Torture Dungeon (1969) User Reviews

"I'm trisexual. Yes, that's it. I'll try anything for pleasure."

[Hey_Sweden · 4/10 · 23 July 2022]

Supposedly inspired by "Tower of London", cult filmmaker Andy Milligan co-wrote and directed this insipid "British" period piece set in medieval times when the power-crazed Duke of Norwich (Gerald Jacuzzo) will murder anybody standing in his way. One such obstacle is the beautiful young Heather MacGregor (Susan Cassidy), who needs to bear a child who will inherit the throne.

Even knowing what to expect from Milligan - namely, bargain-basement gore, his own ridiculous costumes, and extremely tacky acting - it takes a special kind of patience to sit through "Torture Dungeon". The gore actually isn't *that* plentiful, and in fact the film spends precious little time in the title location. (Still, I have to give some credit to any film that begins with a decapitation.) Overall, the film wastes too much time with talk until it gets to what could possibly be considered the highlights.

Jacuzzo does border on competent with his amusing portrayal of the slimy antagonist, there is a fair amount of nudity both female and male, and Hal Borske is hilarious fulfilling similar duties to those he performed in Milligans' "The Ghastly Ones". He plays Albert, a grass and bug-munching half-wit who needs to be instructed on how to have sex with Heather.

Even with the films' faults, it's hard to completely knock any story that includes a pitchfork impalement, a one-eyed witch (Maggie Rogers), and an attempted threesome with a serving girl (Patricia Garvey) and a homosexual hunchback (Richard Mason), among other things.

Four out of 10.

Shakespeare without Shakespeare

[hswasserman · 5/10 · 8 March 2024]

This is my second Milligan experience, the first being The Body Beneath, which is a fine vampire epic. This one, as my title suggests, is like a Shakespeare play if all the words of the Bard were replaced by something less good.

It is a fine piece of work if you understand what you're getting into. The costumes are excellent. Susan Cassidy, who plays the female lead, Heather, is a comely lass. When she isn't nude it looks like her clothes are about to fall off. Then there's the eminent Richard Mason who plays Ivan the Hunchback. He's hysterical. Steer clear of Albert the half-wit. His eating habits will make you lose your lunch. And we must not forget Margaret the One-Eyed Hag, played by Maggie Rogers. Possibly the actress really was one-eyed. Considering the budget and talent involved it could not be makeup--it looks too real. So I really wonder what the story could be with her.

The rest of the cast is not remarkable, nor is the story. Just a lot of murders so that one or two of the people could gain power. For all the violence there's not much gore. I did enjoy the beheading at the beginning. It may not have been a masterstroke but it happens so quickly you don't have a chance to see how fake it probably looked. And like I said there's plenty of nudity. I was pleased to see some gay stuff. I would not have thought a film from that time would have it.

It's a good time overall. Like I think I said about The Body Beneath the length of the film is just right. An hour and twenty minutes is the right length for it. If it were any longer you'd probably kill yourself. For the length it is you can be forgiving of its shortcomings. Some may disagree but I think there's something very special about the films of Andy Milligan.

Torture Dungeon

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 21 August 2023]

"I'm trisexual - I'll try anything for pleasure!"

Any movie that has this line, no matter what happens in it, has something good in it.

Norman (Gerald Jaccuzo) is The Duke Of Norwich. When his half-brother is killed, he gets closer to the throne, which makes him filled with a need for power. He sets his other half-brother Albert (Hal Borske) up with a commoner named Heather MacGregor (Susan Cassidy) with plans to take control of their child and therefore, the throne. But there's also the dead half-brother's pregnant wife Lady Jane (Patricia Dillon), a hunchback named Ivan (Richard Mason) - who even gets into a threesome - and a woman with one eye.

I can't even imagine what people unaware of Andy Milligan think when they saw this. It could still be happening now thanks to streaming, as someone sees the poster art and the title and thinks. "I'll try this" before they're confronted by Staten Island being a foreign country and costumes that look like they came from a Christmas play. Will any of them make it to the end? Or will they just be upset by what they have seen?

Prepare ye to be savagely Milliganed.

[EyeAskance · 7 June 2003]

Another of Andy Milligan's endearingly disjointed period-piece horror films...if you've been subjected to any of his other projects, then you pretty much know what's in store. If, however, you're among the uninitiated...well...there's honestly nothing that can possibly prepare you for that particular rite of passage.

