Director: Vincente Aranda
Year: 1972
Country: Spain
Alternate Titles: La novia ensangrentada; Till Death Do Us Part; Blood Castle
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Arriving for their honeymoon, a couple trying to enjoy their romantic relationship together are pulled apart when the wife falls under the spell of a mysterious figure rumored to be the descendant of a long-dead countess in the area, and when the true threat is revealed must save his wife’s soul.
Review:
This was a fairly strong sleazy Gothic Horror effort. Among the better aspects of this one is the impressive central setup that sets everything in motion, with quite a lot to like about it. The fact that this gives us the familiar setup of the married couple looking for a little fun and sleazy antics to take place while on their honeymoon and find themselves getting pulled apart by the influence of the strange figure rumored to be walking the castle grounds, means this one can work through some familiar elements. The initial setup allows us to see the nature of their relationship, with him being far more intent on getting her into bed and the reluctance on her end to partake in the activity, which puts a big strain on everything they do, creating a perfect environment for the attempts to undermine everything about them so that she can romance and seduce the wife.
This is accomplished through a fantastic retelling of the main novella, involving the seduction attempts going through some familiar ground. Taking the form of someone who’s only visible in dreams and nightmares that are dismissed as the realization of frayed nerves doing their job to stress her out, the continued visits and interactions they have together soon become evidence of something happening once the physical indications of something having happened to her become apparent. The nighttime visitations, blood-drinking sessions, and even the murderous inclinations she acts out when they’re together provide a lot of fun as well, setting up the plotline rather well to the point that there’s something dark and ominous hinted at, leading into the finale when the dreams become real. Getting to see the figure haunting her dreams come to life, with the mysterious visitor taking over the relationship, brings about a fiery conclusion, and with the film containing the sleazy nudity and cheap gore present in the genre makes for a fun time.
There isn’t much holding this one down, but it does have a few issues. The main factor with this one is a sluggish tempo in the second half that tends to undo some of the fun of the first half by keeping the seductive vampire off-screen for most of the segment. By keeping her as a figment of his wife’s imagination and sexually frustrated sentimentalities and only being brought out quite late in the game, the temptation scenes and other encounters going through the motions of setting everything in motion are repeated often enough to be repetitive and bland. It also means this one rushes through the explanations of everything, as they tend to accept what’s going on rather quickly, so that there’s not much about buying what’s going on as being in the slightest realistic, as it doesn’t have the time needed to let him buy into the situation. These come together to a point that holds it back just enough overall.
Overview: ****/5
One of the better Gothic horror efforts in the style, this one comes together rather well with a lot of fun aspects and not much in the way of detrimental flaws, keeping it near the top of the queue in the genre. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre feature or who are curious about it will have a lot to like here, while most others might want to heed caution.
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