Absolutely amazing

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

William Castle Movies, today, almost always have the term "Fun" attached as Reviewers and Fans try to point Newbies in His direction. However, appropriate for the most part, it is possible to say that this Movie is anything but. The Punishment Poll Gimmick notwithstanding this is one creepy, horrifying Film. There is absolutely no Fun to be found here.From the Gothic atmosphere to the inherent cruelty and tragic situations the Movie sucks you in with a heavy dose of Melodrama and Terror. The Writing and the Cast all play this perfectly straight, and the Movie is better for it. Containing one of the most remarkable and memorable, shocking and traumatizing Make-Up effects ever in a Horror Movie.There is not a Boomer out there that saw this Movie in the Theatre that does not, could not, forget it. For the most part it is an Icon that they carry to this day. It is a Film that is sharply constructed as an entry into Nineteenth Century Medical Procedures, Myths, and Folklore.The Director's most serious Film has stood the test of time and is His only Period Piece, but what a Piece it is. Stands along side Corman's Poe adaptations, Hammer, and anything else that was the Contemporary of this fondly remembered Director.Note...What a Title!

As sardonic as that statement is, it is entirely appropriate for this Gothic thriller about a mad baron, grave robbing, a curse and revenge, William Castle style. Without the Castle touch, it is a fairly entertaining formula grand guignole, equivalent to anything Vincent Price was making over at American International and that Hammer films was producing in England. In Castle hands (including the baron's moat around his own castle), the result is a grin-fest wider than the evil aristocrat's. He's a former peasant who through nefarious means (which have to be seen to be believed) and is married to the former girlfriend of the doctor he has treating him for his hideous disorder which is actually more charmatic than medical.The portly Oscar Homolka is the one-eyed valet to the baron who assists him with his torturous experiments (involving leeches) yet seems to secretly resent him for causing his partial blindness. When Castle comes on with the thumbs up or thumbs down cards for the Baron to get retribution (or not), you long to see him get the leeches or some other hideous torture, but the result is more "Fractured Fairy Tales" than Edgar Allan Poe. Still, there's a spooky enough early 20th Century atmosphere to please Gothic horror fans, and the result ends up being better than most of Castle's later films (the classic "Rosemary's Baby" and the spooky "The Night Walker" not included) but still only appropriate for the matinée crowd or drive-in theater customers who always expected schlock when they put those strange speaker devices on their car windows.

Boy oh boy, I already was an avid William Castle fan based on all of his work that I've seen thus far (approximately six of his most commonly known achievements), but now I ought to be considered as a downright Castle GROUPIE! "Mr. Sardonicus" is probably my new favorite Castle film, as I absolutely loved the (admittedly grotesque and far-fetched) story, the supreme Gothic ambiance, the charming make- up effects and the wondrously sinister performance by Guy Rolfe. Sir Castle also distinguishes himself as a master story-teller, as the plot slowly and gradually unfolds with a great emphasis on secrecy. It is best that you don't know anything about the plot from beforehand, and then I guarantee you'll be fascinated and increasingly curious regarding the revelations and background of the titular character. Actually, it's too bad that most of the reviews and summaries promptly and blatantly reveal Mr. Sardonicus' horrible secret, because the element of surprise and "shock" are downright terrific if you don't know anything (like I did). The year is 1880 and eminent surgeon Dr. Cargrave suddenly gives up everything when he receives a letter from his former love interest Maude. She's married now and lives in the Eastern European castle of her husband; the reputedly sinister Baron Sardonicus. Maude begs for Dr. Cargrave's help in the letter, and thus he travels to her, only to learn that Sardonicus is indeed a petrifying persona… The baron explains Dr. Cargrave about the grisly events that led to him wearing a mask and then immediately blackmails him into testing some of his breakthrough medical theories on him. As stated already, the plot is quite grotesque and implausible when you contemplate about it, but first and foremost it's compelling and authentically unsettling. The tale of the lottery ticket is truly inspirational, if you ask me, and it automatically provides the film with some profound themes like greed and desecration. These are themes that you don't immediately expect in a movie directed by a showman who became famous through stuffing his low-budget horror movies with gimmicks and interaction with the public. Speaking of which, "Mr. Sardonicus" only features one gimmick, at the very end, and it's actually the dumbest and most redundant element of the entire film. This flick stands on itself, without needing the help of any kind of gimmick, thanks to atmosphere and solid scriptwriting. Many sequences, like the nightly trip to the fog-enshrouded cemetery, are sheer highlights of Gothic horror. The titular character Baron Sardonicus is, because of his looks but simply also his nihilistic attitude and vile persona, a monster that undoubtedly deserves a high ranking in the list of most villainous cinematic characters in history. Guy Rolfe gives away a splendid performance, and also the entire supportive cast is terrific, most notably Oskar Homolka as the creepy one-eyed servant Krull. Along with "Homicidal", this William Castle gem comes with my highest possible recommendation!

