TOMB OF TORTURE

Tomb of Torture was originally released in Italy as Metempsycho, then picked up by producer Richard Gordon for an English language double feature release. Image has also released this film's companion feature Cave of  the Living Dead on DVD at the same time. Since neither disc contains any sort of extra feature, it's a disappointment that they didn't release them both on the same disc as a double feature. However, it appears that Tomb of Torture has been given greater attention than Cave, boasting excellent spooky animated menus, accompanied by Armando Sciascia's moody soundtrack music.

It's easy to see why. While the German Cave seemed nervous about its supernatural elements, seemingly ready to back off and become an Edgar Wallace mystery thriller at any moment, Tomb of Torture shows the Italians' superiority in the horror field, starting the picture with a scream.

Like in Jean Rollin's Caged Virgins, a pair of young girls trespass on the huge and ancient castle of Countess Elizabeth (Flora Carosello). A dark figure spies on them from the ramparts. Esther and Cathy are startled to find the Countess Elizabeth at home. Elizabeth has been in charge there since her sister Irene disappeared 20 years before, just before she was to marry Raman. It's said that Raman searches for her still.

Countess Elizabeth tells the girls to leave, but they soon become lost and frightened in the big scary castle. A hideous deformed madman, half his face smeared down his skull, appears and captures them. This is Hugo, a hairy, half-witted monster reminiscent of the cannibal man of The Grim Reaper (aka Antrophagus), who roams the castle grounds killing trespassers and eating rabbits.

He takes them to the medieval torture chamber. Just as Cathy is being chained to the rack, we cut to the carriage bearing Dr. Darnell (Adriano Micantoni), who is returning to the village after a long absence. He pauses on seeing officials gathered at the roadside -- the bodies of the two girls have been found. There he finds his old friend Raman. The doctor introduces the half-Indian to his daughter, Anna (Annie Alberti). Raman is struck by Anna's resemblance to Countess Irene.

Anna is haunted by nightmares and visions in which she experiences the murder of Irene in the torture chamber. Her father has brought her back to the village, hoping that visiting the scene of the tragedy will exorcise her growing madness.

Being a good horror heroine, Anna doesn't let her horrifying visions prevent her from skinny-dipping near the castle, where the ragged, cackling madman can take a peek at her. This also allows a cute way for her to meet the film's comical hero, reporter George Dickson (Marco Mariani, later in Death Smiles on a Murderer and Frankenstein 1980), whose motorcar has overheated nearby.

Countess Elizabeth, always jealous of Raman's affection for her late sister, now takes note of his attraction to Anna. Meanwhile, Anna has fallen for George (well, at least he has a car). Hot for his story, George decides to investigate the castle himself, finding one of the secret passages Raman has spent decades searching for in a matter of minutes. Anna sleepwalks all the way to the castle, its doorways welcoming her. The young couple soon find themselves suffering through a series of hair-raising perils in the manor's secret vaults, menaced by the fiendish Hugo.

Tomb of Torture is a no-holds-barred gothic spook show, more akin to pulp thrillers like Bloody Pit of Horror (which may well have been shot in the same castle) than the more subtle and psychological terrors of Mario Bava and Alfred Hitchcock. With a castle full of ghosts, gloomy catacombs, a turbaned Indian prince, walking skeletons and suits of armor -- not to mention a lasagna-faced psychotic brute -- Tomb of Torture is a dish best served with a full tub of popcorn.

Image's widescreen transfer retains some speckling from the print, but other than that is sharp and relatively spotless. The package copy mistakenly gives directorial credit to cinematographer William Grace, who nevertheless deserves accolades for his contributions to the picture's scare value.

Their confusion is reasonable -- I've been trying to find out something about this movie since I came upon it on a local TV station way past midnight some years ago, but information is hard to come by. I've since discovered that Anthony Kristye and William Grace are both pseudonyms for Antonio Boccaci, about whom little is known beyond this title. It may very well be that Boccaci is also a fake name (he also acts in the film). In any case, Gordon further confused things by Anglicizing -- or changing altogether -- most of the names in the credits in a lame attempt to hide the picture's European origins. If anyone knows more, please drop me a line.