well, I've been looking for this for years, another film lost in the NAFTA/GATT shuffle. Amazingly enough, and with little fanfare, Turner Classic Movies dredged up a "restored" print and sneaked it in late night on Halloween, 2005.

Christopher Lee is his usual charismatic self, despite smudges around his eyes as the only real makeup. The plot isn't much of a mystery, but it's fun to watch the cast run through the paces. Often confused with "Blood Castle"/"Torture chamber of Doctor Sadism" in reference works, it's easy to see that many never saw it, since it isn't all that similar except for the star.

The two reasons that kept me looking are writer/1st assistant director Michael Reeves, and the debut role for Donald Sutherland. Reeves did his first direction on this, and some things will seem rather familiar to fans of "She beast", and "Witchfinder General", his later works.

Sutherland plays 2 roles: an unintelligent soldier, and an old hag who speaks prophecy in rhyme. The hag is voiced by another, but Sutherland did his own dubbing for the soldier. Luciano Pigozzi turns up to add his own charm to the proceedings.

Despite comments by others about there not being a huge need for restoration, I have to thank TCM for a lovely job, though the letterbox seems a little tight on top. it's old fashioned, and somewhat obvious, but definitely worthy of preservation.