45. CASTLE OF BLOOD
45. CASTLE OF BLOOD
(1964)
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
Here we have the third Barbara Steele movie on the list so far and believe me, I showed great restraint when picking movies graced with her presence. You could say I'm a bit of a fan. Horror often deals with the travails of duality and she expressed some powerful contradictions like no woman before or since- innocent and corrupt, cadaverous and voluptuous, lovely and monstrous. Barbara was a conduit for the repressed to spill through. "Castle of Blood" is another tale of the gothic. It's a tale of castle ghosts who became trapped in the twilight realm between the living and the way gone in a sex driven and bloody fashion. It's a tale of a foolish chap who wagers that he can spend a night in this haunted castle and ends up vexed by several visitations of the spectral variety. One of these haints is Barbara and she is especially fetching here as she drifts flirty and mad through the shadows in her nightgown. This gem is loaded with funereal beauty, murder and a even a bit of nudity. Oh, yes, the trousers may tighten... other Barbara Steele movies of high esteem to track down are "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock" (1962), it's follow-up "The Ghost" (1963), and "Nightmare Castle" (1963). These are all Italian films and they are all, without exception, dubbed poorly and sometimes the hammy voices that are used come off as fucking ridiculous but "Castle of Blood" is hampered little by this drawback. Margheriti, along with Riccardo Freda and especially Mario Bava, made Italy a hot spot for horror in the 1960's and this bloody torch would be famously passed on to creepy bowl-cut genius Dario Argento.
(1964)
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
Here we have the third Barbara Steele movie on the list so far and believe me, I showed great restraint when picking movies graced with her presence. You could say I'm a bit of a fan. Horror often deals with the travails of duality and she expressed some powerful contradictions like no woman before or since- innocent and corrupt, cadaverous and voluptuous, lovely and monstrous. Barbara was a conduit for the repressed to spill through. "Castle of Blood" is another tale of the gothic. It's a tale of castle ghosts who became trapped in the twilight realm between the living and the way gone in a sex driven and bloody fashion. It's a tale of a foolish chap who wagers that he can spend a night in this haunted castle and ends up vexed by several visitations of the spectral variety. One of these haints is Barbara and she is especially fetching here as she drifts flirty and mad through the shadows in her nightgown. This gem is loaded with funereal beauty, murder and a even a bit of nudity. Oh, yes, the trousers may tighten... other Barbara Steele movies of high esteem to track down are "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock" (1962), it's follow-up "The Ghost" (1963), and "Nightmare Castle" (1963). These are all Italian films and they are all, without exception, dubbed poorly and sometimes the hammy voices that are used come off as fucking ridiculous but "Castle of Blood" is hampered little by this drawback. Margheriti, along with Riccardo Freda and especially Mario Bava, made Italy a hot spot for horror in the 1960's and this bloody torch would be famously passed on to creepy bowl-cut genius Dario Argento.
posted by scottra at 3:00 AM
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