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!

Rico Aversi(Christopher Mitchum)is the son of a murdered mafia chief,who is slowly engulfed by a world of forgery and drugs in order to avenge his father's slaying.His adversary,Don Vito(an excellent Arthur Kennedy,who never achieved the recognition he deserved),is cruel,vicious and has years of gangland experience on his side.Here is a battle of wits,blood and violence that ends in a powerful and dramatic climax."Mean Machine" is a memorable Italian crime thriller.It has wall-to-wall nudity(supplied by Malisa Longo and Barbara Bouchet),plenty of gunplay and some nasty bits of gore for example the castration scene.The film is pretty hard to find,but you should search for it.My rating:7 out of 10.

Whoo-hoo, what a film! This film is lots of fun. Of course not in the masterpiece kind of way. Tulio Demicheli's "The Mean Machine" is a pretty bad flick indeedy. But it's such a perfect example of Euro-Trash, that I felt someone had to mention it. First off, it has Christopher Mitchum (where else can an a major actor's son find work? In Italy of course!) giving such a wooden performance, that my roomate mearly rolled his eyes, snickered, and walked out of the room shaking his head (c'mon Tony, you know you did). Christopher with his Dad's droopy eyes just stares off with that same blank expression through out the entire film. Of course he must have known it was a pretty bad script, so I won't fault him too much (I haven't seen his other artistic efforts). But it really cracked me up that on the video box there was this drawing of him looking handsome and muscular, which he definately is not. He was pretty wimpy looking, and evertime he tried to give a macho pose, or flex his authority, I nearly laughed myself silly. Though I excuse all of this, because the real reason I rented this flick was because of the wonderful and beautiful Barbara Bouchet! And this film delivers! She does this great little strip dance in front of these gangsters in a car, right before Chris (Rico the "Mean Machine") throws them into a lake! It's so funny, that Italy will take any oppertunity they can to show off Barbara's attributes. Of course it gratuitous, but it's just too much fun! And of course even after the big ambush, Chris looks to Barbara and she's still has no clothes on. She's having a good time tackling gangsters in the nude! Well, at least Barbara looks to be having fun. Another Euro-babe favourite Malisa Longo (as Chris' ex-girlfriend)also likes to spend her time flirting with Bodygaurds and sitting around in the buff. But unfortunately she meets with a very grizzly end, and becomes the film's sacrificial lamb (what else was gonna come of her character? Chris Mitchum was now with Barbara Bouchet.) in a tub of Acid! This film contains all the unnecessary violence (gory stuff as well), nudity (lots of it), macho posturing (Chris' Ricco is not opposed to giving a lady a smack if she's not behaving), and crummy acting that 70's Italian cinema is so famous for. Would I recommend it? Hardly! Did I laugh my fool head off? Yep! After this review, I'll let the reader make their own call. Barbara Bouchet is amazing!

If you have ever seen the title "Cauldron of Death" in your horror section, and it has the same cover or close to it as what's seen on this page, you are in for a definite surprise!This is actually a very well made crime/revenge flick starring Chris Mitchum as Ricco. Who upon release from prison delves back into the underworld to seek revenge for his Mafia Chief fathers murder.A great soundtrack and a hell wad of violence makes this a real winner for Italo/Crime buffs