Castle of the Walking Dead (1967)

- Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel
Not as good as I had hoped, 17 January 2005

I had heard such good things about Castle of the Walking Dead (aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) that I've really been looking forward to seeing it. I was a little disappointed. The movie seemed to be little more than a series of interesting, but unrelated, ideas and scenes stuck together with a very flimsy plot. The castle scenes are basically one torture device after the other. Christopher Lee is underutilized. He plays a one-note character that highlights very little of his acting abilities.

One scene in particular points out many of the problems with the movie. As our unsuspecting heroes make their way to the castle, they must travel through a forest. This is no ordinary forest. The trees seem to have dead bodies actually growing out of their trunks and branches. Do they turn around and home like sensible people? NO. Dead bodies in trees must be a common sight in their part of the world.

Regardless of what I've written so far, it's not as if I didn't find something to enjoy. The rating I’ve given the movie (6/10) would indicate that. What I did find enjoyable were those very scenes that I've previously described as unrelated. Most are so over-the-top in their imaginative use of torture devices that I couldn't help but enjoy them. The scene of our hero tied helplessly as a ax blade pendulum slowly drops toward his body was truly an amazing sight. It's actually better than a similar scene in Corman's Pit and the Pendulum, a movie I actually enjoy.

6/10