After murdering 12 virgins, the evil Count Regula (played by Christopher Lee) is put to death by being drawn and quartered. Thirty-five years later, Roger (Lex Barker) and Lillian (Karin Dor), both descendents of the people who stood up to Regula and caused him to be put to death, are invited to Regula’s castle. Unaware of their connection to Regula’s past, they agree to travel the long distance through a cursed forest along with their companions, Lillian’s servant Babette (Christiane Rücker), and Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar). Once they arrive at the castle, the group is besieged by deadly traps and Regula’s undead servant, Anathol (Carl Lange). Roger and Father Fabian battle Anathol and the newly resurrected Regula to keep Lillian from being the 13th virgin sacrificed so that Regula can achieve immortality.

Harold Reinl (The Thousand Eyes Of Dr. Mabuse) directs this carefully crafted gothic horror tale. The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism was written by Manfred R. Köhler, the writer responsible for the excellent Daughters of Darkness. This German-produced riff on Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Pit And The Pendelum” gets good and weird before its finish. Unfortunately, the plot stalls for time during a long carriage ride (Are we there yet?) but makes up for this with lots of brooding atmosphere and plenty of excuses for cool setpieces such as complicated traps and corpses seemingly growing out of trees. Strange and manipulated sounds make up the soundtrack during the horror sequences when the bizarre elevator music relents during the horror sequences.

As most horror fans know: Christopher Lee friggin’ rules. He’s absent for most of the film but makes his presence known when the awesomely villainous Regula is brought back to life. Star of many westerns and adventure films, Lex Barker plays a pretty decent hero here but it’s the gorgeous Karin Dor (You Only Live Twice) that steals the show. Dor’s Lillian is really run through the ringer by Regula and Anathol since they need to increase her fear for her blood to be of any use to them.

In one of my favorite horror movie scenes of all time, Lillian is suspended over a pit littered with snakes and rotting body parts. Dor is excellent in this scene as she succumbs to the horror of her predicament. Carl Lange (The Bloody Dead) is very cool as Regula’s right hand undead man, Anathol. And Vladimir Medar provides the comic relief as the sly Father Fabian who has quite a few tricks up his sleeve.

The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism compensates for its lack of logic (Why does Count Regula have to “increase the fear?”) by pouring on a dark gothic atmosphere. The set designs are intricate and bizarre with a gang of buzzards, rats, and snakes thrown in for some good old time creepiness. There’s also a large amount of carrion hanging from and out of the haunted forest and strewn about Regula’s castle. Undead men with blue blood and some crazy clay-mation; these small touches help instill the appropriate amount of dread in the viewer.

All in all, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism is an excellent late 60s gothic Eurohorror entry. While its plot may be redundant and a tad meandering, the amount of work put into the presentation more than makes up for any minor complaints. Although he’s not in the picture nearly enough, Christopher Lee delivers yet another memorable horror performance in yet another truly evil role.

For me this is a major piece of nostalgic cinema as its run on late night television helped to inspire Doomed Moviethon. The sight of Karin Dor’s heaving bosom and impossibly large terrified eyes as she stands just a few inches away from instant death should be enough to stick in your memory. It certainly worked for me.