible harbinger of doom, not to mention a resurrected Regula and the bodies of the twelve bodies of the virgins he sacrificed to perfect the elixir of eternal life. Lillian, it seems, is the thirteenth and final virgin (..?), while Roger is destined to be the end of the family line, strapped under a ghastly pendulum in a torture chamber covered in what looks a Brughel mural of A Clockwork Orange.

Lee is superb as always, even sleepwalking through these zombie Count roles, and the art direction in the cobweb-covered catacombs brings a dry tickle to the throat. It's not classic Poe by any stretch, but then every Corman adaptation with Vincent Price had the unmistakable aroma of ham, and the Germans really know what to do with their pork products. So.let's go down the basement to see what the Swinging Sixties has to offer - possibly a bloody big pendulum blade, that is, swinging on the end of a chain. Sweet dreams sinners,as we enter The Torture Chamber Of Dr Sadism.

Roger: So these are the 12 murdered girls? Servant: Yes. But that's no reason why you shouldn't make yourselves at home.

The Title Promises A Lot

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 21 November 2012]

Talk about a title that jumps up and grabs you THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR SADIST is one of those titles conjuring all sorts of images of depraved physical and sexual violence - until you stop to consider it's from 1967 and stars Christopher Lee which means you should be expecting something along the lines of a Hammer horror film and indeed we're shown a pre title opening hook followed by a stranger entering a 19th Century town that is surrounded by forests and have inns that don't have many strangers same as in Hammerland . Much of the early exposition takes place on a coach just like in the Hammer films

The above sounds like it plays out like the much remembered Hammer horror films but the crucial difference is TORTURE CHAMBER is a German production and this means if you're watching it in English then it's dubbed . This gives an unnatural character to the actors voices , but that's not so much the problem . The problem is that it sounds like the original German has been too literally translated in to English . Try this sample for instance " Oh we went over the root of a tree , lucky the driver didn't stop , highwaymen are common in the forest , that's why it's dangerous to be caught napping " Does that sound like natural dialogue ?

It also exposes another great weakness in the film - the exposition is over emphasised to the point where everything becomes quite ridiculous . You watch a film like Leslie Norman's DUNKIRK and the dialogue sounds like text from a history book but you're able to forgive that to an extent seeing perhaps that was the film's agenda . In a mere horror film like this one it's rather more difficult to be forgiving . Everything involving backstories such as Roger Mont Elise have to feel the need to state " I am Roger and I came here because.... " at every opportunity . Nothing that happens on or off screen can take place without a character explaining what has happened , why someone is doing something and what motivates them . You'd think this was a production for the blind

This is a pity because being based on a book by Edgar Allen Poe there is a potential for a macabre drama and when the characters arrive at the trademarked spooky castle that only exist in these type of movies then it does concentrate on the bizarre memorably grotesque aspects of a Poe tale but by this stage you're halfway through the film and not really bothered anymore

BTW a number of people on this page and message board have complained how inappropriate the soundtrack is . If that's the case try and track down Michael Mann's THE KEEP , a film not only has an inappropriate soundtrack but visuals that look like they come from another film , kind of like LORD OF THE RINGS on acid

Excellent Gothic horror film!

[capkronos · 9/10 · 29 January 2007]

Beautifully photographed, fast-paced, unique, colorful, atmospheric and even surreal at times, this combines elements from Gothic films popular at the time (not only limited to Bava, but stretching into Roger Corman's Poe series and the Hammer costume/period horrors of the day), but somehow manages to distinguish itself entirely. Definitely not a movie to be judged on literary faithfulness (it is based - very very loosely - on Poe's 'Pit and the Pendulum'), then again it doesn't really need to be. The film open with a standard prologue where hateful-looking Satanist/sadist/scientist Count Frederic Regula (Christopher Lee) is in prison awaiting execution for killing 12 virgins and using their blood in his experiments. He has a spiked gold mask slammed onto his face by a red-hooded executioner (shades of BLACK Sunday), is dragged into a small town's city square, tied to four different horses and then drawn-and-quartered (pulled apart). Before dying, he promises to get revenge on the descendants of both the judge who sentenced him (Lex Barker, who was a big star in Germany at the time) and the woman who managed to escape from his torture chamber and warn authorities (Karin Dor, the very lovely former wife of the director).

Thirty-five years later, strapping manly-man Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker again) arrives in the same town to claim an inheritance. Said inheritance is Castle Andomai, a remote, crumbling castle far from the main town. Superstitious townspeople try to warn him not to go near the place, but he shrugs them off and decides to hire an apprehensive coachman (Dieter Eppler) to take him there. Accompanying them on the trip is a very strange priest named Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar) who claims he just needs a ride. And what a strange coach trip it turns out to be! At first, the countryside is serene and picturesque with a clear blue sky, moss-covered trees and quiet ponds. Suddenly, black-hooded men on horseback blaze the trail. They attack another coach, steal it and leave behind two female passengers; the beautiful Baroness Lilian von Brabant (Karin Dor again) and her cute blonde servant Babette (Christiane Rücker). Roger learns that Lilian is headed to the same exact location he is (she and Roger being, of course, the two descendants of the 'cursed' people from the opening segment) so he gives the two ladies a lift. And then things get really weird; almost fairy-tale like in the dark imagery. The carriage marches across a blood red sky... Every house on the way seems to have been burned to the ground... The fog grows thicker and thicker... At dark, the trees take on a sinister life of their own, with body parts protruding from the trunks, squawking ravens lining limbs and corpses hanging from the branches. It's all too much for the harried coachman, who promptly keels over from a heart attack! A strange man named Anathol (Carl Lange) also shows up long enough to kidnap the women and steal the carriage.

