• Seeking locations to use for photographs for a series of horror books, a group stumbles on what they believe to be a deserted castle. The castle happens to have been the former home of The Crimson Executioner - a centuries old murderer who was himself put to death in his own castle, but not before putting a curse on anyone who enters his castle. Of course, the castle isn't deserted, but instead is the home of a retired actor seeking solitude. He allows the group to spend one night and get as many photos as they can. His one request - don't go into the dungeon. Naturally, our group of photographers and models immediately make a beeline for the lower levels of the castle and discover an array of torture devices. The devices, it seems, will make good props for their photos. But something goes wrong and one of the male models is killed by falling spikes. Was it an accident or is there a murderer in the castle? It's not long before other members of the group begin to disappear. Has The Crimson Executioner come back to make good on his threat?

• I honestly don't know when I've had this much fun watching a movie. In general, I hate the term "so bad it's good". But in this case, I think it applies like nowhere else. Bloody Pit of Horror has most of the trappings that are present in movies I look for - a big creepy castle, a dungeon, torture devices, scantily clad women, and a bizarre madman bent on killing everyone. What the movie lacks, however, is effective atmosphere and believability. But, if you don't take things too seriously, it's a nice little ride.

• The madman is played by the one time husband of Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay. Hargitay is one of those Mr. Universe types. While he may not be much of an actor, he is wonderful as The Crimson Executioner. There have been killers in other movies who enjoy their "work", but none can match the enthusiasm of The Crimson Executioner. Toward the end of the movie, he traps everyone who is still alive in his torture chamber. Watching him literally run and jump from one torture device to the next is like watching a kid on Christmas morning. He actually has an orgasmic look on his face as he puts one of his victims on the rack. And his "costume" is just too much. He wears red tights, a red hood, a black leather belt, and a black mask that covers his eyes.

• Another thing to keep an eye (or ear) on is the dialogue. The Crimson Executioner has some of the "best" lines I've ever heard. He goes on and on about how perfect his body is. And, how he must kill the people who have come into his castle to preserve the purity of his body. My favorite of these monologues takes place in front of a mirror. As The Crimson Executioner applies a liberal coating of oil to his chest he says, "Mankind is made up of inferior creatures, spiritually and physically deformed, who would have corrupted the harmony of my perfect body." You just don't hear lines like that in just any old movie - it takes something special like Bloody Pit of Horror

• There are so many other points of the movie I would like to write about, but they really must be seen to be believed. For example, The Crimson Executioner has a group of henchmen that dress in matching outfits. It's as if they're appearing on the 1960s Batman television program. Another example, the reaction of the crew after one of their co-workers is killed. Do they immediately leave the castle like normal people would? No - they decide to finish their work in the castle for extra money and call the police in the morning. Yet another example, the room with the giant spider web, mechanical spider, and arrows that shoot from the wall is simply sublime. I could go on for days.

I can only conclude that director Massimo Pupillo, alias Max Hunter, told Mickey Hargitay to go as over-the-top as he possibly could when he revealed his alter ego as the Crimson Executioner. The former Mr. Universe of 1955 excels at hyping his well muscled torso by oiling up and striking a notable pose or two before dispatching a coterie of uninvited visitors who have chosen his castle for a photo shoot. There are a number of ingenious torture methods on display, like the icy water deal, and perhaps my favorite, the spider web of death. As you might expect, the Crimson Executioner has one of the brightest costumes you'll come across in a horror flick, and I couldn't help thinking he'd be right at home in an installment of Lucha Libre. According to the opening credits, the movie is filmed in 'Psychovision' and of this I have no doubt, although I think that term can be better attributed to the mind of the director and the script writers who came up with this mindless gore fest. Born in 1964, Mariska Hargitay would only have been a year old when this thing came out, making me wonder if she ever saw it when she grew up. It would have given her a whole new perspective on dear old dad.

1648: the Crimson Executioner is sentenced to death for his bloody reign of torture and murder, the maniac having taken it upon himself to act as judge, jury and executioner; before being sealed in an iron maiden, one of his own cruel devices, he swears to avenge himself. A few centuries later, a book publisher scouting for locations takes his photographic team and several sexy models to an old castle to shoot some covers, the group unaware that the current owner of the property, reclusive actor Travis (played by Mr. Universe 1955, Mickey Hargitay),is on the prowl, believing himself to be the reincarnation of the Crimson Executioner.

In Bloody Pit of Horror, director Max Hunter (AKA Massimo Pupillo) has created a hugely entertaining camp classic, a film full of brutal, sadistic, misogynistic violence (the film is loosely based on the works of the Marquis de Sade),but one so thoroughly cheesy in its execution (pun intended) that it is impossible to be horrified or offended by it. With cheesecake models strutting around in their underwear, a killer who looks supremely daft, whether in his Crimson get-up or his very fetching rainbow-coloured dressing gown, and some truly unconvincing scenes of torture, the film is a hoot from start to finish—pure gold for fans of '60s exploitation trash.

The most ludicrous moment is undoubtedly when exotic model Kinojo (Moa Tahi) is caught in a wire web with crossbows aimed at her body and a huge, ridiculous-looking spider dangling in front of her; it's a fiendish trap worthy of Jigsaw himself. Sleazier scenes include a spreadeagled woman stretched on a rack, two babes in their underwear on a rotating device with blades cutting into their beasts, a girl having molten tar poured on her bare back, and publisher's assistant Edith (Luisa Baratto) being stripped to her knickers and strapped to a brazen bull (a nasty piece of torture equipment that slowly cooks the victim). The Crimson Executioner also kills off a few of the men, slicing the first with a multi-bladed pendulum, impaling one through the neck with a spear, and roasting another alive in a cage suspended over a fire.

Meanwhile, hero Rick battles Travis's many stripy t-shirt-wearing henchmen (?!?!) in an effort to make it to the dungeon and save the life of at least one of the women. A rousing, poorly choreographed fight scene between Rick and Travis ends on a suitably silly note, the Crimson-hooded killer getting impaled on one of his own torture devices, a rather amusing straw dummy equipped with poisoned spikes.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the absolutely hilarious, presumably unintentionally homo-erotic scene in which narcissistic Travis lovingly oils up his own chest. What a tart!