This "Castle of the Walking Dead" contains – hands down – one of THE creepiest sequences I've ever seen. A carriage with four people inside is on its way to a sinister castle with a dark past when suddenly the driver notices they're going through a woods where there's a dead body hanging from nearly every three! The sight of and atmosphere during this particular sequences is truly horrific. In fact, the entire film somewhat relies on powerful isolated sequences of the macabre, as the story itself is quite familiar and routine Gothic stuff. "Castle of the Walking Dead" is another loose adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's legendary tale "The Pit and the Pendulum"; which also already existed in a version directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. The film gives top-billing to veteran actor Christopher Lee, but apart from the intro sequence and the exquisite finale, his role isn't too extended. Lee plays the malicious and murderous Count Regula, who gets quartered for the all the vicious crimes he committed, but of course not before placing a curse on the judge who pronounced the death sentence and the last female victim who managed to escape and get him arrested. 35 years later, their unaware relatives are lured to the castle where the score shall be settled once and for all. I'm a big fan of Gothic horror and, generally speaking, rather forgiving when there are shortcomings. That's why I'm still very fond of "Castle of the Walking Dead" even though it definitely could have been even better. Many isolated sequences are terrific, but the wholesome is a bit incoherent. Once the almighty Christopher Lee is resurrected again, the quality level of the film rises again. His character is masterfully malevolent (another evil count consuming the blood of virgins to gain eternal life) and this great actor's natural horror charisma already delivers half of the powerful impact. The scene with the giant pendulum remains a brilliant highlight, regardless of how many times you've seen this before in other films. The titular castle is like a theme park full of wondrously sinister Gothic attractions. It even has vultures patiently waiting outside of the pendulum room!

When I was a kid, I tried watching THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (one of MANY alternate titles for this movie). However, I never got past about the first half of the film--it scared me do much I turned the TV off and spent the rest of the night worrying. And for 35 years I've wondered if the movie was really THAT scary or was I just a wimpy kid. Well, after finally getting a copy of the DVD, I realized that most any kid would indeed be scared watching this Gothic horror flick. That's because the atmosphere in the film is truly horrific--with more disturbing images that you'd find in three or four horror films. And, although the film stars Christopher Lee and Lex Barker, it is not a Hammer Film and is much more visually disturbing than any of their movies.

The film begins with Christopher Lee being condemned to death for the murder of 12 virgins. Due to the number of victims, he is ordered to be drawn and quartered. While not all of this is shown, enough is that it might be a bit of a shock. Years pass and the memory of this maniac pass as well. Now 35 years later (hmm...the same length of time since I was first traumatized by the movie),the townspeople have only a dim memory of him or his horrors. When Lex Barker arrives in town, he is told that he needs to meet a Count Regula at his castle but no one seems to remember him or the castle--even though he was the guy drawn and quartered decades earlier.

Finally, Barker is able to find a priest who knows where the Count's castle is and the two of them set off for the meeting. On the way, they pass through countryside that SHOULD have warned them to go back--especially when the woods near the castle is littered with body parts and people who had been hung. Obviously, the Count is no saint!! Why they didn't go back is beyond me!! Whatever the Count needs to tell him, it certainly isn't worth continuing the journey! However, Barker and the priest are apparently idiots, so they continue. On the way, they meet up with another carriage which contains a couple nice looking young ladies (one of which looked a lot like Barbara Steele, a famous Gothic horror star of the age). Unfortunately, the ladies are soon kidnapped and it's up to the two men to continue the journey and save the damsels.

Once at the castle, the place looks much more like a twisted torture chamber than a castle. A drawbridge with knives protruding from it, paintings on the walls inspired by paintings by Hieronymous Bosch, trap doors, sick torture devices and dead bodies litter the place and this is not a segment for the squeamish. How as a kid I was able to watch this much is amazing, as it looks like the interior decorating was done by the Marquis de Sade and Satan! A zombie-like servant appears and announces that the Count is dead but will be coming back to life that night to meet his guests. Wow--now THAT'S going all out for company! And so in a sick little ceremony, the zombie-servant cuts his wrists and green blood pours from his veins--all over the glass coffin containing the dismembered Count. At this point, the arms and legs all reattach and the guy wakes up--and that is when 35 years ago I turned off the film!!!

As far as ambiance go, you can't get much scarier than this very disturbing film and the movie had a nice look--even though the DVD print was awful. While audiences in the 21st century might laugh at it a bit, back in 1967, this was quite a shocker. Skulls, corpses, vultures picking apart bodies, etc.--it's all very graphic and intense. And as for the town in the first portion of the movie, it looked very old and authentic--having been filmed in the town of Rothenburg, Germany. I've visited this very quaint town and quickly recognized the buildings.

