Director: Camillo Mastrocinque (as Thomas Miller)
Year: 1964
Country: Italy/Spain
Alternate Titles: La cripta e l'incubo; Crypt of the Vampire
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Arriving at a friend’s castle, a man discovers he’s been called out by a friend to look after his daughter with the belief that she’s becoming influenced by a witch returning from the dead to carry out a devastating curse, and as he continues his work finds the deadly secret at the center of everything.
Review:
This was a fairly impressive and enjoyable Gothic horror outing. Among the better features within this one is the massively enjoyable setup that allows this one to wrap itself up in the confines of the Gothic horror trappings rather effectively. Going with the all-too-familiar route of a stranger arriving at a remote castle in the countryside to deal with the instructions from a friend who urges him to look into a strange series of experiences with his daughter, the eventual uncovering of a centuries-long curse by an ancestor claimed to be a witch and burned alive for it starts to get the story going rather solidly. With a flashback to the whole proceedings giving this a proper context while also getting to see the sneaking around going on in the background of the castle that paints the guilty party as the actual perpetrators of the whole thing, there’s a lot to like here in getting the film going with a proper starting point for the later madness to follow.
That sets up the kind of interactions here that bring about the kind of stellar dynamics and interpersonal rivalries that make for great Gothic horror standouts. As we’re already aware of the helper trying to help the curse come to fruition against the Count’s back and the discovery into the family history starting up, there’s a strong series of work here featuring the family trying not to get in each other’s faces over mistakes or misunderstandings while the evil duo plot their revenge in the meantime. With this part bringing along fantastic Gothic imagery in the curse scenes where the nightgown-clad figure roams the billowing hallways of the castle or travels along hidden passageways through candle-lit rooms, it completes the picture incredibly well at capturing an authentically mysterious and chilling atmosphere to help make the possession scenes feel more impactful.
The second half here takes this fine setup and brings about more of a solid retelling of the novel as the incorporation of vampiric elements into the Gothic horror setup brings about plenty of fun. Realizing that there’s a potential discovery to the curse with the proof of the fabled painting that will hopefully put an end to everything by explaining the incidents and accidents around the castle and surrounding areas that are also affected by everything taking place which starts up some duplicitous means to get everything in motion leading to a strong and somewhat shocking climax that has a lot to like with it’s more fervent action and sparkling Gothic atmosphere involving descending into underground crypts, dramatic reveals, and a fun outcome. This is the only issue here where it’s a bit too long to get spelled out and get going with the main part of the storyline, which doesn’t do much overall but stands out as the lone drawback.
Overview: ****/5
A generally fun Gothic horror effort, there’s quite a lot going on in this one that manages to hold itself up as the minor flaws here are barely that detrimental in the long run. Give this a shot if you’re an ardent Eurohorror fanatic, appreciate Gothic genre fare in general, or are curious about it while most others out there should heed caution with it.
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