Pure Terror: Bloody Pit of Horror

 

Last but not least on the Pure Terror box set is the 1965 Italian(?) horror movie Bloody Pit of Horror. Some people might call this a giallo movie, which as best I can tell means sleaze but it’s foreign so it’s art. If something misogynist in an American movie it’s crass and low brow. In an Italian movie though, it giallo.  The film is also light on blood or pits. The horror mostly takes place in a dungeon.

The movie starts with The Crimson Avenger! They are really proud of this creation. Sometime in the distant past, he was the judge, jury, and executioner of anyone he considered impure. He’s something of a Judge Dredd except he is dressed like a Luchadore. Eventually, a revolt leads to his execution. In 1965, a photographer, his producer, and a group of models happen upon a big spooky castle. It is prefect for the shoot they have planned so they break in. Turns out it is occupied. They are quickly kicked out until the occupant, retired actor Travis Anderson, notices his ex-girlfriend in the group. He allows them to do their shoot but they have to leave in the morning.

They are given one instruction, don’t go into the dungeon. So they go into the dungeon and set up for their shots. They seem to be shooting for some kind of death fetish magazine. They girls stand over the men, who are tired down, holding deadly implements against them. One of them men is accidentally killed by a pendulum ax dropping from the ceiling onto the table. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the Crimson Avenger had a curse put on the Iron Maiden in which he was entombed. So one of the couples sneak off to have sex, break the seal, then get killed. You would think they might pack up their gear, alert the nearest law enforcement, and mourn the dead but instead they just keep working. One by one they keep getting killed until only two girls and the writer are left. They needed a write to write fake articles about what was happening in the titillating snuff pictures. Turns out, Anderson has been The Crimson Avenger during the coarse of the movie. He has an excellent body, in fact the actor was a former Mr. Universe. He finds these people to be impure so he has adopted the persona of The Crimson Avenger. This means he whips women while they lay chain, topless, and pour molten metal on them. The writer Hulk’s Up and fights back against the crazy man. The Avenger charges in too fast and gets impaled on a torture rack.  It might be hard to explain how this all went down when you speak to the authorities. They broke into this guys house and somehow he and all your friends wound up dead. It sounds to me more like a botched robbery.

This movie certainly wasn’t good but I can’t bury it completely. For starters, I thought the cinematography was very well done. It was a bright and colorful movie contrasting with the horror that was taking place. I feel it is fitting that this would be the last movie on the Pure Terror set. It really is a microcosm of the whole set.  Foreign movie. Check. Misleading title. Check. Crappy acting. Check. Made in the 60’s or 70’s. Check. Low budget. Check. All it was missing was Spanish John Belushi and not being a horror movie and we would have been all set. This is a bit too sleazy to recommend to anyone and isn’t bad enough for bad movie fans to get much enjoyment. If you are new to this set, watch this movie first and you will know what half the movies on the set are all about.