As is the case with all things Milligan, TORTURE DUNGEON is entirely obstinate toward every orthodox countenance of filmmaking procedure. Contributing to its off-center allure is a creatively impetuous, Scheherazadian spiel of medieval treachery and lust for power. You just know that a movie's storyline has been slapped around by Andy Milligan when it incorporates gay hunchback love, one-eyed hags, stilted Olde English dialog, and gratuitous pitchfork gore. Plus, being the joke-of-all-trades that he was, Milligan also gave personal appointment to the wardrobe department, resulting in the film's unique visual flair which may be best described as polyacrylic Renfaire psychosis.

Is there anything not to like about this? 11/10

It's torture alright.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 22 April 2018]

Power hungry sexual deviant Norman, Duke of Norwich (Gerald Jacuzzo), plots to become king of England by killing those ahead of him in line for the throne.

In my experience, Andy Milligan's movies are, without exception, virtually unwatchable z-grade garbage, but I can't help but feel a little admiration for the director, who soldiered on despite the fact that his ambition clearly exceeded his talent and budget. Take Torture Dungeon for example, a period piece set in medieval England, when knights were bold and maidens fair, and no-one with a moustache could be trusted: that's not an easy undertaking for an amateur Staten Island-based film-maker with minimal resources.

Rather unsurprisingly, Milligan fails spectacularly on almost every level. The costumes are cheap, the location work is terrible (in one scene set on a beach we can see a power boat on the water and a woman holding a handbag wanders into view, while another scene takes place in a greenhouse), the gore effects are risible, the dialogue is stilted, and the cast cannot disguise their Noo Yoik roots (Norwich is pronounced Nor-witch). Unfortunately, as is often the case with Milligan's work, the result isn't a hugely entertaining crapfest, but rather a crushing monotonous bore, the wooden performances and dreadful pace resulting in extreme tedium.

2/10 for the frequent nudity (mostly from Susan Cassidy in an ill-fitting red dress) and the laughable attempts at splatter (a really crap beheading, some deaths by pitchfork, and assorted stabbings).

A tame and tawdry affair

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 25 April 2018]

Another mindless trash-fest from the notorious director Andy Milligan, TORTURE DUNGEON really pushes the boundaries of cinematic badness. It's once again a cheap independent feature shot in New York, with a poorly-realised and quite laughable depiction of medieval England. The main character is a psychotic duke who spends his time bumping off his rivals in a bid to win power for himself. Way too much screen time is given over to an idiot character who laughs and gurns his way through his screen appearances, but Milligan's focus is very much on bare flesh which makes this feel like you're watching a skin flick at times. Saying that, it's a very tame and tawdry affair and there's barely any of the bloodshed suggested by the title.

INDESCRIBABLE INSANITY

[floridacalisurferboy · 5/10 · 1 October 2023]

Bargain Basement Maniac Director ANDY MILLIGAN was famous for making homemade 16mm films from scratch. He wrote, directed, photographed, edited, lit, set designed, and even sewed every costume himself for all his films... TORTURE DUNGEON (1970) is one of them. To say they are the product of a deranged mind is an understatement (especially if you were lucky enough to read his biography, as I was) His movies were like high school plays (if it was a high school in another universe of lunacy) The characters are all different levels of perverts, depraved mental patients, imbeciles, and creeps. It's amazing to watch this amateur cast of new york actors (some are just actors-in-training) put together this historical nonsense on pennies for budget. Milligan directs with total seriousness making it even funnier. The sets are inside Milligan's own Long Island house covered with material and drapes everywhere. Outside scenes are around a backyard muddy pond where a few nude "actors" probably caught ringworm from being forced by Milligan to wade in it. The story is incomprehensible and continuity non-existent BUT you just keep watching to see what Milligan will dream up for next scene. Like when the Duke gets his servant hunchback to join him and the princess in bed for a freak threesome.. Or when the slobbering half-wit royal brother is led step by step to impregnate his new bride. A few old pros like the actress playing the old one-eyed mom is as campy as a crazed Shakespearean Performer and Hal Borske as the half wit is really funny. A real time capsule movie and if you can get through it with the right frame of mind.. Can be alot of fun 👍

Milligan overcomes his technical inadequacies with a witty, transgressive, and occasionally touching (!) screenplay.

