adrianswingler I saw this one as a pretty good example of a "B" version of the early '70s Italian crime films. On those terms, it's pretty good. I'm not really sure you can take it seriously enough to rate against the "A" grade, but I think it pretty much announces that. One of the taglines from a poster at the time was "No swords, no guns, no knives, no weapons. Just a burning pool of acid!". No weapons? No knives? Tons of those. And...just a minor point...soap is made from an alkaline solution, things like sodium hydroxide. That's the opposite of acid. So the only thing in the tagline accurate is "no swords". Like I'd expect that of a '70s Italian crime film.So, you can't get too deep with this one. As an over the top take on the sub genre I think it works. As much "early '70s" as it is "Italian crime film", it doesn't spare any mod visuals. Worth a go, I say.

Leonard Smalls: The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse Long haired, outcast hippie guy gets out of jail and is victimized by the mob. I love it. Somehow, some way, it took me years to see this one and it's ashame because it's definitely worthy of a spot on any Italian horror/crime fan's DVD shelf.Music is swanky, clothes are hippie, dubbing is atrocious. Castration scene near the end is especially sickening, definitely stands out as the 'gross out' moment in the movie. It surprised me; was not expecting it as it kind of comes out of nowhere...sure there's plenty of fighting and goofy kung fu prior in the film, but nothing like that! I loved it.Fans of Castellari or Fulci should enjoy this one! 5 out of 10, kids.

The_Void The title suggests that Cauldron of Death is going to be another Giallo-styled thriller (Italian marketing campaigns...), but it turns out that this film is actually a part of seventies Italy's other big export; the Dirty Harry-influenced cop flick! Cauldron of Death is a little more nasty than a lot of the genre, however, as it features plenty of grisly murders, including some unlucky victims that find themselves being thrown into a vat of acid, a la our featured criminals' favourite method of dealing with people that annoy them. The story doesn't actually focus on the police like a lot of these seventies Italian crime movies, and the centre of the plot is Rico; a young man recently released from jail and thirsty for revenge on the man that killed his father (which we see at the opening of the film). The guilty party is a mobster named Don Vito, and he's certainly an adversary to be reckoned with as Rico, two years since he was sentenced to jail, is forced to match wits and out everything on the line to get revenge on the vicious Don Vito.The film benefits from a good female duo. I'll watch anything that features the lovely Barbara Bouchet, and she doesn't disappoint here as we get treated to one of the best striptease scenes in Italian cinema! The film also features Malisa Longo, who adds to the eye candy. The men aren't bad either, as while Robert Mitchum's son Christopher is a little too naive looking for my liking; he still plays his part well. Arthur Kennedy rounds off a good central cast as the vicious Don Vito. Director Tulio Demicheli succeeds at generating a fetid atmosphere for the film to take place in, and the nasty death scenes certainly don't feel out of place considering the look and nature of the movie. The main problem with the film stems from the plotting. You'd be a fool to go into a cheapo seventies Italian thriller expecting a thoroughly well thought out plot; but this one veers off course a bit too often, and it can become distracting after a while. It's not a fatal problem; however, as Cauldron of Death is an entertaining and gritty little thriller that is well worth seeing if you can find it!

Coventry Judging by the juicy title and exhilarating VHS-cover, "Cauldron of Death" appears to be a genuinely nasty horror film, but it is in fact a rough 'n tough revenge-thriller! It's still extremely gory and sadistic, but the storyline is more reminiscent to those typical Italian Godfather rip-offs of the early 70's, with relentless mob bosses violently eliminating their competitors in order to become the only reigning king of crime in a certain city. The titular cauldron refers to the favorite killing-method of the meanest bastard in town, who throws his enemies (and sometimes even his loved ones) into a giant bath of acid where they meet a slow and painful melting-death. During the outrageous opening sequences, which immediately set the right violent mood, we witness how the accomplices of Don Vito mercilessly execute the current crime-leader. Two years later, his son returns to town from prison and plots to single-handedly avenge his father as well as to recover his girlfriend Rosa who got claimed by Don Vito. From then on, "Cauldron of Blood" turns into a tremendously exciting macho-showdown between the charismatic young blond hero and the sleazy old bastard, with treasonous characters, lurid ladies and a whole lot of bloody gunfights. Whenever Rico humiliates Don Vito or steals some of his crime-monopoly, the other one responds by executing one of Rico's innocent family members, like his pregnant sister or his crippled mother. "Cauldron of Death" is incredibly fast-paced and, surprisingly enough, the script dissociates itself from all the feared clichés and taboos. There are certain deaths in this film that you can't possibly see coming and even the final battle at the end of the story is shockingly unpredictable. For this reason alone, I highly recommend "Cauldron of Death" to every fan of unusual Euro-Trash cinema! Other than the convoluted structure and the highly effective plot twists, this undiscovered gem of Italian smut-cinema also features some of the most outrageous gore you've ever seen. In one particular sequence, which clearly got edited back into the film after an initial censorship, we explicitly witness how a poor guy gets castrated for messing around with Don Vito's woman and subsequently gets thrown into the acid. His extendedly depicted agony is still horrifying, even though the make-up effects are cheap and very cheesy. There's also a lot of graphic nudity and sleaze (or what else did you expected), provided by two of Italy's most contemporary popular muses, Barbara Bouchet and Malisa Longo. I don't really understand why this film is still so obscure, especially with the recent revival of euro-crime cinema, which put several other highlights of the sub genre on DVD, like "Almost Human" and "Rabid Dogs". Maybe it's because director Tulio Demicheli never truly belonged to the prominent circle of Italian exploitation filmmakers? So far, this film is only available on VHS (or bootleg DVD-R) and quality of both picture and sound is horrendous. Here's to hoping it gets rewarded with a fancy DVD edition any time soon!