Bloody Pit of Horror (1965)
"Il boia scarlatto" (original title)

A photographer and his models go to an old, abandoned castle to shoot some sexy covers for horror novels. Unbeknownst to them, the castle is inhabited by a lunatic who believes himself to ... See full summary »

Director:

Massimo Pupillo

Writers:

Romano Migliorini (story), Roberto Natale (story)

Stars:

Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi, Luisa Baratto

Cast

Cast overview:
Mickey Hargitay	...	Travis Anderson
Walter Brandi	...	Rick (as Walter Brandt)
Luisa Baratto	...	Edith (as Louise Barret)
Rita Klein	...	Nancy
Alfredo Rizzo	...	Daniel Parks (as Alfred Rice)
Barbara Nelli	...	Suzy (as Barbara Nelly)
Moa Tahi	...	Kinojo
Femi Benussi	...	Annie (as Femi Martin)
Ralph Zucker	...	Dermott - The photographer
Nando Angelini	...	Perry (as Nik Angel)
Albert Gordon
Gino Turini	...	(as John Turner)
Roberto Messina	...	(as Robert Messenger)

Storyline

A photographer and his models go to an old, abandoned castle to shoot some sexy covers for horror novels. Unbeknownst to them, the castle is inhabited by a lunatic who believes himself to be the reincarnated spirit of a 17th-century executioner whose job it is to protect the castle against intruders.

---

Plot Keywords:

castle | model | photographer | trap | nudity | 

---

Taglines:

He was a homicidal maniac who LIVED TO KILL!

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

28 November 1965 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Red Hangman

Filming Locations:

Balsorano Castle, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Entertainment, M.B.S. Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 74 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was refused a UK cinema certificate in 1967.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: On this fifth day of December in the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and forty-eight, by the power vested in us by our noble sovereign, this tribunal of Artena sentences you, the Crimson Executioner, to death. You will die by one of the very instruments you devised to torture and kill your innocent victims. You dared to take into your own hands the laws of both God and man. You set yourself up as both judge and executioner. You caused inhuman suffering, and took life not from any ...
[...]

---

Connections

Edited into Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987)

User Reviews

The Crimson Executioner Will... Entertain You Immensely!

"Il Boia Scarlatto" aka. ("Bloody Pit Of Horror") must be one of the cheesiest Italian Horror films ever made, and yet (or, more precisely, therefore) it is about as much fun as a film can get for my fellow lovers of Horror from Bella Italia. This was made in a time when Italian Gothic Horror was at its peak - and while a variety of genuine Italian Gothic masterpieces was brought to screen around that time (such as Margheriti's "Danza Macabra" and "The Virgin of Nuremberg", Caiano's "Nightmare Castle", everything that Mario Bava made...), director Massimo Pupillo came up with goofy, but incredibly fun productions such as "5 tombe per un medium" (aka. "Cemetary of The Living Dead", an absolute priority on my list of films that I have yet to see) and this "Bloody Pit Of Horror". Pupillo's films have since gained a certain cult-status among Italian Horror enthusiasts, and this film illustrates why. While "Bloody Pit Of Horror" is an immensely cheesy film that, in spite of a cool Castle setting, has zero scare moments, it is very imaginative in terms of (nowadays demure) sleaze and nasty torturing devices. Several centuries ago, a dispiteous mass murderer, the Crimson Executionner, was put to death with one of his own gruesome devices. In present time (1965) a couple of people - a photographer, an editor, a writer and several sexy chicks - are looking for a castle to make photos for a Horror book. We all know how (cheesy low-budget Horror) fate is - they happen to enter the castle where the Crimson Executioner was executed centuries ago...

The film stars Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield's muscle-man husband, whose acting skills are not exactly awe-inspiring. The performances are generally awful, but that only makes the film more fun. The film begins with a Marquis de Sade quote, and the castle setting is awesome. The crimson executioner must be one of the goofiest (and most hilarious) villains ever in a Horror flick - He wears a ridiculous red hood and only talks about himself in the third-person ("The Crimson Executioner will torture you"). His evil deeds are accompanied by a stereotypically goofy 'eerie' score that resembles the "Treehouse Of Horror" theme from the Simpsons. The torturing devices are actually very imaginative, I don't wanna spoil the fun so I won't give a description. "Il Boia Scarlatto" guarantees pure fun and is an absolute must see for my fellow Italian Horror buffs and lovers of amusing trash. If this film doesn't put a smirk on your face, you lack humor entirely! Enjoy!