Roger and Fabian finally come across Castle Andomai and find Lilian and Babette unharmed inside. The four then discover why it has been nicknamed "The Bloody Castle." Inside is a virtual treasure trove of visual beauty and horrific set design, with prominent shades of blue, purple, green and gold in the backdrop. The art direction is exceptional. Many walls are covered with demonic, abstract paintings. Others are made entire of skulls. There are tons of secret passageways and every room is sealed off by razor sharp gates when characters enter or exit. Vultures line corridors. Many of the rooms are designed solely for torture, including one with a rack over a bed of spikes, one where the floor slowly pulls back to reveal a pit of poisonous snakes underneath and another where a huge pendulum emerges from the ceiling. All kinds of creepy crawlers (snakes, scorpions, rats, lizards, tarantulas) make appearances, and so does an undead-looking Christopher Lee again; at least long enough to explain his attempts to create a special "life elixir" and how he needs a virginal thirteenth victim to accomplish his goal. And Anathol, the guy who stole to coach/girls, turns up once again as Lee's ghostly accomplice.

Aside from the production design, the make-up effects are also good and there are several surprising visual effects using stop-motion animation. There's also some non-obtrusive comedy elements; both dark humored and lighthearted. Former "Tarzan" Lex Barker's (dubbed) performance is tolerable enough, even though these romantic male leads in Gothic horrors are easily forgotten when the other crazy cats pop up. Future Bond girl Karin Dor (who'd star in Hitchcock's TOPAZ the following year) does very well as the heroine, Vladimir Medar is great comic relief and Lee does an equally fine job with limited screen time as the dour, blue-faced, cross-hating Regula. However, the movie is pretty much stolen by Carl Lange as Lee's sinister/gleefully sadistic/over-the-top sidekick.

Anyway, I totally loved every second of this one. It's very underrated, has awesome sets/art direction, great cinematography, a great cast, a great score, is wonderfully atmospheric and has the best Pendulum scene of all time (much better than the one Corman's crew staged in 1961). Anyone who loves Bava, Hammer Horror, Corman's Poe flick, Gothic horrors, etc., should really enjoy it.

Gothic Fun from Harald Reinl

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 6/10 · 30 July 2008]

"Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel" of 1967 aka. "Castle Of The Walking Dead" is a cheesy, but amusing little German Gothic Horror film. This was arguably made to cash in on the earlier success of Roger Corman's brilliant Poe-cycle (starring Vincent Price). And while the film is quite entertaining overall, this German Gothic attempt can in no way come anywhere near the brilliance Corman's films, or the many ingenious Italian Gothic masterpieces and British Hammer flicks that were made in the 60s. While this has a partly nice atmosphere, and, most memorably, the great Christopher Lee (who sadly has way too little screen time) as the villain, it is sadly less stylish, and incomparably tamer and more well-behaved than its Italian, British or American counterparts. While the film does occasionally build up a mood, it lacks aspects such the macabre touch of the Corman films or the nastiness of Italian Gothic gems. This is not to say, of course, that the film is a complete waste. On the contrary, it is pure camp fun which I highly recommend to any of my fellow Gothic Horror fanatics.

The cruel count Regula (Christopher Lee) is drawn and quartered for tormenting twelve virgins to death at his castle. Thirty-five years later, Roger von Marienberg (Lex Barker) and Lilian Von Brabant (Karin Dor) are invited to the count's castle. The two are the spitting image of the judge who sentenced the count to death (Barker), and the count's only surviving victim (Dor)...

The film is very loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Pit And The Pendulum". Roger Corman had made a film based on the story in 1961, namely the brilliant "The Pit And The Pendulum" starring Vincent Price (my favorite actor) and Barbara Steele (my favorite actress), which became one of the greatest Gothic masterpieces ever in cinema. "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel" (which translates "The Snakepit And The Pendulum" - also the German title of Poe's short-story) is, of course, no masterpiece of the kind. Harald Reinl, who is mainly known for Edgar Wallace films, the naive German Karl May Westerns and his interpretation of the Nibelungs, was no Roger Corman. Lex Barker was certainly no Vincent Price, and while Karin Dor is certainly no Barbara Steele either, she is still beautiful enough to make this film worthwhile. The film's greatest quality is, of course, the great Christopher Lee (another favorite actor of mine), who plays the sardonic villain. Sadly, he has far too little screen time. The overacting Carl Lange also fits in his role of the evil count's sidekick. This one's negative aspects lie mainly in its (very German) harmlessness, and partly also in the censorship, which was stricter in Germany at the time (green blood? - you gotta be kidding me). Yet it is an amusing film which may be highly entertaining to some of my fellow Gothic Horror lovers. Just make sure to watch all the Gothic masterpieces from Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti, Roger Corman, the Hammer Studios, etc. before giving this a try.

The Torture Chamber of Dr Sadism

[henry8-3 · 5/10 · 10 September 2021]

Count Regula (Christopher Lee) is torn apart by horses as punishment for torturing and murdering 12 virgin girls. 35 years later his curse is being fulfilled as he returns to seek out a thirteenth virgin (Karin Dor, fresh off being eaten by Piranhas in You Only Live Twice). Hunk and ex Tarzan Lex Barker is the hero coming to her rescue, taking on Regula and his minions.

Based on The Pit and the Pendulum and despite its subtle title, this isn't a half bad Poe adaptation. Lee is sinister and miserable with Barker, hunky and rather convincing in the lead. It is inventive and often quite tense as Barker and co navigate Regula's castle and its perfectly well acted with some interesting Bavarian sets. In the minus column, Carl Lange puts in a ridiculously over the top, lousy performance as Regula's assistant and the soundtrack is bizarre often sounding like it belongs to a British comedy show. 60s horror fans should not miss this.