The acting, despite being a very international film is just fine. Most of the actors originally spoke German and I know that Barker was fluent in the language as well. I don't know if Lee spoke German as well, but in the American print he and Barker are not dubbed--they speak English.

As for the plot, up until the very end the movie was well done. Not exactly deep, but very well done. The various graphic images and plot devices really were effective. It's just that the end occurred so quickly and almost randomly--leaving you feeling like they just threw a cheap ending on the film because they were running out of film! While not a bad ending, it was the weakest part of the film.

Overall, this is a scare the pants off you type of film. Not especially deep, it still will have you on the seat of your pants and amazed at the brutality of the evil Regula and his henchman.

FYI--In addition to being a very bad print, the film also was not captioned or closed captioned--something that might have been helpful.

Part Hammer horror, part Grimm fairytale, part Italian Gothic, this magnificent film is an overlooked gem when it comes to the horror genre, lost amongst a slew of unnecessary re-titling and editing. This West German production has a throw-away plot involving an elixir of life; upon this flimsy plot is based a superb visual feast for the eyes with many weird and wonderful scenes and set-pieces which haven't been seen before. My advice is to just sit back and soak up all the atmosphere, while enjoying the colourful palettes and props that the producers use to make this such an eye-opening experience.

Things open with an excellent, shocking sequence in which Christopher Lee - playing the evil Count Regula - is sentenced to death. Before this happens a mask (with spikes on the inside) is hammered on to his face, just like in BLACK Sunday (originality isn't one of this movie's strong points, but luckily it borrows from so many sources that it doesn't really matter). A cool red-masked executioner leads him out into the town square, where he proceeds to be drawn and quartered by four horses as the townsfolk watch. A grim and shocking scene, it is here that the art director grabs you with his colourful palette; from the authentic old German town with its old-fashioned houses to the contrasting bright red velvet mask of the executioner, there's a whole spectrum of colours to enjoy.

Just as Lee's limbs begin to tear from their sockets, the film cuts forward 35 years to the present day where we are introduced to the fresh-faced and handsome Lex Barker. Barker - a former Tarzan actor well past his prime but who still looks young and great - has been invited to Regula's castle for some unknown reason. The frightened townspeople refuse to talk about WHY they're frightened, so Barker has no other option than go and find out for himself, taking a carriage through the plush green German countryside to the location. Along the way he picks up the amusing Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar pretty good in a comedic role) and two women who have been attacked and abandoned by robbers. The first is Baroness Lilian von Brabant, played by Karin Dor, the second Babette, her little-seen servant. Dor is notable for being a Bond girl and also for her stunning resemblance to Barbara Steele, her long-lost twin perhaps? Either way she makes for a fetching female in distress.

As nightfall grows close, the initially lush and beautiful countryside begins to turn into a sinister, mist-enshrouded landscape haunted by the unknown. In an excellent scene, the coach driver notices that the trees surrounding the path are draped with human body parts! This makes for a very creepy image, one to stay with you, and highly imaginative. Things get worse to the point where the carriage is driving OVER bodies lying in the road, whilst corpses swing from the trees either side! Great surrealist stuff, but the driver doesn't think so as he promptly has a heart attack and dies.

While the father and Barker are investigating, Anathol shows up again to kidnap the girls and take the carriage. Thus the pair must travel on foot, through a spooky old graveyard, before they find themselves in a massive dungeon full of chambers and corridors which is where the remainder of the film takes place (not sure if the castle has an upstairs because we never see it!). The dungeon is another great example of set design, with weird paintings strewn everywhere and disturbing moving statues; rarely in a horror film is such a celebration of death shown. Skulls line corridors, corpses are draped over torture devices, so it's all pretty macabre.

There's a lot of incident going on in this movie and the eighty-minute running time positively flies by. My only complaint is with the twee music score which, thankfully, isn't used very much anyway. Otherwise the photography is good, the sets and locations authentic, and the film expensive-looking in scope. The special effects are also of a high standard. The cast is a great one; aside from Barker and Medar, who are both fine as the heroes, we have Christopher Lee in one of his best European horrors from the period. Sure, Lee isn't required to act or do much as the chief villain, but he's adept at playing a corpse and his makeup is fantastic. Special mention should also go to Dieter Eppler, who plays the wonderfully fiendish Anathol! My advice is to seek out a good print of THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM and watch the movie for what is it: a neglected classic of the horror genre!