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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Creepy Horror Film, 26 Sep 2005
This was great! I'd never seen this film until this newly released, uncensored international version put out by Synapse. It shows how perfectly a black-and-white film can be used to produce growing, sustained horror with atmosphere. With the lights out, I watched this little gem, and occasionally paused the film to listen to the house when I thought I'd heard an unusual "bump" in the night; after all the horror films I've seen, that doesn't happen that often any more.Castle of Blood (in Italy, "Danse Macabre") was directed by Itallion icon Antonio Margheriti, who made a name for himself with Sword and Sandle and Sci-fi films. In this movie, he created perhaps one of the best evil dead stories of all time. The premise, an eager, young reporter for the London Times meets Edgar Allen Poe and a companion of his, Blackwood, at a tavern called the Four Devils. From the start, we feel as though we've stepped right into a Poe story, where everything is dream-like, and turning slowly towards some approaching horror. Our hero is offered a wager that he can not survive the night in Blackwood's family castle, emerging at dawn unscathed. The castle is supposed to be haunted by something not just frightening, but deadly. In order to assure an interview with Poe for his paper, the young man takes the bet, not at all believing in the supernatural. What follows is a night fraught with evil manifestations, as ghost after ghost must relive the last insanely violent moments before their deaths in the house once a year. Our hero, aided by a beautiful exotic ghost played by Barbara Steel (fresh from her success in "Black Sunday") discovers his very soul is in jepardy unless he can escape the claustraphobic, shadow-filled interior of the house. We're treated to murder and mayhem, and a plot that quickens in pace until it reaches an urgent pitch at the climax of the film that leaves us sitting on the edge of our seats. This movie may not be for everyone, especially young, jaded movie-goers used to glossy red slasher films and cgi monster effects. This is old-style ghost-story telling, where black-and-white filmography is used for the full effect of atmosphere and character empathy. This is also not a film for children, as there is nudity and a brief scene of lesbianism. Four film sources were used to reproduce this original, longest version of the film (it was released in America with the afore-mentioned scenes cut), so at times the sound track switches to Itallion with english subtitles. These scenes are usually brief and do not detract at all from the movies appeal. Understand too, this film is over forty years old, and some of the film elements used to put it back together were hard to find and slightly damaged by time; they are still of such a fine quality, you hardly notice it. The movie is presented in widescreen with a mono soundtrack. Though the voices of the Italion actors is dubbed in english, they did a fine job, so don't worry about a silly, bad acted dubbing that many associate with foreign films from that period. So, if you like fog-shrouded castles, evil ghosts seeking human blood, and fearful flights through dusty, cob-webbed hallways, this is your movie.
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