Customer Reviews

Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism & Death Smiles On A Murderer

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Klaus Kinski. Christopher Lee. Karin Dor. Harald Reinl. Joe D'Amato. Talk about your cream of the Euro-Horror crop!

A loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum," THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM might just be the least fitting of this film's many alternate titles (CASTLE OF THE WALKING DEAD, BLOOD OF THE VIRGINS, etc.), but you can't deny it's one that really sticks in the brain!

With strong nods to classic Hammer films and the Roger Corman/Vincent Price Poe adaptations, this is a movie with cobwebby atmosphere to spare. It's an old-fashioned haunted castle tale, with Christopher Lee as an undead aristocrat seeking revenge against an appropriately dashing leading man (former TARZAN Lex Barker) and a suitably gorgeous damsel in distress (Karin Dor). And if that doesn't do it for you, the incredible and elaborate sets and locations will have you wishing they still made 'em like they used to.

(Be sure to watch for the visually stunning scene of the coach ride through the haunted forest surrounding Lee's castle; these few minutes of screen time have sown the seeds of many a nightmare since 1967!)

DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER shares several Gothic elements with DR. SADISM, but its screenplay may well have been written in collaboration with a Cuisinart! I'm sure there's a coherent storyline in there somewhere, but you'll have your work cut out for you piecing it together.

Not that you'll care; this is WTF filmmaking at its finest. Before the movie's over, people will be walled up in cellars, thrown from high castles, hung on hooks like old coats, gorily mutilated by possessed cats, and raised from the dead only to be killed all over again. And if at times it's a challenge sorting out exactly what's going on, its sleazy/creepy atmosphere and bizarre and lyrical imagery more than make the head-trip worth taking.

Old school film buffs will simply be pleased to find such handsome prints of these films on DVD. But new converts to legendary filmmakers like Mario Bava or fans of Tim Burton's frequent use of Gothic Horror elements will find this pairing an excellent crash course in how it was done in the heyday of Euro-Horror.

I am not going to review this because I have not seen it yet -- I'll say upfront that the reason I gave it 4 stars is because Amazon does not let you post a review unless you rate it -- 4 stars is what I gave this company's last release. But this DVD is still a good week and a half away from release. If not more, as I hear through the retailer grapevine it may be a week late. Which makes me wonder what the hell this guy Nyland "Squonkmatic" is talking about? How could he have even seen it? His review is dated early February! Legend House, to my knowledge, operates out of L.A. and this guy hails from back East. Plus note, his review is an overly personal and pissed-off attack on the company like he has an axe to grind. Legend House puts out alot of stuff that is in public domain, as do companies like BCI, Alpha Video, VCI and Retromedia, to name only a few. DVDs are not bootlegs if they are DVDs of movies in the public domain. And these two movies are most assuredly in the public domain. Note the numerous other DVD releases of DR.SADISM. DEATH SMILES likewise saw many different incarnations from different VHS companies (as well as several different theatrical releases from low budget theatrical distributors in the '70s & '80s), though to my knowledge it has yet to show up in America on DVD -- probably because there are no decent elements around. Legend House has put out alot of fun stuff and don't deserve the bad rap. Word going around at places like the Grindhouse shows at the New Beverly and Cinefamily theaters in Los Angeles is that there is bad blood between a company called Code Red and Legend House because Legend House put their public domain DVD out of BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD before Code Red got their public domain version out. Waannhh!!! Baby wants its bottle!! Talk about a tempest in a teapot. I do not know any of the Legend House crowd other than to nod to them if I see them out at the movies. But this kind of obvious competitor bashing makes me mad. Hey, Amazon! Wake up! How does this S. Nyland guy's review fit into your "review guidelines", especially when he (or she) obviously hasn't even seen the DVD yet! The date they posted their review should have been a dead giveaway. When this is finally available I'll review it again -- but based on actually WATCHING it. I may give it 1 star or I may give it 5 stars, but at least I will have SEEN it first before passing judgement. One thing I will say for it right now though, if this is good visual quality I'll be happy. These are two of my favorite Euro Gothic horror pix and it is a brilliant idea to put them together on a double feature. So far, so good.

Finally a decent DVD version of one of my favorite Euro-Horror films is cause for rejoicing. TORTURE CHAMBER (not the original title which is THE SNAKE PIT AND THE PENDULUM) is a German made film from 1967 by Krimi specialist Harald Reinl. It has outstanding camerawork and some outrageous set pieces. Think of Poe's PIT AND THE PENDULUM reimagined as a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm or as a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The movie opens with a remarkable tracking shot that follows Christopher Lee as he is led down a series of corridors on his way to be executed. He is to be quartered and this sequence is well staged in the historic town of Rothenburg. Move forward 35 years when two descendants of the people responsible for his death (Lex Barker and Karin Dor) are summoned to a castle where they are summarily imprisoned and tortured as a resurrected Lee and his servant (Karl Lange) need Dor's blood to attain immortality. Several images linger in the mind from the forest of limbs to the Hieronymous Bosch room. The wall of skulls and the flesh eating vultures are another nice touch that you don't run across every day. Totally surreal to say the least. The one drawback, as noted in other reviews, is the soundtrack which uses German muzak for the carriage scenes. Mildly annoying but that helps to date the film and is not without its own peculiar charm.

The second film on the DVD, DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER, was made in 1973 and shows the changes that had taken place in this genre in just a few years. While still a period piece, it incorporates elements from the Italian Giallo films which had come to prominence. More graphic violence is shown and nudity and sex scenes are added to spice up the proceedings. Once again we have a film in which Klaus Kinski's voice is dubbed along with the others (none of them very well) and we get a chance to see what happened to Swedish actress Ewa Aulin after her one brief stab at fame in CANDY. As a period piece DEATH SMILES looks seriously modern which is not to my taste but there's no denying the film's effectiveness. Hats off to Legend House for giving us the twin bill which enables us to enjoy and compare and pick our favorite. Despite what I have read in some of the other reviews, I found the picture quality on this disc to be outstanding. Both films are presented in widescreen format and feature recreated titles which is not surprising when you consider how often this drive-in fare was served up under several different guises. In fact there is an amusing short piece EURO TRASH MANIA which tells us all about it. The DVD even comes with commentary for the two films (they were done in someone's home and you can hear an ice cream truck in the background).

DVD-R with compression issues (bad pixelation). In other words this is a cheap copy that looks terrible. These movies really deserve better. Shame on you Johnny Legend.

I haven't seen this yet but I am so psyched to buy it. Done and done. The Gothic-Euro review here cracked me up, and the fact that someone chose to give this one star BEFORE release means there's got to be good because some competitor is jealous as a green squid. It's "...screenplay may well have been written in collaboration with a Cuisinart!" -- HA! Delightful and delicious.

My name is Werner Manfred Hoffstrotten. I babel fish this review.

This movie is bigger than Star Wars in my country! Of this you can be rest assured! Children watch it on certain Saturday mornings! It is held in highest regard by the prime minister herself and only she has a cassette of it since it has been banned 62 times in her domain!

My suggestion is for you to proclaim it immediately!

Yet another pathetic, simpering, unauthorized bootleg from Legend House, who seem to not only have no shame but think the buying public are complete idiots. Get a zone free DVD player and find the Region 2 originals used to source this piece of garbage.