The Crimson Executioner

THE BLOODY PIT OF HORROR-1965-In1648 a tribunal sentences “The Crimson Executioner” to death. They put him in a very colorful “iron maiden” type of device and seal it. In modern day Italy, publisher Daniel Parks (Alfredo Zucker) and staff visit a castle looking for a photo shoot. When there's no answer at the door one of them climbs in and opens the door from the inside. They do a little exploring then are summoned by the owner Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay) who tells them to get out. When they are ready to leave he changes his mind and let's them stay. Of course after they are warned to stay away from certain parts of the castle two jerks go wandering around looking for wine and one then accidentally breaks the seal on The Crimson Executioner's tomb. All goes well with the shoot until an execution device falls and kills one of the men. When a couple Ralph and Suzie go off for a fling they meet the Executioner face to face. Later Anderson explains that the castle they are in once belonged to The Crimson Executioner himself and he’s entombed in the lower chamber or was anyway. Later he spies on the girls while they are dressing and declares “The day of the Crimson Executioner has come”. Bad news. Then Suzie is found in the iron maiden. Rick, a horror writer (Walter Brandi) finds out from Nita that Anderson is actually her former lover, a weird actor who suddenly disappeared. “A muscle man in costume films”. They find one of the other models trapped in a mechanical spider web booby trapped with arrows and poisonous fake spider. Rick rescues her but the guy who went for the police is killed by an arrow in his neck. Anderson says he has the spirit of the Executioner in him but he's just a lunatic who doesn't want mankind “corrupting the harmony of my perfect body”! He keeps three survivors in his torture chamber while Rick escapes from a deadly bed (like the kind in 13 GHOSTS and an episode of TV’s THRILLER). 

By the time Rick gets to the dungeon everyone but Nita is dead. He has to fight the wacky killer and save her. 

Director Massimo Pupillo (TERROR CREATURES FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE) really pushes the envelope with over the top theatrics, an outlandish script and a nutty performance by Hargitay in the lead role.

More Steele

TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE-1965-Attorney Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi) visits the castle of Jaromus Haup on behalf of his partner Joseph Morgan who received a letter from Haup. At the castle Kovac meets Haup's second wife Cleo (Barbara Steele) and Haup's daughter Corinne (Mirella Maravidi). Kovac is informed by Cleo that her husband could not have written the letter because he's been dead for a year! Kovac hangs around long enough to fall in love with Corinne and investigate some murders with a local doctor (Alfredo Rizzo). It seems all the witnesses to Haup's death (he fell down the stairs) are dying in strange ways. It also seems that Haup, who was dealing in the black arts and resurrection of the dead, is still alive (they find his coffin empty) and that the supernatural is involved. It's discovered Haup wants to bring back the plague to kill his adversaries! 

Although we never see any creatures, clocks tick, hearts in jars pound and coffins open. Director Massimo Pupillo made the much wackier BLOODY PIT OF HORROR the same year but this movie doesn't credit him. He was unhappy with the final results so producer Ralph Zucker is credited as director! 

1965 was a busy year for Steele who also made NIGHTMARE CASTLE, THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVIL, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH and an episode of TV's SECRET AGENT.

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