The Blood Demon: Difference between revisions

The Blood Demon
The Blood Demon
	Poster of the original title
Directed by	Harald Reinl
Screenplay by	Manfred R. Köhler
Produced by	Erwin Gitt
Starring	Christopher Lee; Karin Dor; Lex Barker; Carl Lange;
Cinematography	Ernst W. Kalinke; Dieter Liphardt;
Edited by	Hermann Haller
Music by	Peter Thomas
Production; company	Constantin Film
Distributed by	Constantin Film (West Germany); Hemisphere Pictures (US);
Release date	1967;
Running time	81 minutes
Country	West Germany
Languages	English; German;

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 23:45, 24 March 2016

The Blood Demon or Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel, also known as The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism, The Snake Pit and the Pendulum,^[4] and Castle of the Walking Dead, is a 1967 West German horror film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Christopher Lee, Karin Dor, and Lex Barker.^[5]^[6]

The film, written by Manfred R. Köhler, is based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story The Pit and the Pendulum and concerns the saga of Count Regula (Lee) who, after being drawn and quartered for murdering twelve maidens, returns to life seeking revenge.^[7] The film was advertised in Rhode Island newspapers as Crimson Demon due to a practice at the time of deleting the word "Blood" from film titles.^[7]

Plot

The plot chronology is set in the 18th century and the probable story location is Germany.^[8] Baroness Lilian von Brabant and her lawyer Roger Mont Elise receive an invitation to the Blood Castle,^[9] in Sander Valley, where a large inheritance is awaiting the baroness. Both decide to go; the Baroness because of the inheritance and Roger seeing a chance to get more information regarding his birth.^[9] Upon arriving at the valley, they meet the monk Fabian with a proclivity for profanities who offers to assist them in finding their way to the castle, the place where, forty years ago, Count Regula had murdered twelve maidens, in an attempt to use their blood to achieve immortality.^[2]^[10] However he was one maiden short of his goal,^[2]^[1] and he was drawn, quartered and beheaded for his crime.^[11]^[10] As he was dying, the Count threatened revenge against those responsible for his death.^[12]

On their way to the castle, passing through a dead forest full of corpses, with human limbs and torsos hanging from the dead tree branches,^[13] they get attacked by mysterious hooded creatures riding horses who try to abduct the women. Despite Roger's successful efforts to protect the Baroness and her maid Babette from the creatures,^[11] the two women mysteriously vanish. Fabian, who is revealed to be a robber rather than a monk, is so terrified by the unexplained disappearance of the women that he offers to help Roger find them. The two men finally locate the women locked in an iron chamber at Blood Castle, although they get caught before they can rescue them.^[11]^[10]

After their capture, the Count's evil, green-blooded,^[12] servant Anatol informs the two men that he is planning to bring the Count back to life after forty years.^[12] Anatol, using his own green blood,^[13] finally achieves his goal of reviving the Count.^[12] Following his resurrection, the Count appears to the prisoners wearing an iron mask, informing the men that he needs the blood of maiden number thirteen to achieve his goal of immortality. The maiden is revealed to be the Baroness.^[10]

After the pronouncements by the Count, the prisoners make an escape attempt but they are unsuccessful. As punishment, the baroness is locked into a snake and spider pit where she loses her sanity. Roger, imprisoned in a pit with a pendulum, manages to overcome the odds and survive. He also recovers the diamond-encrusted cross of the Baroness, which he uses to destroy the Count and Anatol, finally succeeding in freeing the prisoners. The Baroness recovers and falls into Roger's embrace while Fabian leaves the crumbling castle with Babette.^[11]^[10]

Cast

Christopher Lee as Count Regula
Karin Dor as Baroness Lilian von Brabant
Lex Barker as Roger Mont Elise / Roger von Marienberg
Carl Lange as Anatol
Dieter Eppler as the Coachman
Christiane Rücker as Babette
Vladimir Medar as Peter Fabian
Klaus W. Krause (uncredited) as Voice of Peter Fabian
Horst Naumann (uncredited) as Voice of Roger Mont Elise / Roger von Marienberg
Bruno W. Pantel (uncredited) as Voice of Moritatensänger
Herbert Weicker (uncredited) as Voice of Count Frederic Regula / Graf von Andomai

Release

The film was distributed as a single bill until Kane W. Lynn, president of low-budget distribution company Hemisphere Pictures, combined it in a double bill with the film Mad Doctor from Blood Island.^[7]^[10]