[lonchaney20 · 6/10 · 16 July 2015]

Not many filmmakers would attempt to film Richard III on a budget of less than $15,000. Andy Milligan was no ordinary filmmaker, however, and this is no ordinary film. Though not a direct adaptation of Shakespeare's play, the premise is essentially the same: a deformed duke (here dubbed Norman, the Duke of Norwich) murders and manipulates his way to the throne. If the source material is respectable enough, Milligan throws any pretensions of legitimacy out the window with his obscene, irreverent, and downright misanthropic take on it. Much like his Shakespearean counterpart, the one-armed Duke of Norwich puts on several faces in plotting his ascension to the throne. At times he plays the caring sibling, if only to ensure that his mentally challenged brother and king, Albert (in a hilariously offensive performance by Hal Borske), produces an heir to prolong the royal bloodline. This is due to his own sterility, which he cheerfully admits to early in the film. This Duke goes places that Richard III never did: because Albert is more interested in eating his food than in bedding his bride, Norman must direct their lovemaking! Likewise, Norman is a shameless libertine who has no qualms about sharing a bed with his wife, Rosemary, and his hunchbacked servant, Ivan. "I am not homosexual," he tells Rosemary after she catches him sleeping with Ivan. "I am neither heterosexual, or bisexual, not even asexual. I'm trisexual. Meaning, I'll try anything once." Even by the standards of Milligan's other period pieces, this is a quixotic venture. I can't help but admire the stubbornness and audacity that would drive someone to choose such a misguided subject matter when presented with so little money. And if that's not enough, Milligan (just as he did on his other pictures) takes on multiple roles here: cinematographer, costume design (under the pseudonym Raffine), editor (as Gerald Jackson), and even sound. The latter becomes hilariously apparent during the film's climax, where the swinging of a chain is accompanied by Milligan making whooshing sounds with is mouth! From what I've read, Milligan was a notorious control freak, and he didn't trust anyone else to act in these capacities. If the results are not traditionally pleasing, they are nonetheless fascinating for what they reveal about Milligan himself. Putting aesthetics aside, films like this might provide a better argument for the auteur theory than even those of Kubrick.

As with the other films of his that I've watched, Milligan here overcomes his technical inadequacies with a witty, transgressive, and occasionally touching (!) screenplay. The film's sexual dysfunctions are often played for laughs (such as the unforgettable wedding night scene), I love the numerous absurd touches (such as the ridiculously long quills the characters write with), and the classic Milligan dialogue is priceless. After murdering his brother, Norman sarcastically eulogizes him during the funeral procession: "What a pity. In the bloom of his manhood, like roses he so dearly loved. Cut down before his time. Oh, well...c'est la vie." A surprisingly moving moment occurs when the Duke forces Rosemary and Ivan to engage with him in a ménage a trois ("I love that word!"); he demands that the two get acquainted, and we learn the tragic stories of their upbringings. The cruelty that the hunchback suffers at his mother's hands in particular recalls Milligan's hatred of his own abusive mother.

A film like this isn't for everyone. As Michael Weldon famously wrote, "If you're an Andy Milligan fan, there's no hope for you." Though public opinion is largely against Milligan and his films, there's something admirable about this hopeless figure who didn't let things like good taste, insufficient funds, or even a complete misunderstanding of how to make a movie stop him from unleashing his venomous art on the world. Not only did he succeed in finishing film after film, but many of them even saw theatrical releases. Given his fiercely independent and threadbare approach to cinema, now commonplace when everyone has a digital camera and editing software, perhaps Milligan was ahead of his time. It would be several decades before technology caught up to him.

I watched this film courtesy of Code Red's recent blu-ray release, which looks far superior to the clip shared below. It appears to be nearly complete, with the only unfortunate omission being a kiss between the Duke and Ivan; presumably the film element for this is lost. While it's okay to reference sex between the two, I guess the distributor felt that a kiss between two men was apparently too shocking of a spectacle for theatergoers - this in a film where people are beaten, stabbed, and tortured! I was sad but not surprised to learn that this and Code Red's other Milligan blu-rays lost their producer a lot of money. While I think Milligan's work is in dire need of reassessment, it's clear we still have a long way to go.

The Middle Ages in England done on a $1.50 budget by Andy Milligan

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 2 May 2019]

Typically warped and depraved micro-budget trash by fiercely bitter and iconoclastic Do-It-Yourself indie schlock filmmaker Andy Milligan, this merry medieval romp centers on an evil and ambitious duke (a deliciously wicked portrayal by Gerald Jacuzzo) who plots to kill anyone who stands between him and the throne of England.

