Director: Alfredo Rizzo
Year: 1975
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: La sanguisuga conduce la danza; The Passion of Evelyn; The Leaches Lead the Dance
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
About to close for good, a group of theater performers is invited out to an appreciative Count's castle, only to find themselves subjected to a family curse about women being beheaded, which comes to pass once again when the guests suddenly start turning up dead the longer they stay.
Review:
This here was quite a decent, if somewhat bland, semi-slasher effort. One of the few things this one does get right is the absolutely stellar Gothic imagery, as there's almost more at play here in that regard than there is in terms of it being a slasher. Taking place during the turn of the century and at a glorious, splendid castle, it fits more at home with the tales of the Corman/Price/Poe films of the decade previous, where its Gothic majesty in the setting and locations gives off that same style and feel quite readily here. Once it brings up the cursed plotline and the family history involving the adulterous relatives repeating themselves, it causes this one to really sell that kind of feel and tone for that movement quite easily, with the collection of shifty, untrusted staff around the castle, the realization about her being the long-lost wife’s resemblance to her helps to make everything here feel even more connected to the genre.
Once it turns into a somewhat slasher effort later on, the setting of this giant castle makes for some pretty suspenseful times that play far more in line with the supernatural than an actual murder mystery which takes on that kind of classic feel with the way the body count is found throughout here in the later stages strewn throughout the castle in bloody manners strewn in here at quite regular intervals during the final half. Alongside this is a rather healthy dose of nudity from the girls, where it shows them undressing and indulging in some fondling for each other, which manages to add a different feel to the Gothic atmosphere by going to far sleazier levels than those ever could've done. The sheer volume of these scenes, from romantic lesbian couplings to traditional hook-ups and even just random dressing and changing scenes, helps to enhance the sleaze quotient far more alongside the few shocking reveals for the kills that appear here.
Still, even with all this fun stuff, there are some problems. One of the main issues here is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of action transpiring for long sections of the film's running time. The first murder doesn't occur until nearly an hour into it, so the rest of the time is spent with it really just dragging out, with the group being recruited towards going to the castle and then the staff's reaction towards them, which not only gets dragged out but isn't all that original or creative, which really strikes this down somewhat more. There's even more here lowering this one when it comes to the final rampage, where it keeps most of the deaths off-screen and then stumbling upon the bodies later, which carries on for nearly all the remaining kills here and does bring this one down somewhat, though it's mostly the other issue that stops this one.
Overview: **.5/5
A slightly flawed but highly enjoyable Gothic chiller, this one works with some intriguing ideas and has some enjoyable elements that are brought down quite heavily by the flaws on display. Those with an appreciation for this kind of Gothic horror trappings, who enjoy this era of Eurohorror features, 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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