Bloody Pit of Horror (1965)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Memorable, crazy movie

I'll tell you why so serious

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A group of people are looking for a castle for a calendar girl photo shoot. They find a castle occupied my a modern Marquis de Sade who must torture and kill sinners in unique ways."Bloody Pit of Horror" is the US cut version, 9 minutes shorter than the original, released under the title "A Tale of Torture." The cut scenes had to do with film quality ad not content. Body Builder Mickey Hargitay is in this film for the ladies and there are a lot of scantily clad women for the guys. Max, an older guy, walks in on the ladies while they are changing and doesn't brag about it to Howard Stern.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

A bunch of Italian actors head off to a creepy looking castle and are picked off one by one by a masked killer. This is no giallo, however! Everyone knows who doing the killing - he's that big muscly bastard in the red cap and mask screaming about how he's the Crimson Executioner and he's going to kill everyone! It ups the camp factor greatly that the victims are made up off supermodel looking for a castle like location to take horror themed pictures, which leads to much groovy sixties montages. It also ups the camp factor that the guy in charge of the castle is a nutcase who thinks that he's returned from the grave to torture people to death in his dungeon. His ex-girlfriend is amongst the visiting models - that's what drives him insane. Either that or someone breaking the seal on the original Crimson killer guy's Iron Maiden...it's a bit confusing. And yes, someone gets stuffed into that Iron Maiden.I suppose it shouldn't be much of a surprise how violent this film is considering that Massimo Puppillo also made Terror Creatures From the Grave, but what threw me here was how violent this film actually was! People are graphically tortured SAW style, by having molten lead poured on them, frozen water dripped onto their backs, burned alive, and one is almost rescued by one of our heroes before receiving a metal hook under her jawline! Another guy has an arrow shot through his neck, two girls are strapped to a machine where a blade cuts them across the chest...all this set to a groovy sixties bongo/ride cymbal soundtrack and the campest killer ever.Also of note is that set design kind of only allows the colour red to stand out amongst the scenery. This is worth noting so you can bring this up when you have your 'Italian sixties movies' coffee mornings in order to raise funds to send little Jimmy to the Profondo Rosso shop in Rome before the Crimson Executioner comes to get him! I almost forgot to mention the ultra-elaborate 'Spider Web/Crossbow' torture device that appears early in the film. Surely that would have taken more effort than it's worth to set up?

When "Bloody Pit Of Horror" was first released, it generated some controversy due to some content being considered quite explicit. Seen today, viewers will probably wonder what all the fuss was about; the movie could be aired uncut on prime time network television. There's not a lot of blood on display, and there's nothing in the nudity and sex departments. Though despite the lack of explicit content, the movie is kind of fun to watch. Muscleman Mickey Hargitay (who doesn't look THAT muscular) manages to give a campy performance despite the dubbing of his voice, overacting with his body movements. Some of the torture/death sequences are fun, my favorite being the "spider" sequence. The movie doesn't overstay its welcome, and boasts some castle locations and sets that actually look impressive at times. This movie isn't a king camp classic, but if you are in a silly mood, it does provide some amusement.

Italiuan schlokfest about a group of people who set up a photography shoot in an old castle inhabited by a retired actor who (we shall soon discover) believes himself to be the reincarnation of a 17th century killer known as the Crimson Executioner. Mickey Hargitay, Mariska's dad, plays the killer in extremely campy style, dressed only in red tights, a Zorro mask and a red hood. The photography models are all gorgeous and very scantily clad. The death scenes are nothing to write home about, although the old castle itself is a hoot. And yes, it really is an old castle. Supposedlky based on the writings of de Sade. Decent photography and music make up for the horrible acting and hokey deaths. I don't know how I missed this low-budget beauty back in 1965.