Critical reception

TLA Video & DVD Guide describes the film as "an effective bit of Grand Guignol".^[5] European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945 describes it as "a more traditional Gothic Horror film".^[16]

Halloween calls it a "delight for hardcore adult fans",^[17] and the Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen includes the description of the film as a "German attempt at a horror film by Edgar Allan Poe, more laughable than creepy".^[18]

Fright Night on Channel 9 calls it "a really great double feature" when seen as a double bill with Mad Doctor from Blood Island.^[19] The review goes on to mention that the film "dripped with a rich and evocative Euro-atmosphere" and that "this flick defines the term" and calls it a "Wizard of Oz-like journey into horror". The review also calls the film a "skillful blend of horror and adventure" and a picture which offers "creepy delights" such a "forest of hanging corpses", "a castle full of torture traps" and a "sinister one-legged messenger on a cobbled village street".^[10]

According to TV Guide, the plot may be weak but the film has "fascinating visuals" including an "eerie forest of the dead".^[2] Monsters & Vampires mentions that the "The movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos."^[13] Film critic Leonard Maltin described the film as "atmospheric".^[8]

Newspaper practice

In the state of Rhode Island in the United States, as well as some other U.S. states, a practice was adopted by newspapers of the era under which the word "Blood" was deleted from the title of film advertisements and another was substituted in its place. Film titles such as Blood Demon became Crimson Demon, Mad Doctor from Blood Island became Mad Doctor from Crimson Island, and Blood of Dracula's Castle became Red of Dracula's Castle, the only exception being Roger Corman's film Bloody Mama which retained its original title. The newspapers, when faced with enquiries regarding this unusual advertising practice, did not provide any answers. Theater managers were indifferent to the policy because it did not seem to have an impact at the box office.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Peter Cowie (1977). World Filmography: 1967. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-498-01565-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "The Blood Demon". TV Guide.
^ "BLOOD DEMON (X)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 October 1969. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
^ Barb Karg; Arjean Spaite (17 December 2008). The Everything Vampire Book: From Vlad the Impaler to the vampire Lestat - a history of vampires in Literature, Film, and Legend. Everything Books. p. 224. ISBN 1-4405-0169-6.
^ ^a ^b David Bleiler (8 April 2014). TLA Video & DVD Guide 2005: The Discerning Film Lover's Guide. St. Martin's Press. pp. 3175–3176. ISBN 978-1-4668-6782-6.
^ Dawn B. Sova (1 January 2007). Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. Infobase Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4381-0842-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fred Olen Ray (1 January 1991). The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-89950-628-9.
^ ^a ^b Michael Klossner (1 January 2002). The Europe of 1500-1815 on Film and Television: A Worldwide Filmography of Over 2550 Works, 1895 Through 2000. McFarland & Company. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-7864-1223-5. The 18th century; probably Germany. A doctor executed for mass murder is resurrected and tries to wipe out the last survivors in the families of his enemies. The connection to the Poe story was very loose. Maltin found it atmospheric.
^ ^a ^b Don G. Smith (1999). The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography of Theatrical Releases Based on the Works of Edgar Allan Poe. McFarland & Company. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-7864-0453-7. ... Baroness Lilian and her attorney, Roger, are invited by a mysterious messenger to the legendary Blood Castle (former home of Count Regula). Since Roger hopes to learn the secret of his birth and Lilian hopes to receive ...
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g James Arena (13 December 2011). Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV, 1973-1987. McFarland. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-0-7864-8891-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. 1997. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-520-20970-1. Horror film. Inspired by: Edgar Allan Poe, "The Pit and the Pendulum," in The Gift (Philadelphia. 1843). Forty years after Count Regula is beheaded and dismembered for murdering 12 virgins. Baroness Lilian von Brandt, her maid, Babette, and ...
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Robert W. Pohle; Douglas C. Hart; Christopher Lee (1983). The Films of Christopher Lee. Scarecrow Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8108-1573-5. However, a green-blooded supernatural creature named Anatol (Lange) greets them, and explains that he intends to revive Count Regula. In due course, Anatol accomplishes just this —with blood. Finally, the travelers meet Count Regula, ...
^ ^a ^b ^c Alan G. Frank (1976). Monsters & Vampires. Cathay Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-86178-119-5. Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! The movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos.
^ "Von Kaspar Hauser bis Harry Potter: Rothenburg ob der Tauber ist beliebte Filmkulisse". Tagblatt.de (in German).
^ "NATUR, GESCHICHTE UND KINDERABENTEUER - DER TEUTOBURGER WALD". Bad Pyrmont. Der Standort der Adlerwarte zwischen Externsteine und Hermannsdenkmal zog in kürzester Zeit viele Besucher an. In den fünfziger Jahren erlangte die Adlerwarte Weltruhm durch die bekannten Filme wie "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel"
^ Patricia Allmer; Emily Brick; David Huxley (2012). European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945. Columbia University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-231-16209-8.
^ LEONARD R. N. ASHLEY (21 June 2012). Halloween. Xlibris Corporation. p. 478. ISBN 978-1-4691-7950-6.
^ Film-Dienst. Vol. 46. Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen, Katholische Filmkommission für Deutschland. 1993. p. 7. Deutscher Versuch eines Horrorfilms nach E. A. Poe, eher lachhaft als gruselig
^ James Arena (13 December 2011). Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV, 1973-1987. McFarland. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7864-8891-9.

