Nobleman Baron Gilles de Lancre (Paul Naschy in fine sadistic form) falls under the pernicious control of his evil mistress Georgelle (a nicely wicked portrayal by ravishing blonde Norma Sebre) and her shrewd alchemist accomplice Simon de Braqueville (a sound turn by Eduardo Calvo). Gilles begins a vicious reign of terror over his village that includes torture and ritualistic sacrifices. It's up to a band of outlaws to overthrow him. Director Leon Klimovsky, working from an engrossing script by Naschy, relates the intriguing story at a steady pace, delivers a vivid evocation of the flavorsome medieval period setting, stages the lively sword fights with real rip-roaring flair, and certainly doesn't skimp on the bloody violence and raw brutality. Moreover, the plot has neat similarities to Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Naschy has an absolute ball with his juicy bad guy role, and there are praiseworthy contributions from Guillermo Bredeston as the dashing Gaston de Malebrauche and Graciela Nilson as sweet fair maiden Graciela. Francisco Sanchez's crisp cinematography gives the picture an impressively sumptuous look. Carlo Viziello's alternately harmonic and dissonant score does the trick. Worth a watch for Naschy fans.

A conflicted land baron in the middle ages is manipulated by his evil wife into committing acts of great cruelty which involves sacrifice and butchery. Young virgins are the target, as are enemies of the state who seek to stop the malevolent acts from continuing. Families who don't pay their taxes have the virginal daughter used for sacrifice, while the family head ends up on display, a rotting corpse for all to see. OK, so I find the possibilities of this being true somewhat believable, and the beautiful but sinister looking queen is reminiscent of Elizabeth Bathory. But as realistic looking as this is with the cruel details and sets just right, it's just plain boring. And confusing, with some obvious details cut out for some unknown reason other than neglect in the editing process. I found the pace to be truly creaky and often just not interesting. Things here, in this era, though, really were rotten, and the touch of the supernatural and love of carnage truly barbaric.

An evil ruler uses witchcraft and evil spirits to keep his subjects in line, but the his reign of terror prompts the people to revolt.

This film is proof that Paul Naschy has not yet reached the level of horror icon that he so richly deserves. Despite starring in this excellent film, you will not likely be able to find much about it online. No Wikipedia page, for example. And when Scream! released it on Blu in 2017, it came without commentary. Luckily, it does have a section in their booklet.

It is with high hopes that Scream releases a third Naschy collection. I do not understand the business end -- the costs of rights and how many copies would need to be sold to make it worthwhile. But I think what they are doing here is more than selling a product. They are preserving a legacy.