The Blood Demon

"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 version of this movie that i saw was so heavily edited and dubbed that it takes away from the movie. however, the movie still managed to entertain me tremendously. there are wonderful sets (the hall of skulls, the endless castle corridors, the on location villages, and the forest) and striking uses of color. There are some really tense scenes (the snake pit) and some haunting images (the hanging corpses). however, with so much editing and poor dubbing, most of the story gets lost. granted i was presented with the really interesting parts, the story was never boring, but i felt we needed a bit more exposition. other than that, the only gripes i have with the movie is the lack of explanations. i got the impression while the coachman was driving he was only imagining the bodies in the trees and the corpses on the road, because he doesn't get scared until he sees....three black crows. But the movie doesn't bother to tell us that. The other problem i have is with the black riders. were they the guys who were hanging later on? this is never explained either. And then there is the lack of good special effects. I said before the snake pit scene was tense, and yes it is, noone wants her to fall, but the pit has about five or six black snakes in it. better effects would have had the entire pit swarming with hundreds of different snakes. and the laboratory scene was pretty cheesey too, just various liquids bubbling and steaming. all negative points aside this movie is really really entertaining. like i said, it is never boring. the reviewers who compared it to bava are correct, it is very similar to his style. the other reviewer who said the movie feels evil was also correct. the entire movie seems to have been shot in hell. and perhaps that is what this movie is all about, hell, or nightmares. when the movie is over, i was left with questions, but i was still pleased. i can only imagine what the uncut original is like. Anchor Bay, if you are reading, this is a prime candidate for you!

I think - and I can hardly remember, I saw this film two times and I was deeply impressed. Lex Barker as one of my favorit actors (caused by all the Karl May based movies) appeared this time in an completely other kind of motion picture. The film itself - very strange and what's really amazing is the fact that the plot begins without a long and boring introduction. Furthermore the strange "effects" make this peace of art very exciting. You can only love it... Robert

"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.

Sadistic Satanist Count Frederic Regula (a wonderfully wicked portrayal by the great Christopher Lee) gets drawn and quartered after he murders twelve virgins in an attempt to gain immortality. Thirty-five years later Regula comes back to nefarious life so he can exact a harsh revenge on Roger von Marienberg (the handsome Lex Barker) and Baroness Lillian Von Brabant (gorgeous brunette Karin Dor), who are the direct descendants of Regula's executioners. Crafty priest Peter Fabian (a delightfully robust Vladimir Medar) and servant girl Babette (cute blonde Christiane Rucker) also find themselves in considerable jeopardy. Evil butler Anathol (a deliciously creepy Carl Lange) assists Rugula's cruel plans for the unlucky quartet when they seek refuge in his moldy and remote castle. Director Harold Reinl keeps the pace swift and unflagging throughout. Reinl in addition expertly creates a bleak, brooding and supremely eerie atmosphere as well. The grimly serious tone and several jolting shock set pieces likewise hit the satisfying spot. The rich, vibrant and agile cinematography by Ernst W. Kalinke and Dieter Liphardt offers a wealth of nifty visuals (the desolate foggy countryside littered with corpses and body parts hanging from trees is an especially startling image). Peter Thomas' groovy lounge music score makes the grade, too. The amazingly gloomy'n'grimy castle sets are simply stupendous. All in all, this baby sizes up as a perfectly spooky and flesh-crawling period Gothic horror treat.

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.

I had heard such good things about Castle of the Walking Dead (aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) that I've really been looking forward to seeing it. I was a little disappointed. The movie seemed to be little more than a series of interesting, but unrelated, ideas and scenes stuck together with a very flimsy plot. The castle scenes are basically one torture device after the other. Christopher Lee is underutilized. He plays a one-note character that highlights very little of his acting abilities. One scene in particular points out many of the problems with the movie. As our unsuspecting heroes make their way to the castle, they must travel through a forest. This is no ordinary forest. The trees seem to have dead bodies actually growing out of their trunks and branches. Do they turn around and home like sensible people? NO. Dead bodies in trees must be a common sight in their part of the world. Regardless of what I've written so far, it's not as if I didn't find something to enjoy. The rating I gave the movie (6/10) would indicate that. What I did find enjoyable were those very scenes that I've previously described as unrelated. Most are so over-the-top in their imaginative use of torture devices that I couldn't help but enjoy them. The scene of our hero tied helplessly as a ax blade pendulum slowly drops toward his body was truly an amazing sight. It's actually better than a similar scene in Corman's Pit and the Pendulum, a movie I actually enjoy.

Castle of The Walking Dead is the video version of the Constantin Film, Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel, and as such is shortened by approximately 15 minutes from the original. This film, released in 1967, is interesting for several reasons although it is certainly no classic. The careers of Lex (`Tarzan') Barker and Christopher Lee crossed briefly here and the presence of the lovely Karin Dor (wife of director Harald Reinl), whom readers may recognize from her role in the Fu Manchu films (which also starred Lee) of the same era, added a bit of grace to an otherwise grim story. Castle of . . . is an interesting mix of excellent atmosphere hampered by odd editing and sometimes laughable storyline. I was impressed by the sets and grim mood the film projected from beginning to end, and the presence of Lee makes this must see viewing for his many followers. However, this was far from his best work and one wonders if he was not overextending himself during this very busy period in his career. Set in what appears to be 17th or 18th century Germany, Count Regula (Lee) is drawn and quartered for his offenses. 35 years later, his manservant Anatole, (ably portrayed by Carl Lange) initiates a rite to bring him back to life on Good Friday. The good Count requires the blood of 13 virgins for this to be achieved and, you guessed it, Dor as Baroness Lillian Von Brabandt is to be number 13. So the countess, and Barker as Roger Montelise, son of the judge who condemned the count many years before, are duped into visiting Regula's castle. One of the few scenes in the film which combines outstanding atmosphere with sold story line comes when Montelis and his party are being coached to the castle. A very frightening and disturbing ride it was through a forest of hanging bodies and detached limbs, giving some much needed credibility to a mostly mediocre offering. At the castle, the flow of the story breaks down. Several scripting mistakes are painfully obvious. Two examples: In one scene, Anatole is shot in the chest by Roger's man and we see a small amount of dark red blood before the bullet hole supernaturally closes. A few minutes later, Anatole cuts his wrist and green blood drips to Regula's coffin. In another, it is established that the `undead', Anatole and Regula, cannot bear the presence of a Christian cross in the same room with them. Yet instead of throwing it in his face and escaping, Dor meekly obeys Anatole's harsh command to remove it from his sight! But, in the end, the good guys win, vanquishing the risen to life Regula and the evil Anatole. They are taken away by the same coach they came in on and we are led to believe they lived happily ever after. Castle of . . . will be of interest to fans of European and/or obscure horror and the previously mentioned Lee cultists. Years ago I viewed the longer version, released under the American title, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism and the added 15 minutes enhances the story greatly, so find that copy if you can. Castle of . . . was another release from InterGlobal Home Video, whom collectors like me owe a huge debt to.

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.

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!