External links

[Cowie1977-1] Peter Cowie (1977). World Filmography: 1967. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-498-01565-6.

[TV_Guide-2] "The Blood Demon". TV Guide.

[3] "BLOOD DEMON (X)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 October 1969. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

[KargSpaite2008-4] Barb Karg; Arjean Spaite (17 December 2008). The Everything Vampire Book: From Vlad the Impaler to the vampire Lestat - a history of vampires in Literature, Film, and Legend. Everything Books. p. 224. ISBN 1-4405-0169-6.

[Bleiler2014-5] David Bleiler (8 April 2014). TLA Video & DVD Guide 2005: The Discerning Film Lover's Guide. St. Martin's Press. pp. 3175–3176. ISBN 978-1-4668-6782-6.

[Sova2007-6] Dawn B. Sova (1 January 2007). Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. Infobase Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4381-0842-1.

[Ray1991-7] Fred Olen Ray (1 January 1991). The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-89950-628-9.

[Klossner2002-8] Michael Klossner (1 January 2002). The Europe of 1500-1815 on Film and Television: A Worldwide Filmography of Over 2550 Works, 1895 Through 2000. McFarland & Company. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-7864-1223-5. The 18th century; probably Germany. A doctor executed for mass murder is resurrected and tries to wipe out the last survivors in the families of his enemies. The connection to the Poe story was very loose. Maltin found it atmospheric.

[Smith1999-9] Don G. Smith (1999). The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography of Theatrical Releases Based on the Works of Edgar Allan Poe. McFarland & Company. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-7864-0453-7. ... Baroness Lilian and her attorney, Roger, are invited by a mysterious messenger to the legendary Blood Castle (former home of Count Regula). Since Roger hopes to learn the secret of his birth and Lilian hopes to receive ...

[Arena2011-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g James Arena (13 December 2011). Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV, 1973-1987. McFarland. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-0-7864-8891-9.

[AFI-11] The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. 1997. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-520-20970-1. Horror film. Inspired by: Edgar Allan Poe, "The Pit and the Pendulum," in The Gift (Philadelphia. 1843). Forty years after Count Regula is beheaded and dismembered for murdering 12 virgins. Baroness Lilian von Brandt, her maid, Babette, and ...

[PohleHart1983-12] Robert W. Pohle; Douglas C. Hart; Christopher Lee (1983). The Films of Christopher Lee. Scarecrow Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8108-1573-5. However, a green-blooded supernatural creature named Anatol (Lange) greets them, and explains that he intends to revive Count Regula. In due course, Anatol accomplishes just this —with blood. Finally, the travelers meet Count Regula, ...

[Frank1976-13] Alan G. Frank (1976). Monsters & Vampires. Cathay Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-86178-119-5. Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! The movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos.

[Tagblatt.de-14] "Von Kaspar Hauser bis Harry Potter: Rothenburg ob der Tauber ist beliebte Filmkulisse". Tagblatt.de (in German).

[Bad_Pyrmont-15] "NATUR, GESCHICHTE UND KINDERABENTEUER - DER TEUTOBURGER WALD". Bad Pyrmont. Der Standort der Adlerwarte zwischen Externsteine und Hermannsdenkmal zog in kürzester Zeit viele Besucher an. In den fünfziger Jahren erlangte die Adlerwarte Weltruhm durch die bekannten Filme wie "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel"

[AllmerBrick2012-16] Patricia Allmer; Emily Brick; David Huxley (2012). European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945. Columbia University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-231-16209-8.

