A party of photographers and models decide to use an old castle to shoot some book jacket photographs in. The castle is occupied by a reclusive actor (played by Mickey Hargitay), who goes insane. Believing himself to be the Crimson Executioner of long ago, he sets about living up to his name.
Bloody Hilarious Pit of Horror, more like. Camp as Christmas, this ridiculous shocker is obviously derived from Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum, and features a real tour de force from Hargitay (and his perfect body - well, he was Mr Universe). Apparently strongly influenced by the Marquis de Sade by way of the Spanish Inquisition (I bet you didn't expect that), some of it looks more like a hellish version of The Crystal Maze.
Along with the torture scenes, there are some lengthy brawls and a lot of talk from the Crimson Executioner (who resembles a masked wrestler). It's all completely barmy, but it is entertaining - in more enlightened times, it could be seen some kind of surrealist classic. Filmed in Psychovision.
