Christopher Lee is almost always worth a look, but this "Fu Manchu" entry (his fifth and final round in the titular role) isn't worthy of Lee...nor any self-respecting actor. International mishmash via Italy, Spain, West Germany and the UK sounds as bad as it looks, with perilous fiend Fu Manchu and his evil daughter terrorizing the planet with an Opium-fueled device that is able to freeze the world's oceans. Never mind political correctness, this chaotic, poorly-dubbed movie is a real shambles, loaded down with stock footage. Unintentionally funny when it isn't deadly dull. * from ****

The fifth and final of Christopher Lee's Fu-Manchu outings – a planned sixth film was cancelled due to its overwhelmingly poor critical and commercial reception - and the second to be directed by schlockmeister Jess Franco. Played as a parody, 'Castle' might actually have been quite fun. Fu-Manchu is essentially reduced to a poor knock-off of a Blofeld (though I'm not sure he was ever much else). Lee actually brings his A-game here, having phoned it in previously in the series, lifting the ludicrous dialogue to the point where it's almost palatable, but everything else about the film seems to be mocking itself without knowing it. The production design is so camp it makes The Ipcress File look like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. The action and violence is again tepid and clumsy (lest we forgot this is a Jess Franco film) and the plot manages to be confusing in spite of being threadbare. There are some babes thrown in, but this is a PG movie so, again, Franco fans expecting anything resembling titillation will be thoroughly disappointed. Unlike its predecessor, which is by far the more insipid and dreary of the two, 'Castle' has a handful of things going for it. One is Jess Franco in a supporting role, wearing a fez and dubbed to sound like… I don't really know. The score is totally derivative but actually rather nice. The wacky production design and multi-coloured fluorescent lighting add a lot of hammy fun. The attempt at seamless in-scene cutting between the various, disparate filming locations is endlessly amusing. Some of the dialogue is hilariously quotable, and played to the hilt by everyone involved. Frankly, though, the two high points of the show are the sizeable inserts from A Night To Remember and Campbell's Kingdom. While definitely a cut above its predecessor in some ways, I'm still struggling to give this any kind of recommendation.

Final outing in Fu Manchu-Christopher Lee series set in Turkey and based on Sax Rohmer's characters . Christopher Lee returns in this fifth chapter as the evil genius Fu Manchu who doesn't give up easily, and is out to destroy world or bent on conquering it . This time has designed a fantastic gadget to fleece water on oceans and he threatens world leaders by forcing a ransom . The baddies are Jose Luis Martin a Spanish actor usually playing the villain-role in Spaghetti Western and Christopher Lee, as always acting as a magnificent evil-doer . Nayland Smith-Richard Greene his perennial adversary and arch-nemesis takes the center of attention when is assigned the dangerous mission . Howard Marion Crawford of Britain's Home Office is the assistant of Nayland Smith , a Watson-alike . And of course, the Fu Manchu's daughter , habitually played by T Sai Chin, acting perfectly as a nasty murderous.At the film there are action, adventures, thrills, sadism and exotic outdoors filmed in Estudios Cinematográficos Balcázar (Spanish producers are Alfonso and Jaime Jesus Balcazar), Esplugues De Llobregat, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain (studio), Istanbul, Turkey and Parque Güell, Parque De Ciutdadella , Barcelona , Cataluña , Spain.Fifth in Christopher Lee's Manchu series several pegs below his predecessors ; it is a bizarre blending of adventures, thriller and action with low budget . This exciting picture is full of Chinese killers , British adventurers, and nasty drug dealers . Weak performance by Richard Greene working below capabilities as Nyland Smith who in former episodes was best interpreted by Nigel Green , and Douglas Wilmer . The villain T Sai Chin stand out as Fu Manchu's daughter named Li Tang and the smuggler Jose Luis Martin overacting as an ominous bandit , furthermore turns up Burt Kwouk, Pink Panther-Sellers series's usual , in a brief appearance . The beautiful girls are two Eurotrash Goddeses as Maria Perschy and Rosalba Neri . This is the second collaboration between Jesus Franco and the producer Harry Alan Towers ( producer of the Fu Manchu's five movies ) and to be continued in several films . Well photographed by Manuel Merino , being recently fine remastering , though previous versions were awfully photographed.Most critics felt this outing was one of the weakest entries along with ¨The blood of Fu Manchu¨ also directed by Jess Frank with similar casting , plenty of stock-shots , zooms and a Z-series style . The best installments were ¨Face of Fu Manchu(1965, Don Sharp)¨, and ¨Brides of Fu Manch( 1966, Don Sharp)¨ and the inferior ¨Vengeance of Fu Manchu(1967) . Only for completist , the outcome is one of the worst Fu Manchu movie ever made . Rating : Bottom of barrel , below average .

I was glad when the film was over…and, correct me if I'm wrong, but that can't really be the point now, can it? Christopher Lee is a true icon of horror cinema but his name equally is inevitably linked to a couple real stinkers, and this "Castle of Fu Manchu" is without a doubt the smelliest one! The previous Fu Manchu installment (also directed by Jess Franco) already was a dire film but this one is even worse! Franco makes the exact same mistakes here as in did in "The Blood of Fu Manchu": far too many characters, too much wannabe-intelligent nonsense and an enormous lack of action. This time, the evil Chinese criminal attempts to realize his pretty retarded dream of world domination by turning ocean water into ice. He therefore kidnapped a brilliant scientist who developed a formula, but the poor guy suffers from a heart disease so Fu has to kidnap another scientist in order to perform the world's first heart-transplant! Meanwhile, good old Nayland Smith starts to chase his nemesis, as well as a powerful community of Istanbul opium-addicts! The screenplay is incredibly dumb and the film contains some of the cheesiest moments in history. Like the ludicrous intro in which Fu makes an enormous Caribbean cruise-ship sink to the bottom of the South Atlantic Ocean. If I didn't know any better, I would think that Franco rips off "Titanic" 30 years before it was made! The acting is weak (poor Christopher is very uninterested), there's no sleaze and not even a bit of humor. Jess Franco honored himself by playing an insignificant supporting role while he can't even handle the directing properly. This film is so bad that even the exhilarating-sounding titles are fake! The Castle of Fu Manchu?? Technically, it's not even his castle! And what about "The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu"?? Did anyone see a torture device? I sure didn't… Avoid this one at all costs!