[ASHLEY2012-17] LEONARD R. N. ASHLEY (21 June 2012). Halloween. Xlibris Corporation. p. 478. ISBN 978-1-4691-7950-6.

[Dienst-18] Film-Dienst. Vol. 46. Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen, Katholische Filmkommission für Deutschland. 1993. p. 7. Deutscher Versuch eines Horrorfilms nach E. A. Poe, eher lachhaft als gruselig

[Arena2011p50-19] James Arena (13 December 2011). Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV, 1973-1987. McFarland. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7864-8891-9.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
 {{Infobox film
-|name = The Blood Demon
+| name = The Blood Demon
-|image = The Blood Demon poster.jpg
+| image = The Blood Demon poster.jpg
-|caption = Poster of the original title
+| alt =
+| caption = Poster of the original title
-|director = [[Harald Reinl]]
+| director = [[Harald Reinl]]
-|producer = [[Constantin Film]]<ref name=AFI/>
+| producer = Erwin Gitt
-|writer = Manfred R. Köhler
+| screenplay = Manfred R. Köhler
-|based on = {{based on|''[[The Pit and the Pendulum]]''| [[Edgar Allan Poe]]}}
+| based on = {{based on|''[[The Pit and the Pendulum]]''|[[Edgar Allan Poe]]}}
+| starring = {{Plainlist|
-|music = [[Peter Thomas (composer)|Peter Thomas]]
-|cinematography = {{plainlist|
-* Ernst W. Kalinke
-* Dieter Liphardt
-}}
-|editing =
-|starring = {{plainlist|
 * [[Christopher Lee]]
 * [[Karin Dor]]
@@ Line 19: / Line 15: @@
 * [[Carl Lange (actor)|Carl Lange]]
 }}
+| music = [[Peter Thomas (composer)|Peter Thomas]]
-|studio =
-|distributor = {{plainlist|
+| cinematography = {{Plainlist|
+* Ernst W. Kalinke
-* Constantin Film<ref name="Cowie1977"/>
+* Dieter Liphardt
-* [[Hemisphere Pictures]]<ref name="TV Guide"/>
 }}
+| editing = [[Hermann Haller (film editor)|Hermann Haller]]
-|released = {{filmdate|1967}}
+| studio = [[Constantin Film]]
-|runtime = 90 minutes<ref name="Bleiler2014"/>
+| distributor = {{Plainlist|
-|country = Germany
+* Constantin Film<ref name="Cowie1977">{{cite book|author=Peter Cowie|title=World Filmography: 1967|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Jp7ayTLX1D8C&pg=PA154|year=1977|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=978-0-498-01565-6|page=154}}</ref> {{small|(West Germany)}}
-|language = English<br>German
+* [[Hemisphere Pictures]]<ref name="TV Guide"/> {{small|(US)}}
 }}
+| released = {{Film date|1967}}
-'''''The Blood Demon''''' or '''''Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel''''', also known as '''''The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism''''', '''''The Snake Pit and the Pendulum''''',<ref name="KargSpaite2008">{{cite book|author1=Barb Karg|author2=Arjean Spaite|title=The Everything Vampire Book: From Vlad the Impaler to the vampire Lestat - a history of vampires in Literature, Film, and Legend|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3WaLIv62lmQC&pg=PA224|date=17 December 2008|publisher=Everything Books|isbn=1-4405-0169-6|page=224}}</ref> and '''''Castle of the Walking Dead''''', is a 1967 German horror film directed by [[Harald Reinl]] and starring [[Christopher Lee]], [[Karin Dor]], and [[Lex Barker]].<ref name="Bleiler2014">{{cite book|author=David Bleiler|title=TLA Video & DVD Guide 2005: The Discerning Film Lover's Guide|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mq_cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT3176|date=8 April 2014|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-4668-6782-6|pages=3175–3176}}</ref><ref name="Sova2007">{{cite book|author=Dawn B. Sova|title=Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RG8zr6-BJNwC&pg=PA143|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0842-1|page=143}}</ref> The plot is based on the [[short story]] ''[[The Pit and the Pendulum]]'' by [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and concerns the saga of Count Regula, played by Christopher Lee, who, after being [[drawn and quartered]] for murdering twelve maidens, returns to life seeking revenge.<ref name="Ray1991">{{cite book|author=Fred Olen Ray|title=The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=H9GknfDYd4sC&pg=PA74|date=1 January 1991|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-89950-628-9|page=74}}</ref>
+| runtime = 81 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 80:55--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/blood-demon-1970-0 | title=''BLOOD DEMON'' (X) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=16 October 1969 | accessdate=24 March 2016}}</ref>