You know you're watching a Milligan movie when the debauched delights to be relished herein include murder, revenge, torture, treachery, betrayal, a colorful array of cheerfully nasty and spiteful folks making up the bulk of the characters, and a simply glorious moment in which a wretched hunchback is forced by the dastardly duke to participate in a menage a trois. Moreover, we also got chintzy sets, several cast members speaking with hilariously inappropriate New York accents, grotty'n'gory violence, wobbly cinematography, leering nudity, surprisingly elaborate (if garish) costumes, the world's worst marriage counselor giving a bride-to-be some especially terrible advice, and an overwrought film library music score. Milligan regulars Neil Flanagan as a by-the-book council member, Maggie Rogers as a vengeful one-eyed hag, and Hal Borske as a pathetic bug-eating moron all really sink their teeth into the twisted material. Best of all, Milligan's trademark unbridled cynicism and misanthropy permeates every last fabulously foul frame.

Truly Terrible and Entertaining

[jacobconnelly-47681 · 6/10 · 14 November 2021]

It's hard to imagine what goes through the mind of someone who could make a film this inept, bizarre, and amateurish, but whatever it was lead to the creation of an camp classic that's hard to forget.

Featuring a mix of both the most enthusiastic and the most lifeless actors you've ever seen, Torture Dungeon tells the story of a young woman promised to a royal duke in a magical land far, far away who discovers that he's a pervert and a sadist. And that's not even mentioning all the insane twists that show up right before the end credits.

The production values are like that of a cheap community theatre production of Once Upon A Mattress, but that does add to its do-it-yourself charm at times and many of the actors, while not exactly Robert De Niro, are at least enthusiastic and spirited enough to keep the audience awake.

Andy, I knew you well.

[reptilicus · 25 March 2001]

To many people Andy Milligan is the worst thing that ever happened to motion pictures. Some people say he makes Edward D. Wood Jr look like Orson Welles by comparison. To me though, Andy was a friend and a teacher. I met him quite by accident in the mid 1980's after being exposed to some of his movies at a rundown cinema in the toughest part of town. We became fast friends and I would listen for hours to him describe how he stretched a budget dollar to lengths even Roger Corman would envy. He described how he shot TORTURE DUNGEON with one camera and how he edited every scene in the camera by having one character do his or her dialogue and then switch the camera to do the other person reacting and back to the first person and so on. He remarked how hard it was to get some of the actors (I use the term very loosely) to stay in character while he constantly shifted the camera setup. Andy never used a light meter, recorded all sound "live" and seldom did more than 2 takes of any scene. Okay yes, his movies are poorly acted, badly paced, overly talky, and the makeup and effects are . . .well you get the idea. The point is Andy Milligan took the time to befriend me when I was still an aspiring film-maker and taught me how HE did things to save time and money.

Andy I miss you, and I enjoy watching your movies despite their shortcomings. Thanks pal.

Milligan pomp and butchery

[El-Stumpo · 8 October 2003]

It almost seems inconceivable in this day and age that someone would attempt the pomp and pageantry of a ye Olde England costume gore epic on a budget LESS than a cross-town ferry ride. And yet Torture Dungeon, the first film for producer William Mishkin's newly crowned Constitution Films, is filmic proof that Andy Milligan's audacity knew no bounds. Cue credits, the music - straight from a 40s Gary Cooper western - swells, and a procession of medieval misfits make their way down a deserted Staten Island beach, looking for all the world like a lost borstal passion play, carrying the coffin of the newly-dead king, beheaded in the film's opening by the prissy yet evil Duke of Norwich (`Jerremy Brooks'/Gerry Jacuzzo). The Duke, last in line to the throne and sterile to boot, hatches a plan to marry off the new king, who would plant the royal seed in the Queen's fertile soil. Once plowed, the Queen becomes the unwilling property of the Duke, and the remaining heirs are dispatched to their untimely deaths.

Hal Borske plays the new king strictly for cheap laughs: he's a bumbling half-wit in a blonde pageboy frightwig who eats bugs on all fours and shows more interest in nailing his plate of chicken than his new queen. His on-screen presence is cut short soon after the `conception' scene, and he gets the obligatory stake to the heart. Blood erupts like tomato soup, exit Hal. And in every one of the death scenes from Torture Dungeon, Andy's camera careers around and plummets to the ground as if it was dropped from a Staten Island ferris wheel. There's even a script direction for this: `Swirl Camera'. Now stick that one in the text books.

Unlike The Ghastly Ones, where the gore comes thick and fast, Torture Dungeon spaces its bloodshed, which leaves wide open spaces in the script for Andy's manic exposition. One scene plays like a psychedelic sex hygiene film of the 50s and features a crazed old harridan (a member of Andy's theatrical troupe?) preparing the new queen for her wifely duties while floating around the room on PCP. The Sadean Duke endlessly waxes lyrical about his personal philosophy, declaring himself `not a heterosexual, not homosexual, not asexual - I'm trisexual. I'll TRY anything.' An old chestnut, I know, but from the mouths of Milligan's characters it takes on a new sinister tone. In another memorable scene the depraved duke is caught in bed with a hunchback, unloved and beaten as a child and corrupted by the uncaring world and now the Duke's assassin and willing love slave. So, he says to his wife with a perverse sneer - ever heard of a menage a trois?

