Castle of Blood (1964)

When American author Edgar Allan Poe visits London, he is approached by British journalist Alan Foster, who becomes the target of a peculiar wager. Not believing Poe's assertion that all of his macabre stories have been based on actual experience, Foster accepts a bet from Poe and his friend Sir Thomas Blackwood that he cannot spend an entire night in the Blackwood's haunted castle. Once installed in the abandoned castle, Foster discovers that he is not alone, as he is approached by various beautiful women and handsome men, and a doctor of metaphysics -- who explains that they are all lost souls damned to replay the stories of their demises on the anniversary of their deaths!

Castle of Blood

Quick delivery - but what a snore fest. It was better 20 some-odd years ago when I first saw it. Not so scary any more. November 7, 2007

Ditto

Most of the other reviews are spot-on. This is just a fun archetype mid-60's Italian Eurogoth pic - soaked in atmosphere, perfect for a dark rainy night. Barbara Steele, of course, is at her finest, and there's the requisite brooding (and beautiful) black and white cinematography, creepy portraits, candelabras, graveyards, harpsichord music, foggy cemeteries, dreamy echo-y harp intermezzos, ghosts, crypts, bad dubbing with familiar voices, cobwebs, black cats, it's all there in one entertaining and surreal package. As an added bonus, a touch of lesbianism and some brief but tasteful nudity. Remember, this one was European.

I give it five stars because films like this, sadly, will never be made again. In an era when extreme and graphic sadism passes for "horror" and such films confuse "unsettling" their audience with frightening them, I appreciate, more and more, the kinder, gentler, more creative, and more atmospheric, and entertaining era of "old school" black and white horror genre - especially the 60's European goth stuff... and especially those films featuring the beautiful Barbara Steele. Great fun. August 5, 2007

castle of blodd

It is one of the most beautiful horror based on a great Barbnara Steel
interpretatio March 9, 2007

Bloody castle

You could say that "Castle of Blood" is based on the best story Edgar Allan Poe never wrote -- despite what the opening credits say, I cannot find any Poe story called "Danse Macabre."

But despite that, this vintage horror movie is still quite entertaining as a Gothic tragic romance. It suffers from a rather thin plot, but makes up for it by soaking the entire story in atmosphere -- lots of dungeons, coffins, crazed murders, cobwebby corridors, and vampiric ghosts. A danse macabre indeed.

Edgar Allan Poe (Silvano Tranquilli) is on a visit to England, telling a gruesome story to his friend Lord Blackwood. A cocky journalist, Alan Foster (Georges Rivière) is there to interview him, but he ends up taking a wager from Blackwood -- to disprove the supernatural, he'll spend the night of November 2nd (All Souls' Day) in Blackwood's haunted castle.

The castle turns out to be as creepy as expected, but not as abandoned -- Alan meets the beautiful Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), and falls for her despite the fact that she's... well, dead. As the night goes on (with the help of the local wacky scientist), Alan sees the tragedies that led to her death, and those of the other ghosts who drift through the place. But he doesn't realize that the ghosts have plans for him too...

"Castle of Blood" was one of those beautifully decadent-looking Eurohorror movies, full of sumptuous atmosphere and genuinely creepy ghosts. It seems slow by modern standards, especially since there isn't anything jumping out or gratuitous gore'n'guts.

The plot itself is rather thin, with a contrived love story (they fall in eternal love in five minutes!). But who cares? That plot is substantial enough to carry all this atmosphere -- creepy, ghastly atmosphere, peppered with the occasional gruesome murder or flashback to parties. The castle itself seems like a dead rotted thing, covered in cobwebs and dust.

And the story picks up substantially in the second half, when Alan finds out what made all these ghosts in the first place (it involves stabbing, bludgeoning, and lesbian groping). Then director Antonio Margheriti throws a deliciously gruesome plot twist into the story, which elevates it from a ghost story to real, bloodthirsty horror.

Riviera is the one weak link in this movie's cast; his Alan is so smug and stiff that it's hard to care what happens to him. Instead, the good performances are provided by the dead: Steele as the frightened ghostly waif, Margarete Robsahm as her chilly maid, and Arturo Dominici as the most sedate horror scientist ever. Tranquilli also gets a nod for his solid cameo as Poe.

"Castle of Blood" is short on plot, but miles long on atmosphere. And it turns out that it's all this vintage horror movie needs -- nasty ghosts, sumptuous decay and a giant castle. February 18, 2007

Finally, the uncut version

I used to watch this film all the time as a kid on Channel 5's Creature Features, and found out early that it had been cut. Why it took almost 40 years to finally get an uncensored version is a true mystery, but finally, here it is, and well worth the wait. I'm a big fan of 'old dark house' movies, good or bad, and this one is good. One of the finest of the Italian horror wave that produced Mario Bava (among others), this film is beautifully realized in atmospheric black and white. The director remade this film in the 70s as Web of the Spider, with Anthony Franciosa. Not bad, but not as creepy as the original. August 27, 2006

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