-The film was advertised in [[Rhode Island]] newspapers as '''''Crimson Demon''''' due to a practice at the time of deleting the word "Blood" from film titles.<ref name="Ray1991"/>
+| country = West Germany
+| language = {{Plainlist|
+* English
+* German
+}}
+}}
+'''''The Blood Demon''''' or '''''Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel''''', also known as '''''The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism''''', '''''The Snake Pit and the Pendulum''''',<ref name="KargSpaite2008">{{cite book|author1=Barb Karg|author2=Arjean Spaite|title=The Everything Vampire Book: From Vlad the Impaler to the vampire Lestat - a history of vampires in Literature, Film, and Legend|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3WaLIv62lmQC&pg=PA224|date=17 December 2008|publisher=Everything Books|isbn=1-4405-0169-6|page=224}}</ref> and '''''Castle of the Walking Dead''''', is a 1967 West German [[horror film]] directed by [[Harald Reinl]] and starring [[Christopher Lee]], [[Karin Dor]], and [[Lex Barker]].<ref name="Bleiler2014">{{cite book|author=David Bleiler|title=TLA Video & DVD Guide 2005: The Discerning Film Lover's Guide|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mq_cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT3176|date=8 April 2014|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-4668-6782-6|pages=3175–3176}}</ref><ref name="Sova2007">{{cite book|author=Dawn B. Sova|title=Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RG8zr6-BJNwC&pg=PA143|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0842-1|page=143}}</ref>
+The film, written by Manfred R. Köhler, is based on [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s 1842 [[short story]] ''[[The Pit and the Pendulum]]'' and concerns the saga of Count Regula (Lee) who, after being [[drawn and quartered]] for murdering twelve maidens, returns to life seeking revenge.<ref name="Ray1991">{{cite book|author=Fred Olen Ray|title=The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=H9GknfDYd4sC&pg=PA74|date=1 January 1991|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-89950-628-9|page=74}}</ref> The film was advertised in [[Rhode Island]] newspapers as '''''Crimson Demon''''' due to a practice at the time of deleting the word "Blood" from film titles.<ref name="Ray1991"/>
-==Plot==
+==Plot==
 The plot chronology is set in the 18th century and the probable story location is Germany.<ref name="Klossner2002"/> [[Baroness]] Lilian von Brabant and her lawyer Roger Mont Elise receive an invitation to the Blood Castle,<ref name="Smith1999">{{cite book|author=Don G. Smith|title=The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography of Theatrical Releases Based on the Works of Edgar Allan Poe|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QH5ZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Count+Regula%22&dq=%22Count+Regula%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pO5aVMfUCY6zogTRqoDQCA&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBw|year=1999|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-0453-7|pages=176-177|quote=... Baroness Lilian and her attorney, Roger, are invited by a mysterious messenger to the legendary Blood Castle (former home of Count Regula). Since Roger hopes to learn the secret of his birth and Lilian hopes to receive ...}}</ref> in Sander Valley, where a large inheritance is awaiting the baroness. Both decide to go; the Baroness because of the inheritance and Roger seeing a chance to get more information regarding his birth.<ref name="Smith1999"/> Upon arriving at the valley, they meet the monk Fabian with a proclivity for profanities who offers to assist them in finding their way to the castle, the place where, forty years ago, Count Regula had murdered twelve maidens, in an attempt to use their blood to achieve immortality.<ref name="TV Guide">{{cite web|title=The Blood Demon|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/the-blood-demon/cast/115742|publisher=TV Guide}}</ref><ref name="Arena2011"/> However he was one maiden short of his goal,<ref name="TV Guide"/><ref name="Cowie1977">{{cite book|author=Peter Cowie|title=World Filmography: 1967|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Jp7ayTLX1D8C&pg=PA154|year=1977|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=978-0-498-01565-6|page=154}}</ref> and he was drawn, quartered and beheaded for his crime.