''The Blood Demon'' (''Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel'' in West Germany), also known as ''The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism'', ''The Snake Pit and the Pendulum'', and ''Castle of the Walking Dead'', is a 1967 West German horror film directed by

Harald Reinl Harald Reinl (8 July 1908 in Bad Ischl, Austria – 9 October 1986 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) was an Austrian film director. He is known for the films he made based on Edgar Wallace and Karl May books (see Karl May movies and Edgar Wal ...

and starring Christopher Lee,

Karin Dor Karin Dor (, born Kätherose Derr; 22 February 1938 – 6 November 2017) was a German actress. She was famous to international audiences for her role as Bond girl Helga Brandt in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) and her appear ...

, and

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably a ...

. The film, written by Manfred R. Köhler, is based on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

's 1842

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

The Pit and the Pendulum "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual ''The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843''. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of ...

" and concerns the saga of Count Regula (Lee) who, after being drawn and quartered for murdering 12 maidens, returns to life seeking revenge. The film was advertised in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

newspapers as ''Crimson Demon'', due to a practice at the time of deleting the word "Blood" from film titles. It was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Fir ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors

Gabriel Pellon Gabriel Pellon (1900–1975) was a German painter and art director.Shandley p.212 Pellon was born in Metz, which was then part of the German Empire having been annexed from France at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. When Metz was later annex ...

and

Rolf Zehetbauer Rolf Zehetbauer (13 February 1929 – 23 January 2022) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Zehetbauer won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Cabaret''. He died on 23 January 2022, a ...

Plot

The setting in time is the 18th century, and the probable story location is Germany.

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Lilian von Brabant and her lawyer Roger Mont Elise receive an invitation to the Blood Castle, in Sander Valley, where a large inheritance is awaiting the Baroness. Both decide to go; the Baroness because of the inheritance and Roger seeing a chance to get more information regarding his birth. Upon arriving at the valley, in separate carriages, they meet the monk Fabian, who has a proclivity for profanities. Fabian offers to assist them in finding their way to the castle, the place where, 35 years ago, Count Regula had murdered 12 virgin maidens, in an attempt to use their blood to achieve immortality. However, he was one maiden short of his goal, and he was drawn, quartered and beheaded for his crime. As he was dying, the Count threatened revenge against those responsible for his death. On their way to the castle, the lawyer and the monk see the Baroness and her maid Babette being attacked by mysterious hooded riders who try to abduct the women. After Rogers fends off the robbers, he offers to let the women ride in his coach. While passing through a dead forest full of corpses, with human limbs and torsos hanging from the dead tree branches, the coach is stolen and the two women kidnapped. Fabian, who is revealed to be a robber rather than a monk, is so terrified by the unexplained disappearance of the women that he offers to help Roger find them. The two men finally locate the women locked in an iron chamber at Blood Castle, although they get caught before they can rescue them. Rothenburg BW 4

After their capture, the Count's evil, green-blooded servant Anatol informs the two men that he is planning to bring the Count back to life after 35 years. Anatol, using his own green blood, finally achieves his goal of reviving the Count. Following his

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

, the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

appears to the prisoners wearing an iron mask, informing the men that he needs the blood of maiden number 13 to achieve his goal of immortality. The maiden is revealed to be the Baroness. After the pronouncements by the Count, the prisoners make an escape attempt, but they are unsuccessful. As punishment, the Baroness is locked into a snake and spider pit, where she loses her sanity. Roger, imprisoned in a pit with a pendulum, manages to overcome the odds and survive. He also recovers the diamond-encrusted cross of the Baroness, which he uses to destroy the Count and Anatol, finally succeeding in freeing the prisoners. The Baroness recovers and falls into Roger's embrace, while Fabian leaves the crumbling castle with Babette.

Cast

as Roger Mont Elise/Roger von Marienberg **

Horst Naumann Horst Naumann (born 17 November 1925 in Dresden, Germany) is a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Das geheimnisvolle Wrack'' (1954) * '' Carola Lamberti - Eine vom Zirkus'' (1954) * '' Just Once a Great Lady'' (1957) * '' Alter Kahn und junge ...

