Finally a decent DVD version of one of my favorite Euro-Horror films is cause for rejoicing. TORTURE CHAMBER (not the original title which is THE SNAKE PIT AND THE PENDULUM) is a German made film from 1967 by Krimi specialist Harald Reinl. It has outstanding camerawork and some outrageous set pieces. Think of Poe’s PIT AND THE PENDULUM reimagined as a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm or as a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The movie opens with a remarkable tracking shot that follows Christopher Lee as he is led down a series of corridors on his way to be executed. He is to be quartered and this sequence is well staged in the historic town of Rothenburg.
Move forward 35 years when two descendants of the people responsible for his death (Lex Barker and Karin Dor) are summoned to a castle where they are summarily imprisoned and tortured as a resurrected Lee and his servant (Karl Lange) need Dor’s blood to attain immortality. Several images linger in the mind from the forest of limbs to the Hieronymous Bosch room. The wall of skulls and the flesh eating vultures are another nice touch that you don’t run across every day. Totally surreal to say the least. The one drawback, as noted in other reviews, is the soundtrack which uses German muzak for the carriage scenes. Mildly annoying but that helps to date the film and is not without its own peculiar charm.
The second film on the DVD, DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER, was made in 1973 and shows the changes that had taken place in this genre in just a few years. While still a period piece, it incorporates elements from the Italian Giallo films which had come to prominence. More graphic violence is shown and nudity and sex scenes are added to spice up the proceedings. Once again we have a film in which Klaus Kinski’s voice is dubbed along with the others (none of them very well) and we get a chance to see what happened to Swedish actress Ewa Aulin after her one brief stab at fame in CANDY.
As a period piece DEATH SMILES looks seriously modern which is not to my taste but there’s no denying the film’s effectiveness. Hats off to Legend House for giving us the twin bill which enables us to enjoy and compare and pick our favorite. Despite what I have read in some of the other reviews, I found the picture quality on this disc to be outstanding. Both films are presented in widescreen format and feature recreated titles which is not surprising when you consider how often this drive-in fare was served up under several different guises. In fact there is an amusing short piece EURO TRASH MANIA which tells us all about it. The DVD even comes with commentary for the two films (they were done in someone’s home and you can hear an ice cream truck in the background).
The Capsule Critic 