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Rating:  -
I originally saw this movie as a boy at the old Rialto Theatre as part of a Saturday afternoon matinee triple bill which also featured Vincent Price's "Last Man on Earth" and Mario Bava's "Nightmare Castle." I had nightmares about blood lusting ghosts for a week afterwards! Though I didn't know it then, all three movies would prove to be classics of the genre. No wonder I was so scared! Though all three films frightened me, it was Castle of Blood that had the most profound impact.
It was the first on the bill. I didn't even get to see it from the beginning as we were late getting to the cinema and missed the first 20 minutes of the movie. That's lot to miss since the edited print only ran about 79 minutes (the unedited runs 87minutes). But despite this, the dark creepy atmosphere (complete with ruined castles, fog enshrouded cemeteries, shadows and cobwebs), Gothic set design, strong acting, and suspense (especially the last 20 minutes) scared the bejeepers out of me and made a lasting impression
It took me years to finally get a copy of the film for my collection. Since it was a French - Italian import, it wasn't a movie that showed up on the late show in Winnipeg. I couldn't quite remember the title (remember I didn't get to seen the beginning of the film and was scared witless), and to make matters worse, the film had been released under literally a dozen different movie titles (aka Danze Macabre, Coffin of Terror, Castle of Terror, Long Night of Terror, etc...) and the USA/UK working title "Castle of Blood" was very generic, similar to dozens of other "b" horror and suspense films, making it illusive. But thanks to the internet and perseverance, I found it at last!
What a treat to finally watch the film in its entirety after so many years! It may not have had quite the sheer emotional impact that it did when I was a boy, but as haunted house movies go, it's stands up well and compares favourably to similar iconic films of the period such as "The Haunting," "The Innocents" or "Black Sunday,"
The film is a fine early effort of Italian director Antonio Margheriti. It stars 60's scream queen icon Barbara Steele and features a well written screenplay by Sergio Corbucci about a sceptical writer (Georges Riviere) who, on a bet, spends the night in haunted house and unsuspectingly becomes part of an annual ongoing ghostly story. The hypnotic Steele is well cast as the ghostly love interest - as is Arturo Dominici as Dr. Carmus, and Margarete Robsahm as Julia.
Many of the tricks Margheriti employs to create the film's eerie atmosphere (cobwebs, creaking doors, fog, etc) are bound to seem cliché to a modern audience, but they work far more effectively in black and white than they ever could in modern day colour. Rather than using body counts and special effects, the film creates scares the old fashion way, relying on a good story, stylish direction, fine set production, interesting camera work, and strong acting performances. Margheriti does a marvellous job taking these elements and building the film's suspense as the horrifying paranormal secret of the house gradually reveals itself to the unwitting writer.
The film is not without faults. The pace drags at the beginning of the film (ironically, the 20 minutes I originally missed). This is probably worsened by Synapse films effort to restore the film to its original length. Though fans will likely appreciate the chance to see the film restored - in terms of the intro - it may have been more of hindrance than a help. The English voice dubs are merely passable and, in the restored scenes, the language shifts from English to French (English subtitles provided) which is sure to be annoying to some viewers.
However, Synapse Films deserves kudos for the quality of the print. Clearly some effort was put into its restoration and deservedly so.
I enjoyed the film immensely and highly recommend it to aficionados of 60's Italian Goth films, or anyone who enjoys a good ghost story.
Rob Rheubottom
Winnipeg, MB Canada
Rating:  -
Quick delivery - but what a snore fest. It was better 20 some-odd years ago when I first saw it. Not so scary any more.
Rating:  -
Most of the other reviews are spot-on. This is just a fun archetype mid-60's Italian Eurogoth pic - soaked in atmosphere, perfect for a dark rainy night. Barbara Steele, of course, is at her finest, and there's the requisite brooding (and beautiful) black and white cinematography, creepy portraits, candelabras, graveyards, harpsichord music, foggy cemeteries, dreamy echo-y harp intermezzos, ghosts, crypts, bad dubbing with familiar voices, cobwebs, black cats, it's all there in one entertaining and surreal package. As an added bonus, a touch of lesbianism and some brief but tasteful nudity. Remember, this one was European.
I give it five stars because films like this, sadly, will never be made again. In an era when extreme and graphic sadism passes for "horror" and such films confuse "unsettling" their audience with frightening them, I appreciate, more and more, the kinder, gentler, more creative, and more atmospheric, and entertaining era of "old school" black and white horror genre - especially the 60's European goth stuff... and especially those films featuring the beautiful Barbara Steele. Great fun.
Rating: -
It is one of the most beautiful horror based on a great Barbnara Steel
interpretatio
Rating: -
You could say that "Castle of Blood" is based on the best story Edgar Allan Poe never wrote -- despite what the opening credits say, I cannot find any Poe story called "Danse Macabre."
But despite that, this vintage horror movie is still quite entertaining as a Gothic tragic romance. It suffers from a rather thin plot, but makes up for it by soaking the entire story in atmosphere -- lots of dungeons, coffins, crazed murders, cobwebby corridors, and vampiric ghosts. A danse macabre indeed.
Edgar Allan Poe (Silvano Tranquilli) is on a visit to England, telling a gruesome story to his friend Lord Blackwood. A cocky journalist, Alan Foster (Georges Rivière) is there to interview him, but he ends up taking a wager from Blackwood -- to disprove the supernatural, he'll spend the night of November 2nd (All Souls' Day) in Blackwood's haunted castle.
The castle turns out to be as creepy as expected, but not as abandoned -- Alan meets the beautiful Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), and falls for her despite the fact that she's... well, dead. As the night goes on (with the help of the local wacky scientist), Alan sees the tragedies that led to her death, and those of the other ghosts who drift through the place. But he doesn't realize that the ghosts have plans for him too...
"Castle of Blood" was one of those beautifully decadent-looking Eurohorror movies, full of sumptuous atmosphere and genuinely creepy ghosts. It seems slow by modern standards, especially since there isn't anything jumping out or gratuitous gore'n'guts.
The plot itself is rather thin, with a contrived love story (they fall in eternal love in five minutes!). But who cares? That plot is substantial enough to carry all this atmosphere -- creepy, ghastly atmosphere, peppered with the occasional gruesome murder or flashback to parties. The castle itself seems like a dead rotted thing, covered in cobwebs and dust.
And the story picks up substantially in the second half, when Alan finds out what made all these ghosts in the first place (it involves stabbing, bludgeoning, and lesbian groping). Then director Antonio Margheriti throws a deliciously gruesome plot twist into the story, which elevates it from a ghost story to real, bloodthirsty horror.
Riviera is the one weak link in this movie's cast; his Alan is so smug and stiff that it's hard to care what happens to him. Instead, the good performances are provided by the dead: Steele as the frightened ghostly waif, Margarete Robsahm as her chilly maid, and Arturo Dominici as the most sedate horror scientist ever. Tranquilli also gets a nod for his solid cameo as Poe.
"Castle of Blood" is short on plot, but miles long on atmosphere. And it turns out that it's all this vintage horror movie needs -- nasty ghosts, sumptuous decay and a giant castle.
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