(''uncredited'') as Roger Mont Elise/Roger von Marienberg *

as Baroness Lilian von Brabant * Christopher Lee as Count Regula ** Herbert Weicker (''uncredited'') as Count Frederic Regula * Carl Lange as Anatol *

Christiane Rücker Christiane Rücker (born June 12 1944) is a German actress.Gerhardt & Abel p.138 Selected filmography * '' Holiday in St. Tropez'' (1964) * ''How to Seduce a Playboy'' (1966) * '' The Blood Demon'' (1967) * '' Carmen, Baby'' (1967) * '' Take Off ...

as Babette * Vladimir Medar as Peter Fabian ** Klaus W. Krause (''uncredited'') as Peter Fabian *

Dieter Eppler Dieter Eppler (11 February 1927, in Stuttgart – 12 April 2008, in Stuttgart) was a German television actor and director of radio dramas. He was an actor, known for ''Jonas'' (1957), ''The Country Doctor'' (1987) and '' The Last Winter'' (1960). H ...

as the Coachman * Bruno W. Pantel (''uncredited'') as The Storyteller

Release

The film was distributed as a single bill until Kane W. Lynn, president of low-budget distribution company

Hemisphere Pictures Hemisphere Pictures was a film production and distribution company that specialised in movies from the Philippines. More information is available at '' Kane W. Lynn''. Filmography * Terror Is a Man (1959) * The Walls of Hell (1964) * Moro Witc ...

, combined it in a double feature with the Filipino film ''

The Mad Doctor of Blood Island ''The Mad Doctor of Blood Island'' is a 1969 Filipino horror film, co-directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, and starring John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Eddie Garcia and Ronald Remy. It was the third in a series of four Filipino horr ...

''.

Critical reception

''TLA Video & DVD Guide'' describes the film as "an effective bit of ''

Grand Guignol ''Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol'' (: "The Theatre of the Great Puppet")—known as the Grand Guignol–was a theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialised in natura ...

''". ''European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945'' describes it as "a more traditional

Gothic Horror Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

film". ''Halloween'' calls it a "delight for hardcore adult fans", and the ''Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen'' includes the description of the film as a "German attempt at a horror film by Edgar Allan Poe, more laughable than creepy". ''Fright Night on Channel 9'' calls it "a really great double feature" when seen as a double bill with ''Mad Doctor from Blood Island''. The review goes on to mention that the film "dripped with a rich and evocative Euro-atmosphere" and that "this flick defines the term" and calls it a "'' Wizard of Oz''-like journey into horror". The review also calls the film a "skillful blend of horror and adventure" and a picture which offers "creepy delights" such a "forest of hanging corpses", "a castle full of torture traps" and a "sinister one-legged messenger on a cobbled village street". According to ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'', the plot was weak but the film had "fascinating visuals" including an "eerie forest of the dead". ''Monsters & Vampires'' mentioned that "the movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos." Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

described the film as "atmospheric".

Home video

Severin Films Severin Films is an American film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. History The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, and other offices were founded in New York City and Lond ...

released ''The Blood Demon'' (as ''The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism'') on Blu-Ray in 2019 as part of the five-film collection "The Hemisphere Box of Horrors." This version based on a 2K scan of two

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

prints. In 2021, it released a new version

released ''The Blood Demon'' (as ''The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism'') on Blu-Ray in 2021 as part of the six-part collection "The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee." The 2021 release is based a 4K scan of the original German negative.

Newspaper practice

In the state of

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, as well as some other U.S. states, a practice was adopted by newspapers of the era under which the word "Blood" was deleted from the title of film advertisements and another was substituted in its place. Film titles such as ''Blood Demon'' became ''Crimson Demon'','' Mad Doctor from Blood Island'' became ''Mad Doctor from Crimson Island'', and ''Blood of Dracula's Castle'' became ''Red of Dracula's Castle'', the only exception being

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

's film ''

Bloody Mama ''Bloody Mama'' is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman and starring Shelley Winters in the title role, with Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert Walden, Alex Nicol, and Robert De Niro in supporting roles. It was very lo ...

'' which retained its original title. The newspapers, when faced with enquiries regarding this unusual advertising practice, did not provide any answers. Theater managers were indifferent to the policy because it did not seem to have an impact at the box office.

References

External links

* *
The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism
at UCM.ONE {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Demon, The 1967 films West German films 1960s German-language films 1967 horror films 1960s fantasy films Films about immortality Films directed by Harald Reinl Films based on short fiction Films based on The Pit and the Pendulum Films set in the 18th century Films set in castles Films set in Germany German supernatural horror films German films about revenge German vampire films Resurrection in film 1960s historical horror films German historical fantasy films Films shot at Bavaria Studios Constantin Film films 1960s exploitation films 1960s German films