Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

Torture Dungeon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 5, 2021

Note: This film is available as part of The Dungeon of Andy Milligan.

Lovers of what might be charitably termed Grade Z Cinema have had a number of outstanding releases by a variety of labels over the past few years. Arrow has offered fans surprisingly deluxe-ified (that's a word, I insist) editions of The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection, among others, while Severin Films has gotten into exploring this decidedly odd nook and/or cranny with releases like Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection. Severin's back with more, um, "masterpieces" with this inventively packaged homage to the late Andy Milligan, a kinda sorta auteur whose professional life had more than its fair share of hurdles, and whose personal life unfortunately ended up not being much better. The 14 films (with one bonus film in HD, Toga Party) aggregated in this set are exploitation outings at their "finest" (?), which means those with more patrician tastes are probably well advised to steer completely clear of this release. Those with grittier sensibilities will find some at times oddly entertaining movies and Severin's usual supply of appealing supplements.

If a bunch of hippie types at your local annual Country Fair decided to put on one of Shakespeare's historical plays like, say, Richard III, and if those aforementioned hippies had been indulging in more than a little of some kind of controlled substance like the so-called Demon Weed, the results may have been very much like Torture Dungeon, another kind of (unintentionally) hilarious effort from Milligan that purports to tell the story of a would be king named Norman (Gerald Jaccuzo). Much as in the case of Richard III, there are a few other heirs standing in the way, and the result is a series of supposedly gruesome killings which Norman hopes will elevate him to the throne. Unfortunately for Norman, he's initially unaware that the widow of his first victim is actually "with child".

Torture Dungeon is a typically gonzo outing from Milligan, filled to the brim with odd characters, and offering more of Milligan's, um, eccentric tastes in production and (especially) costume design. The result is chaotic feeling most of the time, and there's a certain manic intensity to the performances that pushes everything completely over the top. Despite this being marketed as yet another horror film, it's probably going to strike gore aficionados as relatively bloodless.

Torture Dungeon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Torture Dungeon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's booklet included with this release has the following information on the transfer:

Torture Dungeon (aka Macabre) has been scanned and restored in 2K from its uncensored 16mm camera reversal, which reflects Andy Milligan's original director's cut. Optical credits bearing Milligan's shooting title Macabre were never created, so the main title sequence is presented in its initial theatrical version, scanned from a 35mm release print held at the American Genre Film Archive. Audio was assembled from two sources: a 35mm optical soundtrack (which had been edited to conform to an MPAA 'R' rating), and the uncesored 16mm mag stripe.

While there is once again some noticeable damage on display (see screenshot 9), this is another surprisingly robust looking presentation of a cult Milligan item, though, again, these things need to be judged in a reasonable context. The palette is especially nice looking throughout most of the film, though it does look slightly faded, so that, for example, reds can veer slightly toward oranges. There are a few passing moments of crush or inadequate shadow definition in the most dimly lit moments. As with all of the films in this set, there doesn't appear to have been any aggressive digital tweaking of the imagery, at least in terms of attempts to minimize a sometimes gritty grain field. I'm scoring this at 3.5, but that should be understood within the relative context of this set as a whole probably more than as an "absolute" score.

Torture Dungeon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Torture Dungeon features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono that exhibits some of the passing deficits of many of the tracks on this set. This particular track actually has fewer of the extreme spikes and valleys in amplitude, and as such, dialogue is relatively clearly delivered. While the high end may again be too bright for some, there are fewer instances of hissing sibilance here, and not any major damage to report. Optional English subtitles are available.

Torture Dungeon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:57)


• Audio Commentary with Milligan Scholar Alex DiSanto

Torture Dungeon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Torture Dungeon is another completely gonzo Milligan effort that offers some kind of hilarious tangents to much more venerated material. Video has some noticeable damage, but an overall appealing suffused palette, and audio is generally listenable as well. The commentary offers some interesting information as well, for those who are considering making a purchase.