Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel" or "The Snake Pit and the Pendulum" (there are several alternate titles to this one) is a German 80-minute film from Germany and you can look out for German and English language version of this relatively short movie. Lead actor Lex Barker (who looks like Alec Baldwin occasionally) made this one already very much at the end of the Winnetou franchise that he, lead actress Karin Dor and director Harald Reinl became famous for. And you can also say "at the end of his life" as he died pretty prematurely only slightly over 5 years after this film here was made. It is a mix of horror, mystery and drama and of course a touch of romance was always there in the films from that time, especially with that final shot. The horror component is delivered by Christopher Lee here, who once again plays a vampire. The name is Regula this time although the Dracula reference is obvious. I like Lee as an actor, especially as Scaramanga, but here he was really not enough to let me enjoy this film. Then again, he is basically only in this film in the first 10 minutes and last 20 minutes, the rest is all about Barker's character. I personally wondered why they would even go to this place all of them with the danger waiting there for them. Truly reckless and strangely enough the carriage driver, the only one who acted reasonable and preferred not to go gets killed and presented as a coward while the brave ones survived. This doesn't make sense, they weren't brave in my opinion. They were foolish. Oh well.. I guess films were surely of a different crop back then. I do not recommend this film here. Thumbs down.

thejcowboy22 I remember the first time I caught this flick on late night TV. I'm watching a man being executed. Years have passed, enter Leading Man Lex Barker who travels the European Countryside. Then a brief glimpse from a window and I was hypnotized for the remainder of the movie. I was captivated,enthralled and downright smitten with our leading lady Karin Dor. Dor plays a descendant of the prosecutor who sent Count Regula (played By Christopher Lee) to his death, For reasons we don't even know. Continuing onward Lex Barker and a impostor (MAN OF THE CLOTH)played by Carl Lange complete with side arm take a faithful carriage ride to Count Regula's Castle driven by an apprehensive coachman. Traffic was heavy on that country side road that day as another carriage passes them by with Dor AKA Lilian Von Brabant and blonde lady servant Babette inside. Trouble ensues and marauders ransack their carriage.The two lovely ladies are startled as there thrown to the ground. The suspects ride off in the distance as Rev and Lex arrive and help the shaken women into their carriage. Pleasantry are exchanged and you get to see and appreciate the loveliness of Karin.The afternoon turns to twilight as dead bodies appear. The devastation around the coachman is to much and he dies from the stress. Enter Pater caretaker for the castle and count Regula's right hand man. He steals the cab as Lex and Carl watch in disbelief as the two travel on foot a short distance to the Castle to rescue to the abducted ladies. The structure is downright gloomy filled with self opening doors and endless corridors/descending bars of steel as the two stroll inside. Piano music is heard as the two men are drawn towards the sound as they meet up with Man servant Pater. He directs them to the gorgeous Lilian playing a melody on a baby grand donning a lavender Hooped dress. She is under the influence in sort of a trance as she fans her way around the room, Foul play is in order as Babette tips off our guests as the drinks being served are filled with acid. Pater just drinks his acid glass vintage without a burp. The trance wears off and Lilian comes back to reality. The rest of the movie you just watch Karin sashay around the worn torn castle filled with snakes, vultures, scorpions, trapped doors and a moving wooden plank. An anomaly of extreme as blood and guts filled the hallways of this weathered old edifice as our Froline dashes along in lavender and lace. I would have loved to see some outtakes of her skirt blowing over her head but they didn't save those things in those days. In the end goodness prevails and evil fails. Was this movie scary? Of course not! I rated this movie a five just for gazing into her beautiful face. Now it's off to German Class 101 Karin meine liebe,Ihre so schon.

Joseph Brando "Torture Chamber Of Dr Sadism", "Castle Of The Walking Dead", "Snake Pit and The Pendulum", "Blood Of The Virgins" - all lurid titles given to this Euro Horror that conjure up ghastly images which this film readily delivers upon but does not exceed. Sumptuous on location shots from Rothenburg, a haunted forest with trees sprouting decaying bodies and limbs, a medieval castle replete with endless catacombs and creepy dungeons - all filmed in garish lascivious colors - is sure to be a feast for the eyes for any lover of these "Hammer" style horror films.This creepy-cartoon-come-to-life sports two leads (Lex Barker and Kristin Dor) who are as stunning looking as their surroundings and just as inanimate. They seem to just walk through the horror with very little effect. And the plot - well, it isn't really a plot, but rather a few different events taking place. After the conventional, but always enjoyable, beginning involving Christopher Lee being declared a witch, sentenced to death for his crimes and swearing out revenge upon the descendants of his perpetrators, the first third is our characters traveling to the castle, the second third is our characters exploring the castle and the final third is Christopher Lee's reappearance and avengement. Still, this one is highly recommended viewing for lovers of these cool Euro Gothic horrors. Casual viewers, non-genre addicts or those requiring a plot may grow bored with this style over substance effort. But, oh...what style it has!

MARIO GAUCI This was another desirable title, largely because of Christopher Lee's involvement, which had a tortuous {sic} history for me; ordered as a SE DVD (paired with Joe D'Amato's DEATH SMILES AT MURDER [1973], which I also eventually obtained separately and which I may well get to in this current Euro-Cult month-long marathon), it was abruptly deleted, then I acquired it in an Italian-dubbed version, before settling on this English-language copy which, however, cuts off abruptly at the very end! Being a German production, as with the Krimi genre in comparison with the Italian Gialli, I wasn't as enthused by the end result as that country's brand of Gothic Horror (such as THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG [1963], another Lee vehicle which I have just watched)! Still, the film looks good, though the score often becomes incongruously jovial.The opening scene sets the tone for the rest, as depraved aristocrat Lee (disappointingly, his presence in these type of films amounts to just a fraction of the duration each time!) is brutally executed – via spiked mask and dismemberment!; typically, before expiring, he swears vengeance on Karin Dor (a would-be victim who escaped his clutches and reported him to the authorities) and Lex Barker (as the judge who condemned him). His re-appearance bafflingly occurs only 35 years after the fact, by which time his exploits have already been rendered by troubadours into mass entertainment – but, then, the lookalike relatives of his two nemeses are not only unfamiliar with one another but have no knowledge of the curse hanging over their heads! A disciple who had himself survived the gallows and become immortal(!) proceeds to revivify Lee and he immediately kidnaps and hypnotizes Dor – with Barker finding himself an unwilling guest in Lee's castle when he eventually sets out in pursuit (after having already saved her from a bandit raid). The castle is equipped with any number of torture devices/death traps, such as swinging pendulum and snake pit – but, naturally, Lee's plans are ultimately thwarted at the eleventh hour and he and his disciple crumble to dust (much like a vampire would; incidentally, one suspects Lee had insisted on utilizing a classic Dracula line here, "The blood is the life", in an attempt to lend this a semblance of prestige!).