We start out, much like the victims of the Inquisition, with the introduction to the principle instrument of medieval pain, the rack.

As Dr. Aziz explains, the rack was designed to stretch the victim’s body until the joints popped loose from the sockets, rupturing tendons. Such a technique was slow, excruciatingly painful, and could be controlled by the Inquisitor. If a person was reluctant to confess, the rack made a nice platform for the introduction of additional tortures, such as burning with a hot iron and piercing the body with needles and spikes, often in the victim’s most sensitive areas.

When it comes to demonstrating the tortures, History of Pain doesn't hold back. We see it all, often very intensely. In fact, “intense” is a word I would use to describe this entire film. Burning a hand with hot coals, burning a leg with a hot iron, branding a witches’ left tit… we see it all. For a picture on a budget, the special effects are very well done.

One of the more intense scenes is the breast and pussy whipping of Roxanne. This comes about mid-way through the film and lasts a good ten or so minutes as she’s stretched across the rack and whipped first across her tits and then across her hips. With each blow, she bounces and cries and tugs at the ropes holding her fast to the windlass of the rack. Each strike is clearly seen as the whip carries away the grime of her captivity and soon replaces it with an angry red welt. This shot is early in her whipping. It gets worse.

After she’s been broken, her spirit crushed, she confesses her sins and is stretched across the axle of the rack’s windlass for her final punishment. She’s forced to watch as the branding iron is heated red-hot, in preparation for marking her soft skin.

Next up is Giuletta, whom you may remember as the executioner in The Milgram Experiment 2. Here she takes a turn as a submissive victim of the Inquisition. She’s stretched facing the windlass, exposing her back for a whipping. She cries and pulls at the ropes holding her fast as the whip lashes her skin, until her body can't handle the agony anymore and she succumbs to the soft darkness of unconsciousness.

But it is only a brief respite from her pain. Her limp body is stretched higher across the windlass, raising her hips and presenting her ass to the Inquisitor. A bucket of water revives her and she receives a thorough ass whipping. This shot is early in her abuse, and you can tell by the welts that her whipping is very much real. This is the grand finale of the film, and certainly does a good job of closing out the action of the movie.

But there’s more.

As a treat for GIMP fans, there are two interviews at the end of the film, taken right after the actresses were released from the rack. The first is Giuletta, who is almost crying hysterically from her mistreatment. The second interview is with Roxanne, who has handled her scenes like a real professional. Listening to her answers to the fans’ questions almost makes you feel sorry for the cruelties exacted upon her body. Almost. When she makes the mistake of telling us what hurts the most, the interviewer says that he'll be sure to include that in the next film. The look on her face is priceless. I won't show it here because I believe you should get a surprise in a film to make it worth your money, and this can be it.

So did I like the film? Heck ya! In terms of what we know about medieval tortures, this hits the spot. Sure, there were more instruments available to the well-heeled Inquisitor – the Iron Maiden, the brank, chastity belts, the Pear to name a few – but that would escalate costs to the point that a film like this probably wouldn't be made without outside financing, which would require big-name stars, which would guarantee that most of what is in this film wouldn't survive the MPAA censors. With that in mind, don't worry about what’s not in here, just enjoy what is, and what this film does well is capture the ambiance of dread and doom nicely and give us what we want in the way of stretching, burning, piercing, and whipping. Oh yes, lots of whipping.