<ref name=AFI/><ref name="Arena2011">{{cite book|author=James Arena|title=Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV, 1973-1987|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9D3BT2AepkgC&pg=PA88|date=13 December 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8891-9|pages=88–90}}</ref> As he was dying, the Count threatened revenge against those responsible for his death.<ref name="PohleHart1983">{{cite book|author1=Robert W. Pohle|author2=Douglas C. Hart|author3=Christopher Lee|title=The Films of Christopher Lee|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rdAHAQAAIAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-1573-5|page=115|quote=However, a green-blooded supernatural creature named Anatol (Lange) greets them, and explains that he intends to revive Count Regula. In due course, Anatol accomplishes just this —with blood. Finally, the travelers meet Count Regula, ...}}</ref>
 On their way to the castle, passing through a dead forest full of corpses, with human limbs and torsos hanging from the dead tree branches,<ref name="Frank1976"/> they get attacked by mysterious hooded creatures riding horses who try to abduct the women. Despite Roger's successful efforts to protect the Baroness and her maid Babette from the creatures,<ref name=AFI>{{cite book|title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC&pg=PA103|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20970-1|page=103|quote=Horror film. Inspired by: Edgar Allan Poe, "The Pit and the Pendulum," in The Gift (Philadelphia. 1843). Forty years after Count Regula is beheaded and dismembered for murdering 12 virgins. Baroness Lilian von Brandt, her maid, Babette, and ...}}</ref> the two women mysteriously vanish. Fabian, who is revealed to be a robber rather than a monk, is so terrified by the unexplained disappearance of the women that he offers to help Roger find them. The two men finally locate the women locked in an iron chamber at Blood Castle, although they get caught before they can rescue them.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="Arena2011"/>
 [[File:Rothenburg BW 4.JPG|thumb|270px|External shots for the film were taken at the medieval town of [[Rothenburg ob der Tauber]].<ref name=Tagblatt.de>{{cite news|title=Von Kaspar Hauser bis Harry Potter: Rothenburg ob der Tauber ist beliebte Filmkulisse|url=http://www.tagblatt.de/Home/kino/aus-der-filmwelt_artikel,-Von-Kaspar-Hauser-bis-Harry-Potter-Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber-ist-beliebte-Filmkulisse-_arid,120539.html|work=Tagblatt.de|language=German}}</ref>]]
 After their capture, the Count's evil, green-blooded,<ref name="PohleHart1983"/> servant Anatol informs the two men that he is planning to bring the  Count back to life after forty years.<ref name="PohleHart1983"/> Anatol, using his own green blood,<ref name="Frank1976">{{cite book|author=Alan G. Frank|title=Monsters & Vampires|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ew7vdYF1wQgC|year=1976|publisher=Cathay Books|isbn=978-0-86178-119-5|page=47|quote=Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! Lee is Count Regula, executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the murder of a dozen virgins and brought to life again by the transfusion of green blood provided by his faithful retainer Anatol! The movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos.}}</ref> finally achieves his goal of reviving the Count.<ref name="PohleHart1983"/> Following his resurrection, the [[Count]] appears to the prisoners wearing an iron mask, informing the men that he needs the blood of maiden number thirteen to achieve his goal of immortality. The maiden is revealed to be the Baroness.<ref name="Arena2011"/>
@@ Line 43: / Line 49: @@
 ==Cast==
-Selected cast.<ref name="Cowie1977">{{cite book|author=Peter Cowie|title=World Filmography: 1967|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Jp7ayTLX1D8C&pg=PA154|year=1977|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=978-0-498-01565-6|page=154}}</ref>
 * [[Christopher Lee]] as Count Regula
 * [[Karin Dor]] as Baroness Lilian von Brabant
-* [[Lex Barker]] as Roger Mont Elise and Roger von Marienberg
+* [[Lex Barker]] as Roger Mont Elise / Roger von Marienberg
 * [[Carl Lange (actor)|Carl Lange]] as Anatol
 * [[Dieter Eppler]] as the Coachman
+* Christiane Rücker as Babette
+* Vladimir Medar as Peter Fabian
+* Klaus W. Krause (''uncredited'') as Voice of Peter Fabian
