The Blood Demon (Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel in West Germany), also known as The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism, The Snake Pit and the Pendulum, Blood of the Virgins, [4] and Castle of the Walking Dead, is a 1967 West German horror film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Christopher Lee, Karin Dor, and Lex Barker.

[5][6] The film, written by Manfred R. Köhler, is based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story "The Pit and the Pendulum" and concerns the saga of Count Regula (Lee) who, after being drawn and quartered for murdering 12 virgin maidens, returns to life seeking revenge.

Fabian offers to assist them in finding their way to the castle, the place where, 35 years ago, Count Regula had murdered 12 virgin maidens, in an attempt to use their blood to achieve immortality.

[12] Following his resurrection, the Count appears to the prisoners wearing an iron mask, informing the men that he needs the blood of a thirteenth virgin – the Baroness – to achieve his goal of immortality.

[19] The review goes on to mention that the film "dripped with a rich and evocative Euro-atmosphere" and that "this flick defines the term" and calls it a "Wizard of Oz-like journey into horror".

The review also calls the film a "skillful blend of horror and adventure" and a picture which offers "creepy delights" such a "forest of hanging corpses", "a castle full of torture traps" and a "sinister one-legged messenger on a cobbled village street".

[2] Monsters & Vampires mentioned that "the movie had some good chilled moments, particularly a ghostly ride through a literally dead forest, with branches filled with severed limbs and torsos.

[8] Severin Films released The Blood Demon (as The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) on Blu-Ray in 2019 as part of the five-film collection "The Hemisphere Box of Horrors."