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Directed
by Antonio Margheriti (Cannibal Apocalypse) and co-written
by Sergio Corbucci (Django, The Great Silence),
you'd think that Castle of Blood would be an action packed thrill ride
of a film, when in reality, it's a slow and dreamlike trip highlighted
by the amazing screen presence of Barbara Steele, one of the most
captivating sirens in all of horror history.
The story revolves around Alan Foster, a not so famous journalist who,
after interviewing Edgar Allan Poe, makes a wager with his friend, Sir
Thomas Blackwood, that he cannot spend one night in his family's haunted
castle. Foster accepts, and it's off to Castle Blackwood for him, where
over the course of the night he encounters the ghostly inhabitants of
the old building, and eventually falls head over heels in love with
Elisabeth, the lovely and unfortunately, dead sister of Sir Thomas.
Less about plot and more about atmosphere, the movie moves at a slow and
dreamlike pace, with a lot of long and lingering camera movements full
of creepy and creaky old set pieces and populated with melodramatic
characters. The most obvious comparison for the movie is Mario Bava’s Black
Sunday, and while there are certainly a few similarities, Castle
of Blood isn’t really that close in any other regard than the
fact that the two films have Ms. Steele in a lead role.
While
not really a good film as a Poe adaptation, Castle of Blood
is still a
great gothic horror film with a wonderful cast and some of the best
atmospheric camera work to come out of 1960s Italy.
Not recommended for those who need countless amounts of gore or action
to keep a movie interesting, but for those who appreciate atmospheric
chills and nightmarish visuals, there is more than enough to appreciate.
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