Director: Antonio Margheriti
Year: 1964
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Danza macabre
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Upon hearing of a fabled castle, a journalist is invited to spend the night at the location as no one else has in the past, and after arriving finds a beautiful woman is living there who warns him of the dangers living inside its walls but is unprepared to face the actual terrors when confronted by them.
Review:
This was a solid and highly enjoyable Gothic genre effort. Among its better elements is the immensely creepy setup involving the cursed castle as the gentleman's agreement to bring him there into that environment works wonderfully. The subsequent arrival and journey through the castle grounds are immensely chilling, from the dead and rotting trees in the graveyard to the systemic search inside using only the candelabra for light as the dusty, decrepit location and rather obvious disuse paint a wholly effective setting here. This is wholly effective at setting up the kind of location where the later events have a plausible foundation.
Those actions are where this one works quite a number of impressive, chilling scenes. Not only is the relationship between the two girls there the source of mysterious events between them, but the actual events traveling through the castle make more sense following this conversation. The various attacks with the figures coming out of the shadows to impart this own version of events regarding how they died in the past get really enjoyable once that begins happening as the Gothic melodrama during this section gives way to horror incredibly well with the finely-staged attack scenes that he's helpless to stop.
Moreover, those attacks are merely setting the stage for the superb Gothic-laden finale where the ghosts and spirits make their ploy known and spring into action. With the big reveal about the final ghost and his purpose connecting to the frantic series of chases and encounters to be featured here, there are some fin chills to be had especially in the gloomy crypts where the real action takes place. The romance angle that comes into play is highly enjoyable and gives off a nice touch as the series of obstacles that come into play here due to that truly affect the atmospheric touches in fine form, and with some delicate effects-work give this one plenty to enjoy.
There are some issues with this one. One of the biggest issues is the wholly underwhelming tempo and pacing on display, especially in the mid-section where this one drops what it's doing to explain the plot. The introduction of so many characters out of nowhere and seemingly disparate rules about their actions and appearance are all laid out to the detriment of any on-screen action as hardly anything happens. The lack of action featured is a real drag with the slowed tempo resorting to a string of scenes featuring him reacting to reenactments which aren't that impact, but with a rushed finale are all that holds this one down.
Overview: **
A superb entertaining and oftentimes chilling ghost story, this one manages quite a lot to like even with the tempo and pacing issues holding this one back. See it immediately if you're a fan of these European or even Italian Gothic horror efforts, a fan of the creative crew or just intrigued in general, while those that aren't into this style should heed caution.
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