I have been thru about 9 different versions of this movie from VHS to DVD and finally Severin gives it the treatment it deserves. This is a simply stunning 2k blu-ray and it's totally uncut with scenes I have never seen before.
This is easily one of the top releases of this rather bland year of 2021. Mickey Hargitay stars as a retired actor named Travis Anderson who lives in seclusion in a castle that was owned by a torturer called :The Crimson Executioner".
A group of models, a writer and producer as well as a photographer stop at the castle, which they think is abandoned in order to take photos for lurid paperback books.
They find the castle is indeed inhabited and Anderson tells them they must go. However he changes his mind when he spots his ex-girlfriend Edith (Luisa Baratto). He agrees to let them spend the night, but they must not enter the dungeon. Everyone agrees...for the time being.
Eventually they enter the dungeon for pictures and strange deaths start to occur. Travis believes himself to be the reincarnation of the Crimson Executioner and proceeds to trap the models in his dungeon. Kinojo (Moa Tahi) is tied to a giant spider web and killed by a bizarre looking giant spider with poison on it's legs.
Models Nancy (Rita Klein) and Annie (Femi Benussi) are tortured with sharp swords and then the torture of "icy water" and the stretching rack. After much torture Travis and his fun is interrupted when Rick (Walter Brandi) takes it upon himself to rid the world of this evil. After a fight in the dungeon Travis is killed by embracing the "lover of death" which is a spiked doll hanging by it's neck.
The picture quality has never been better and it's a revalation. You can watch this in the English dub, or original Italian language with subtitles. The latter being my preferred version. This film runs 87 mimnutes which is about 13 minutes longer than most available versions.
This is and always has been my favorite Italian horror film, and I was very glad to see Severin put out such a beautiful quality print. This film is not to be missed by any horror fan. VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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