+* [[Horst Naumann]] (''uncredited'') as Voice of Roger Mont Elise / Roger von Marienberg
+* Bruno W. Pantel (''uncredited'') as Voice of Moritatensänger
+* Herbert Weicker (''uncredited'') as Voice of Count Frederic Regula / Graf von Andomai
-==Distribution==
+==Release==
 The film was distributed as a single bill until Kane W. Lynn, president of low-budget distribution company [[Hemisphere Pictures]], combined it in a double bill with the film ''Mad Doctor from Blood Island''.<ref name="Ray1991"/><ref name="Arena2011"/>
+===Critical reception===
-==Reception==
 [[File:Externsteine Rückansicht von NO.JPG|thumb|270px|The film featured the [[Externsteine]] stones found in the [[Teutoburg Forest]].<ref name="Bad Pyrmont">{{cite web|title=NATUR, GESCHICHTE UND KINDERABENTEUER - DER TEUTOBURGER WALD|url=http://www.badpyrmont.de/erleben-und-geniessen/rattenfaenger-und-hermannsdenkmal/der-teutoburger-wald/|publisher=Bad Pyrmont|quote=Der Standort der Adlerwarte zwischen Externsteine und Hermannsdenkmal zog in kürzester Zeit viele Besucher an. In den fünfziger Jahren erlangte die Adlerwarte Weltruhm durch die bekannten Filme wie "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel"}}</ref>]]
 ''TLA Video & DVD Guide'' describes the film as "an effective bit of ''[[Grand Guignol]]''".<ref name="Bleiler2014"/> ''European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945'' describes it as "a more traditional [[Gothic Horror]] film".<ref name="AllmerBrick2012">{{cite book|author1=Patricia Allmer|author2=Emily Brick|author3=David Huxley|title=European Nightmares: Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mwyVRQEB-QEC&pg=PA182|year=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-16209-8|page=182}}</ref>
@@ Line 65: / Line 75: @@
 ==Newspaper practice==
-In the state of [[Rhode Island]] in the [[United States]], as well as some other U.S. states, a practice was adopted by newspapers of the era under which the word "Blood" was deleted from the title of film advertisements and another was substituted in its place. Film titles such as ''Blood Demon'' became ''Crimson Demon'','' Mad Doctor from Blood Island'' became  ''Mad Doctor from Crimson Island'', and ''Blood of Dracula's Castle'' became ''Red of Dracula's Castle'', the only exception being [[Roger Corman]]{{'s}} film ''[[Bloody Mama]]'' which retained its original title. The newspapers, when faced with enquiries regarding this unusual advertising practice, did not provide any answers. Theater managers were indifferent to the policy because it did not seem to have an impact at the box office.<ref name="Ray1991"/>
+In the state of [[Rhode Island]] in the [[United States]], as well as some other U.S. states, a practice was adopted by newspapers of the era under which the word "Blood" was deleted from the title of film advertisements and another was substituted in its place. Film titles such as ''Blood Demon'' became ''Crimson Demon'','' Mad Doctor from Blood Island'' became  ''Mad Doctor from Crimson Island'', and ''Blood of Dracula's Castle'' became ''Red of Dracula's Castle'', the only exception being [[Roger Corman]]'s film ''[[Bloody Mama]]'' which retained its original title. The newspapers, when faced with enquiries regarding this unusual advertising practice, did not provide any answers. Theater managers were indifferent to the policy because it did not seem to have an impact at the box office.<ref name="Ray1991"/>
 ==See also==
-*[[Edgar Allan Poe in television and film]]
+* [[Edgar Allan Poe in television and film]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 74: / Line 84: @@
 ==External links==
+<!--Please credit these sites to the title provided there.-->
-*{{IMDb title|0062235}}
+* {{IMDb title|0062235|The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism}}
+* {{Rotten Tomatoes|torture_chamber_of_dr_sadism|The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Demon, The}}
 [[Category:1967 films]]
+[[Category:West German films]]
+[[Category:German-language films]]
 [[Category:1967 horror films]]
 [[Category:1960s fantasy films]]
 [[Category:German horror films]]
 [[Category:German fantasy films]]
-[[Category:West German films]]
+[[Category:Films directed by Harald Reinl]]
+[[Category:Films based on short fiction]]
 [[Category:Films based on The Pit and the Pendulum]]
 [[Category:Supernatural horror films]]
-[[Category:Films directed by Harald Reinl]]
-[[Category:Films based on short fiction]]