Director: Luigi Batzella (as Paul Solvay)
Year: 1973
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Il plenilunio delle vergini; The Devil's Crypt; Full Moon of the Virgins; Possession by the Exorcism Frenzy
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Trying to prove a theory, a man travels to a remote castle in Eastern Europe looking to find a fabled ring, which leads him into the clutches of the vampire countess, looking to initiate a ceremony that will wed her and her protegee, forcing his twin brother to arrive and stop her plans.
Review:
This was a really fun and enjoyably sleazy Gothic horror outing. Among the better features of this one stems from the rightfully sleazy and likable mixture added together in a generally fun presentation. With the first half bringing about the introduction of the brothers to the castle by the one looking into the history of a fabled ring said to belong to Dracula himself, while accidentally falling under her spell and forcing the brother to come check on him, which gets caught in the same notions, is a great way to get these elements mixed together. The central setup itself is quite fun as it allows the group at the castle to target and tantalize each one separately, as the various scenes of each one exploring the castle grounds during their respective visits prompt the deluge of Gothic architecture to come to the forefront. Stone passageways, endless hallways lined with armor-plated statues, various ornate decorative objects, and secret passageways fill the space as the elaborate layout and location of the place allow this to fill in plenty of spectacular Gothic imagery.
That continues on into the stellar action, which mixes some of the sleazy activity into such a location. The various seduction scenes offering the Countess or her mute assistant coming to take on the first brother in his bedroom while he stays during the raging thunderstorm have quite a lot to like as the flowing nightgowns are torn away and the resulting frolicking provides this with ample scenes of sensual moments. The later attempts to do so with the other brother aren’t as successful, but it’s where it starts to let the more vampiric nature of the character come together with an erotic session of the Countess bathing in blood while writhing around in the tub as the blood is spilled over her naked body, the chilling sequence of the various sacrificial virgins called to the site of the black mass wedding that forms the centerpiece of the film featuring plenty of erotic content and bloodshed along the way that offers up a slew of exciting and charged sequences. These all manage to have a lot to like here.
There isn’t much keeping this one down. The main issues on display are mostly focused on the lack of explanation for anything and everything happening, as this one doesn’t have an answer for much of what happens. The initial means of the brothers finding the need to go to the castle and go through the process that they do of trying to gain entry into her world, as the whole setup is rife with the opportunity for double-cross that comes about as a means of purely setting up the kind of twist revealed later on. Other big problematic aspects include how the ceremony takes place or what’s involved, or what the finale is about, since that part itself is another big issue. It has about four or five false endings that would’ve been great and settled on the least impactful one that makes no sense, and with the series of confusing elements present that are immensely confusing as well, these all hold this one down.
Overview: ****/5
A generally fun, sleazy Gothic horror effort, there’s quite a lot to like here with only a few minor issues holding this one back, that it remains near the top of the scene in the end. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who enjoy this kind of European genre cinema in general, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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