Mr. Sardonicus is set during 1880 & starts in London where Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) is a successful surgeon specialising in the field of paralysis, one morning Cargrave receives a letter written by his former lover Maude Randall (Audrey Dalton) who urges him to come to the European town of Gorslava in a matter of utmost importance. Cragrave leaves for Gorslava almost immediately & travels to the Castle of Maude's husband, the Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) who wears a mask that covers his entire face. Eventually Baron Sardonicus reveals his face to Cargrave who is shocked to see that he has a permanent horrifying grin because of paralysed facial muscles, Baron Sardonicus begs Cargrave to help cure him but when conventional massaging techniques fail to work Baron Sardonicus threatens the life of Maude if Cargrave does not use new experimental drugs on him & cure his horrible disfigurement...Also known simply as Sardonicus this atmospheric black and white Gothic horror film was produced & directed by William Castle & was based on the short story 'Sardonicus' by Ray Russell that originally appeared in a 1961 edition of Playboy who also wrote the screenplay here & despite the IMDb describing it as a novel Russell's original story was a mere thirty odd pages long, I know because I only read it last week (those in the UK it's one of the stories in the Pan Book of Horror Stories Volume 4) & it was that reading which made me want to find & watch this film & I am glad I did because Mr. Sardonicus is a fine film in it's own right & better than I expected. There are obvious differences like the addition of the maid & her torture, Sardonicus keeping a corpse in a locked room, the nature of Maude's punishment is different as in the film Sardonicus threatens to cut her face muscles leaving her with a horrible disfigurement while in the original written story he threatens to have forcible sex with her every night despite his hideous appearance, the lack of any mirrors is new to the film, the back-story about the lottery ticket is slightly different as Sardonicus was never previously married & he does not wear a mask at any point in the story but I suppose that works quite well in the film as his unmasking & the revealing of his true appearance is nicely built-up & pretty effective. The changes, however, are not massive & the main bulk of the story remains intact. Mr. Sardonicus is am atmospheric horror thriller that has a certain amount of originality about it, I can't remember seeing a film with a similar story that balances Gothic & psychological horror like it, at 90 minutes long Mr. Sardonicus feels shorter & the time I spent watching it flew by. The character's are good & well rounded, everything makes sense to a degree & the script just about manages to make it's audience both sympathise & despise Sardonicus.Filmed in black and white this works for Mr. Sardonicus really well with the dark dungeons, the isolated forest & it manages to hide some of the production's shortcomings. When revealed Sardonicus has a huge unnatural grin that isn't exactly scary but I don't think anyone would like to walk around permanently with it on their face so it has a certain effectiveness. The one aspect that Mr. Sardonicus could have done without is the William Castle introduction (he quotes some of the book, especially while trying to find Ghoul in the dictionary) & the silly Punishment Poll which was never a poll anyway as only one ending was ever filmed. The film would have worked fine without these unnecessary interruptions.The production values are good & Mr. Sardonicus is well made for the period, the acting is good & Guy Rolfe does a decent job considering he is stuck behind a mask for most of the film & I am sure he was cast because of his distinctive voice which sells the part.Mr. Sardonicus is a good film that was better than I was expecting, the short story is also pretty good & can recommend that. The William Castle bits are unnecessary but otherwise I was impressed.