Castle of the Walking Dead

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly decent DVD transfer of atmospheric Euroshocker
Review: Castle of the Walking Dead is the most common title given to this little-seen Christopher Lee Eurohorror, variously known as Blood Demon, The Snakepit and the Pendulum, and The Torture Room. I saw this as Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism on Screaming Yellow Theatre (WFLD-TV Chicago with the great Svengoolie hosting) late at night in the 1970s and it's been etched in my mind ever since. The story (extremely loosely based on Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum) is standard revenge-of-the-executed-warlock hokum, but this is definitely worth a look for Gothic horror/Euroshock fans for its rigorously grisly atmosphere and evocative Middle-European locations and production design/set decoration. The movie begins as Medieval occult practitioner Count Frederic Regula (Lee) is sentenced by judge Reinhold von Marienberg (Lex Barker) to be drawn and quartered for the murders of 12 virgins, but not before a spiked golden mask is thrust onto his face by a red-hooded executioner (reminiscent of the opening of Mario Bava's Black Sunday). Thirty-five years later, von Marienberg's descendent, lawyer Roger Montelise (Lex again), is given a mysterious message concerning his past by a street barker, which sets him off on a journey by coach to Count Regula's castle. Along the way he picks up a companion in hard-drinking "priest" Father Fabian, and saves Baroness Lillian von Brabant (gorgeous Karin Dor; You Only Live Twice, Assignment: Terror) and her maidservant Babette, also coincidentally on the way to Regula's castle, from some Death-like black-robed-and-hooded horsemen. They also encounter some cool (real?) castle ruins and a creepy forest with bodies and body parts hanging/growing from the trees (probably the most indelible image in the movie). The carriage is hijacked with the ladies aboard, and the pursuing Roger and Fabian literally stumble onto Regula's crumbling castle, where they find huge, nightmarish, Bosch-like murals and sculptures; a room where the 12 dead virgins are laid out on slabs; lotsa heavy iron-spiked gates; corridors lined floor to ceiling with human skulls; vultures, rats, lizards, snakes, and spiders; and plenty of convincingly fetid Gothic ambiance. Regula's nasty, green-blooded, undead manservant/henchman Anathol holds Lillian in a drugged/hypnotized state while Babette is gagged and bound to a huge cross, then slowly lowered onto spikes embedded in the floor. (Bondage freaks will love this scene.) Karin Dor handles a live snake, Fabian's true identity is revealed, and Anathol revives the count, who looks very pale and pasty (and still has holes in his face from the spiked mask). Apparently he still needs the blood of a 13th virgin to attain immortality, and has chosen Lillian as revenge for her mother's turning Regula in to the authorities 35 years earlier. Montelise is strapped to a dungeon floor as a huge swinging pendulum blade descends toward his chest, and Lillian is confined on a retractable gangplank over a pit filled with snakes (to "increase her fear" before she is murdered). The scenes of bondage and torture create a palpable feeling of sadism that's pretty potent for a movie of its day. Veteran director Harald Reinl (Invisible Dr. Mabuse, Return of Dr. Mabuse, Die Nibelungen) keeps the story moving (although logic suffers a bit at times) and seems to borrow a few more bits from Bava (lotsa swirling smoke/fog and vivid, unnatural, primary-colored lighting schemes). But what really makes this movie are the authentic and imaginatively detailed settings (some of which appear to be actual locations and castle interiors). I can think of only a few other horror films (White Zombie and Franco's Count Dracula come to mind) that so convincingly appear to have been shot on the actual locations in which they supposedly take place. My only real criticism of Walking Dead is the light pop-jazz (more suited to a goofy comedy) that accompanies a number of scenes, somewhat undermining the otherwise unwholesome atmosphere of dread and decay created by the visuals. Overall, an underappreciated and sorely neglected Euroshock gem.
The good news on this DVD is that the transfer is surprisingly satisfactory, though it's not the widescreen restoration one would hope for. The image is cropped to 1.33:1 from the original 2.35:1, but the framing suffers little and the sharpness and detail of the (16mm?) print are quite acceptable, if not razor sharp. Some heavy lining mars the first minute or so of the movie, then diminishes rapidly and disappears almost completely after about five minutes; I didn't find it distracting after that point. There is the usual light speckling and blemishing and a few emulsion dings here and there but no other noticeable defects in the source print. Color is surprisingly well-saturated and acceptably balanced and the audio is clear and full with negligible background noise. (Thankfully, though everyone's post-dubbed throughout, we get to hear Lee's and Barker's own distinctive voices.) All in all, very watchable, easily as good or better than you remember from TV, far better than the lousy VHS copies I've seen, and to be honest, much nicer than I was anticipating from a "no-name" video company (the only identifier on the DVD and case says "Aikman Archive" and Internet retailers all give conflicting info on this DVD's manufacturer [it's the "Eclectic" edition on Amazon]). There are no extras other than 12 chapter stops and a Chris Lee "bio" that's scant on biographical detail but does contain a fairly comprehensive filmography. Not a definitive release but worth the price and good enough to tide fans over until someone (Image, are you listening?) digs up some pristine widescreen elements.

Rating:
Summary: Just as I remember it . . .
Review: I first saw this movie back in the early 80's on Movie Macabre (hosted by the awesome Elvira, Mistress of the Dark)under the title The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism, and I was completely enthralled by it. The Seven Deadly Sins are fascinating, the ride through the forest is spine tingling, and the castle is a horror labryinth. Sure, the DVD cuts out a few minutes of the original VHS, - the torture bound party's first run-in with the count's evil servant at a burned inn - but I'm not broken up about it. I'm just thrilled they put it on DVD. This is a great movie to watch (in the dark, of course) around Halloween.

Rating:
Summary: This DVD version is EDITED...too bad.
Review: I too like this movie a lot. Unfortunately, this DVD edition has been sourced from an edited Tv print of the movie. Magnum Video's long OOP VHS version (under the title TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR SADISM) is about 12 minutes longer than the DVD.

Hopefully someone will put out an anamorphic widescreen uncut version someday. Until then, track down the Magnum tape and avoid this DVD. The picture quality on the DVD isn't great anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric chiller with equal amounts of blood and laughs.
Review: If low-budget spookiness, with a campy edge and a bit of blood is your bag, 'Castle of the Walking Dead' comes highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE MOVIE! DRIPPING WITH ATMOSPHERE!!!
Review: This is an incredibly atmospheric horror movie...the forest coach ride to Regula's ruined castle is like a nightmare. Chrisptopher Lee is AWESOME, and his henchman is even creepier, if that's possible!! Turn off the lights and watch this late at night! I've heard of this movie for years, but never had the chance to see it....and now that I have, I was really surprised at how good it is!! A must-see for all horror fans!!