Norman, the Duke or Norwich (Gerald Jacuzzo) is mad with power (and sexual energy). He wants to become king, but there’s a matter of a couple of pesky relatives who are ahead of him in the line of succession. Norman soon sets in motion a dastardly plan to kill anyone who stands in his way and take the throne by any means necessary.
One of FIVE films writer/director Andy Milligan made in 1970, Torture Dungeon is less a horror movie and more of a medieval melodrama. As such, it has way too many characters (although I did like the dotty old “Marriage Counselor” and the one-eyed hag), unresolved subplots, and weird asides. There’s an occasional gore scene (beheading, crucifixion, stake through the heart, stabbing, pitchforking, etc.) here and there, although they’re nowhere near as graphic as some of Milligan’s other pictures.
The movie kicks off with a pretty good decapitation scene before things quickly get bogged down in a lot of soap opera plotting and Renaissance Fair theatrics. If you can stomach all the palace intrigue shit, you’ll be treated to a head-spinning last minute plot twist/happy ending that is just plain ludicrous. There are a few worthwhile moments here, such as the extremely awkward wedding night, and the screen’s only menage a trois involving a corrupt Duke, his chambermaid, and his trusty hunchback henchman/lover. These sequences, taken on their own merits, are kind of fun, but they are no match for the dull dialogue scenes.
Oh, and if you go in expecting to see a lot of torture, forget it. For a movie called Torture Dungeon, only about a minute or two actually takes place in the titular establishment. Even then, there’s no actual torture, just a bunch of shots of dudes chained to the wall. It’s kind of a rip-off if you ask me.
While all of this is just short of being torturous, it’s definitely a bit of a chore to sit through.
One thing you can say about Torture Dungeon is that it is an Andy Milligan movie through and through. It was shot in Staten Island, has cheap gore effects, costumes that look like they came out of a high school play, overly theatrical acting, gay overtones (like The Ghastly Ones and Nightbirds), hunchback henchmen (The Ghastly Ones and The Body Beneath), incest (The Body Beneath), English characters that speak with a Noo Yawk accent, characters nailed to a wall (The Body Beneath), stock library music, and a family's plot to breed to further perpetuate the bloodline (The Body Beneath). Plus, the cast is comprised almost solely of Milligan regulars.
Jacuzzo gets the best line in the movie when he says, “I’m not homosexual! I’m not heterosexual! I’m not asexual! I’m trisexual! I’ll try anything for pleasure!”
AKA: Dungeon of Death.
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