On Saturday night, I watched the 1967 German horror film, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism.

I have to say that the film itself turned out to be quite a bit more entertaining than I was expecting it to be.  It was an entertaining and atmospheric horror film, the type where travelers rode in stage coaches to gothic castles and Christopher Lee showed up as the villain.  However, I was very disappointed to discover that, while the film did feature a torture chamber, there was not a character named Dr. Sadism anywhere to be found.  In fact, I don’t think that the word “Sadism” was even mentioned in the film.

Of course, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism was not the only title by which this film was released.  As was typical of horror films in the 60s (especially international horror films), this film had many different titles.  In Germany, it was known as Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel.  It was also released under titles like The Blood Demon, The Crimson Demon, The Snake Pit and the Pendulum, and The Castle of the Walking Dead.  That’s a collection of good names.  It’s just too bad that they were all given to one film as opposed to being spread out amongst several films.

The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (or whatever you want to call it) opens with a public execution.  Count Regula (Christopher Lee) has been found guilty of the murder of 12 virgins.  Regula is forced to wear a gold mask with a rather awkward smiley face on the front of it.  He is then forced to lie down in the town square and his wrists and his ankles are tied to four horses.  As the red-hooded executioner looks on, the horses run in four different directions and, though we don’t actually see it, Count Regular is ripped apart.  Agck!

35 years later, Baroness Lilian von Brabent (Karin Dior, wearing a purple gown that is simply to die for) and her lawyer, Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker) are invited to pick up an inheritance that is due to the Baroness.  The only catch is that they’ll have to ride a stagecoach all the way to a forbidding castle that the locals refer to as being Blood Castle.  On the way to the castle, they are joined by a highwayman who is pretending to be a priest (Vladimer Medar) and the Baroness’s maid (Christiane Rucker).  They are ride through a forest where the trees are full of human limbs.  They battle some mysterious robbers.  They discover a burned out church and an apparent madman living inside the ruins.  Eventually, they reach the castle where the resurrected Count Regula waits for them, along with his undead, green-blooded servant, Anatol (Carl Lange).  Count Regula is eager to sacrifice a 13th virgin so that he can become immortal.  Apparently, this will grant Regula immortality, which he does not yet have despite the fact that he’s somehow recovered nicely from being dismembered and beheaded.  Regula announces that the Baroness will be his next virgin victim.

(See, there’s actually very real advantages to not waiting.)

The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism is one of those films that is described as being based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe.  In this case, that means that Roger ends up in a pit with a pendulum swinging over him.  For a film with a title like The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (or even The Blood Demon), there’s not really a lot of gore in this film.  Instead, the film focuses more on creating and maintaining a properly gothic atmosphere.  It’s surprisingly entertaining, largely due to the ominous design of the torture dungeon, Christopher Lee’s villainy, Vladimer Medar’s comedic relief, the beauty of Karin Dor, and the square-jawed heroism of Lex Barker.  Lee, in particular, deserves some credit for embracing the melodrama in his role as Regula.  Lee knows exactly the type of film in which he’s appearing and he appropriately modulates his performance.

Whatever title you see it under, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism will keep you entertained.