ryan-10075 Christopher Lee plays Welsh Judge Jeffries (who was in fact a real judge back in the 17th Century in England) in this Jesus Franco directed horror-biography from 1970. He has known as "The Hanging Judge" and would convict with a heavy strike from his gavel. Lee does quite a fine job in the lead role and almost all on his own leans me toward recommending this one, but alas it is close, but no cigar on this one. As I mentioned earlier directed by the late Jesus Franco and over his career I would commend him on the amount of work he ended up directed and writing, even though at the time of writing this review I have seen 3 of his pictures and none of them I really liked or would recommend to anyone. This one was the best as his I have seen to date. The personal problem I had with this movie was at times (always happens when Lee was not on screen) I would get bored. It became too talky and not enough action for me. Although to me the 3rd act was the best and does pick up, but wasn't enough for me.

Scott LeBrun Sir Christopher Lee is excellent in this period drama from legendary cult filmmaker Jess Franco. The setting is 17th century England, during a period of civil unrest. Lee stars as Judge George Jeffreys, a harsh and unforgiving character who tries various unfortunate people for such things as witchcraft and treason. He shows no favoritism, even going after Harry Selton (Hans Hass Jr.), the son of his associate Lord Wessex (Leo Genn), and Harry's beloved, Mary Gray (Maria Rohm). It's all in the name of indulging his political ambitions and sexual desires.Some Jess Franco fans will end up less than satisfied, as this isn't as utterly sleazy as much of Francos' 1970s output. Have no fear, though: there are a couple of torture scenes (albeit not nearly as graphic as what we would see today), a bit of female nudity, and one memorable scene of depravity. In this viewers' own humble opinion, this can rank right up there with Francos' best, as this is a slick and meticulous film, with fine production values, decent action scenes, and an exemplary cast. Considering its themes, it would make a fine companion piece with Michael Reeves' "Witchfinder General".Lee may not be playing a very nice guy, but he's extremely commanding as always, and we even get to hear some of Jeffreys' inner monologue, as he decides that the ends are justifying his means. The always wonderful Genn (who replaced Dennis Price) provides indelible support. Franco regular Howard Vernon, Milo Quesada, Margaret Lee, and Pietro Martellanza all help to add gravitas to the proceedings. And the ladies are quite lovely to look at, especially Rohm (another frequent player in the Franco filmography).This might not be to every Franco fans' tastes, but if one doesn't care too much for his trashier output, they're advised to seek this one out. The alternate title, "Night of the Blood Monster", does it no favors, as it makes it sound like it's a horror film, which it really is not.Eight out of 10.

gavin6942 George Jeffreys (Christopher Lee) is the hanging judge under James II during the 1680s... he was a personally vengeful man.This is apparently Jess Franco's answer to "Witchfinder General". Both this film and that one seem to focus on historical figures and then twisting them to have a witch/horror theme, with a lusty undertone. Witchfinder was based on an actual witchfinder... but I am not sure how much the real Judge Jeffreys dealt with witchcraft.Anyway, always nice to see Christopher Lee in a sinister, menacing role. And with great power! I found his lecherous tendencies a bit disturbing -- not surprising for the character, but seemed to me to be beneath the classy presentation we normally see from Lee. (But certainly not beneath Franco!)

Jens-28 First of all, "Night Of The Blood Monster", is a stupid and misleading title. "Bloody Judge" is exactly what the excellent Christopher Lee portraits in this big budget (yeah, Jess Franco with money!?!) witch hunting flick. The plot is almost the same as "Mark Of The Devil" and "Witchfinder General", also from that period. It's beautifully shot and filled with impressive battle scenes and lots of politics (based on a true story!). If you see the uncut LBX version you'll get a sleaze-o-rama of torture, nudity, whipping etc. Franco regular Howard Vernon is over-the-top as the chief torturer (made me think of Marty Feldman in "Young Frankenstein"!). Franco and Lee should be proud of this film, think of that when you're watching Franco-bombs like "Golden Temple Amazons" and "Man Hunter". Vintage Euro-horror at it's best!