Mr. Sardonicus

Gothic horror in the style of the old Universal thrillers, with a cruel baron who “experiments” on unsuspecting young girls to find a cure for his frozen grin.  An obvious inspiration is The Man Who Laughs, although the make-up here is far more grisly.  Also grisly are the torture scenes, not horrifyingly so (in fact, it’s almost a playful approach to sadism), but definitely creepy.  The performances are generally not that bad, with a memorable turn by Oskar Homolka (the villain from Hitchcock’s Sabotage) as Sardonicus’ mysteriously disfigured Igor-esque lackey.  Guy Rolfe is appropriately menacing in the title role, and Ronald Lewis and Audrey Dalton hold their own as the heroes.  The plot is a tad slow and full of holes, but in general the film is enjoyable.  It also culminates in another delightful Castle gimmick: glow-in-the-dark “Punishment Poll” cards the audience would hold up to decide whether or not to show Sardonicus any mercy.  There’s only one ending, of course (who’s gonna let the bad guy off the hook?) but Castle’s obvious glee in the pretense is a joy.  Rating: Good

IMDb