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.
(**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.