Cauldron of Blood

There are a few things that do save Cauldron of Blood from total doom. The scenery is very picturesque then again this is Spain we're talking about, the animated title sequence is brilliant and the best scene of the film easily(sadly also one that deserved a much better film), Boris Karloff's presence is still magnetic despite his health and Viveca Lindfors is wonderfully nasty and in a rather scary way. In the acting stakes though Karloff and Lindfors are the only ones that come off as remotely well. Jean-Pierre Aumont looks thoroughly disengaged and as though he didn't want to be there, and others like Rosenda Monteros and Ruben Rojo over-compensate wildly and painfully. Cauldron of Blood is devoid of tension, suspense and chills, mainly because of how cheaply rendered the atmosphere is and also because of the appallingly cornball script- if you get any chills it will be from this component alone, the writing really is that bad- and how much the weirdly constructed story drags, to the extent that the only feeling you get from watching Cauldron of Blood is boredom. The pacing is erratic, on the ponderous side rather than rushed mostly, and the ending is anti-climatic and poorly resolved. Apart from the scenery and animated sequence, Cauldron of Blood is not a well-made film at all, the effects are hokey and the camera work is as erratic as the pacing but worst of all is the editing which is all-over-the-place, slow and choppy in feel and look and it was clear that the making of the film was spread out over a few years which seriously affects the continuity. The music is more strident and over-bearing than stylish and atmospheric. So overall, not Karloff's worst film, it's much better than those wretched Mexican films he made in a similar time frame to this( especially Fear Chamber, though one of them- The Incredible Invasion- made for one of the worst final films of any actor), but it is far from one of his best. If we were to just exclude the Mexican films for a brief second, Cauldron of Blood is still down there with The Invisible Menace and Voodoo Island as one of his weakest. A very generous 4/10. Bethany Cox

I loved horror movies as a kid. Now when I go back to the genre I once loved it is sometimes surprising just how good Boris was. Not long ago I bought the complete series of the Colonel March of Scotland Yard British TV series. And man Boris was good in that. Even here, a dying man, he still has that commanding voice and charisma.

This movie in it's parts is quite good. The cast is strong, the plot has potential, the production values look good. There are moments where you think this movie is going to start to kick ass. However the whole does not equal the sum of it's parts. It drags in spots. There are long sequences that add little to the story. I know the movie was produced over many years and the continuity is lacking. Some careful editing down may have made this a more enjoyable film. Still, another evening with Boris is never a bad thing.

In CAULDRON OF BLOOD, a photojournalist (Jean-Pierre Aumont) travels to Spain to cover a story about a famous, blind sculptor (Boris Karloff). The title comes into play as a very gruesome tool, utilized by the artist's sinister sister (Viveca Lindfors).

Filmed toward the end of Mr. Karloff's storied career, his health was in decline, but, all things considered, he puts in a fine performance. Playing a rather vulnerable character, he is unaware of the utter wickedness of his sibling. For her part, Ms. Lindfors is fantastic! She comes across as a sadistic psychopath with a definite flair for fashion.

While a bit disjointed and slow in spots, this movie does have its high points, especially toward the end.

Worth a watch, particularly for fans of Mr. Karloff...

A bad movie and a mediocre one coexist under the same title: first, a bland story of a horny French journalist turned tourist promoter, courting a blank Spanish girl, who falls prey of a sadistic bitch; and second, a horror tale involving a blind sculptor and his crazy wife, who kills animals and people with her lover's assistance to provide real bone structures for her husband's 3-D evocations of famous paintings. Characters go back and forth from A to B for 97 endless minutes. Pity is that both Lindfords and Karloff try hard to make any sense of the whole affair. Not a bad idea, but poorly executed, with dreadful music and silly special effects and nightmares. Be warned.

Acceptable horror movie revolving around a mysterious sculptor and an eerie basement with plenty of murders , creepy sculptures and ghastly events . A blind sculptor called Franz Badulescu (Boris Karloff) works on his magnum opus unaware that the skeletons he has been using for armatures are provided by his nasty wife , using them as foundations for his projects : some evocations of famous paintings . As Karloff unaware that the bones come from the unfortunate victims of his heinous wife Tania (Viveca Lindfors) and her murderous lover , the evil Shanghai (Milo Quesada) . Along the way , the French journalist Claude Marchand (Jean-Pierre Aumont) is in the little town of Torremolinos (Spain) to interview Badulescu for a magazine and posing as a photographer attempts to know some strange issues about him . Things go wrong when his sweetheart Valerie (Rosanda Montero) stumbles upon the body of her latest victim . Tops In Total Horror!

Thrilling Spanish horror with typical characteristics of the Sixties , displaying chills , shocks , fights , violence and a creepy acid-filled cauldron with abundant smoke . Despite a few escenarios and its shot budget the movie results to be passable , thanks to the adequate filmmaking , atmospheric cinematography taking nice use of lights and shades as well as camera positioning to complement appropriate horror set pieces , especially at its final . And main attraction of the movie lies on watch as Torremolinos (Malaga) has changed from a little tourist village to become , nowadays , a holiday metropolis . Here Karloff plays a blind sculptor , who creates his masterpieces-3D representations of figures from old masters-using real skeletons as armatures provided by his wicked wife by delivering undercoverly the remains of the victims , being well played by Viveca Lindfords , though she gives overacting , at times . One of the several movies Karloff played outside the US shortly before his death , along with his Mexican period ; this one is far from one of his best , but better than those directed by Jack Hill and Juan Ibañez . Karloff had a long and important career from his big hit Frankenstein (1932) by James Whale , he quickly appeared in many other sinister roles , including Scarface (1932) , the black-humored Old dark house (1932), as the namesake Oriental villain of the Sax Rohmer novels in The Mask of Fu-Manchú (1932) or as undead Im-Ho-Tep in The Mummy (1932) and the misguided Prof. Morlant in The Ghoul (1933) and special mention for his role as a religious fanatic in John Ford's The Lost Patrol (1934) that hee thoroughly enjoyed . He donned the signature make-up , neck bolts and asphalt spreader's boots again to play Frankenstein's monster in the extraordinary The bride Frankenstein (1935) and the less thrilling The son of Frankenstein (1939) . Karloff , on loan to Fox , turned up in one of the best of the Warner Oland Chan entries , Charlie Chan in the Opera (1936) . He was a wrongly condemned doctor in Devil's Island (1939), shaven-headed executioner "Mord the Merciless" in Tower of London (1939) , a crazed scientist surrounded by monsters, vampires and werewolves in House of Frankenstein (1944), a murderous grave-digger in The Body Snatchers (1945) and a Greek general fighting vampirism in Val Lewton's Horror Isle of the Dead (1945). Main starring Jean Pierre Aumont , Karloff , Viveca Lindfors , Rosanda Monteros are well accompanied by a good Spanish support cast , such as : Milo Quesada , Dyanik Zurakowska , Manuel de Blas , Rubén Rojo , all of them ordinary actors who played a lot of films of the regular genres of the Sixties and Seventies as Spaghetti/Paella Western , Terror , Giallo , and Eurospy .

The picture was professionally written/produced/directed by Santos Alcocer and Edward Mann, but it has a lot of failures , flaws and gaps . These filmmakers use ordinary visual tricks, sustaining interest enough through the dark and well-designed scenarios and when there shows up the really creepy acid-filled cauldron that definitively steals the show. The picture will appeal to terror genre buffs and Boris Karloff fans . Rating 5.5/10.