With the exception of the garish costumes (an area Andy always excelled at), the production is threadbare at every turn. The torture chamber itself looks like my Brisbane city basement, for chrissakes, and the effect of the evil Duke swinging a chain sounds suspiciously like Andy on a microphone going `Whoosh! Whoosh!' Voices veer wildly from the fruity and over-theatrical Jacuzzo to the flat Noo York drawl from the mouths of some suitably plague-scarred bookies and old Mafia types in Beatles wigs, uttering lines like `the dook of Nor-witch' with deadpan conviction. Local color, but wrong locality. And I think I spotted a Ramone or two in the funeral procession.

Milligan does it again

[sirarthurstreebgreebling · 25 August 2000]

Wow what was Andy thinking when he made this. A costume drama gore romp with the usual mix of wobbly sets, superb acting and the best chase scene I have ever seen. One of the charectors (I cant remember which one) jump's onto a horse and off he goes to say the buxom wench from the evil clutches of the sadistic Lord.On horseback he goes from left to right , towards us and away, crossing the line a good dozen times , which gives the impression of his going in circles , unintentionally hilarious. With the usual mix of cheap gore and ludicrously un erotic sex scenes this is another must for anyone interested in the world that Milligan created

When knights were bold

[gregoodsell · 26 January 2001]

In your reviewer's humble opinion, schlock director Andy Milligan's most entertaining film. Plotless jumble about a power struggle for the throne of England, this has double-crosses, torture, murder, hippie-dippie Renaissance costumes and an abandoned greenhouse for the main set!

Check out this immortal dialogue from the evil prince: "I am not a heterosexual, I am not a homosexual, I am not a bisexual, I am a trisexual -- I will try anything sexual!" This before a hot three-way with a maid and hunchback.

This film is worth seeing for Magda the Marriage Counselor alone.

watch!!... watch!!..yes, watch!!

[shanec23 · 10 April 2003]

yes! ugly. yes! hate filled. yes the greatest trash film-maker ever!!

andy does shakespeare!!! and i love it!!!!

thank you jimmy mcdonough for legitimising the manic craft of andy milligan. playwright, fashion designer, film maker!!!

way back when andy's films were just a naive trash-film fanatics ultimate wet-dream you were there, documenting, analysing and indeed living the insanity that was andy milligan.

and there i was thinking that no-one could be as enraptured as i was by his sleazy yet wonderfully visionary films. silly me!!

before i read your staggering biography, i had this bizarre notion that he was some kind of mild mannered homo wanna-be zero-budget auteur.

but now that i have read your magnificent biography, i realise that andy milligan was much more complicated and dynamic than i could ever have imagined.

i don't know whether to laugh or cry when i watch his films but i DO know that no other film-maker has ever affected me the way andy milligan has.

andy milligan fans of the world unite!! you have nothing to lose but your chains. now is not the time to be modest, insist that your so-called friends and and loved-ones watch this film now!!!!

and if they resist, nail them to a tree! (tee hee!!)

Another Bad Melodrama with Elements of Horror

[Michael_Elliott · 30 October 2015]

Torture Dungeon (1970)

1/2 (out of 4)

Set in England where the Duke of Norwich (Jerremy Brooks) plans to kill off anyone who stands in his way of getting the crown. Him and his demented family begin a killing spree to help him reach the top.

TORTURE DUNGEON is yet another film from the cult figure Andy Milligan and it's another awful one. You know, as I go through Milligan's films it's easy to look at them and wonder just what he was thinking. I mean, here's another period piece that is 99% melodrama with a screenplay that requires everyone to talk non-stop. I mean, who exactly was going to line up and watch this back in 1970? You have to wonder how much money these movies actually made when they were released.

This film here once again features a lot of dialogue as the characters are constantly discussing what they're doing or what they're going to do. It should go without saying that the dialogue is downright boring but what's even worse is the fact that the entire thing is just incoherent and doesn't make a bit of sense. The strange thing is that a lot of the cast members are actually good and manage to deliver good performances throughout the awfulness of the picture. This film also offers up a bit more blood and nudity that most of Milligan's work.

Still, TORTURE DUNGEON lives up to its title with it being "torture" to get through it.