Before director Amando De Ossorio made his classic blind dead films he helmed this interesting tale of vampirism. The movie centers around Anita Ekberg who has inherited wealth from her long lost mother. She has always despised her father for taking her away from her ancestral estate and raising her in Rome, but her old man had a reason: he had married into a family of witches, warlocks and vampires.
Engaged to be married to a doctor (John Hamilton), Ekberg tells her betrothed that she is going to her home country to retrieve her inheritance and will be back in time for the wedding. Her plans change however as her nefarious uncle (Julian Ugarte) convinces her that her destiny rests in her family's castle. She sends a letter to her husband-to-be, breaking off their marriage, but he doesn't take the rejection lying down and heads off to bring Ekberg back to Rome. The good doctor is exposed to a superstitious people and tries to reason the odd occurrences through science with the help of his chum that he brings along for laughs.
STORY: $$ (The story is typical. We have a young woman forced to adhere to her past, one that is steeped in black magic and vampirism. Her fiancé is a man of science who bad-mouths the old ways even when the legends of witchcraft and vampires are the only logical answer to the plague. This film injects too much "comedy" into the script with the doctor's squeamish sidekick who is only moderately funny at best).
ACTING: $$$ (The acting is okay. Anita Ekberg does a fine job as the damsel in distress. It is quite clear that her performance is hindered greatly in dubbing. Julian Ugarte is effectively creepy as her uncle and John Hamilton does a good job as her fiancé. Diana Lorys of BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL and Rosanna Yanni of DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE have co-starring roles as managers of the local inn. Diana Lorys does an amazing job transforming herself from mild-mannered innkeeper to seductive vampiress while Rosanna shines as her concerned sister).
NUDITY: None. However, there is more cleavage here than in an Hammer Horror film. Diana Lorys is an extremely sexy woman and Adriana Ambesi's lowcut dress can hardly contain her chest.
Engaged to be married to a doctor (John Hamilton), Ekberg tells her betrothed that she is going to her home country to retrieve her inheritance and will be back in time for the wedding. Her plans change however as her nefarious uncle (Julian Ugarte) convinces her that her destiny rests in her family's castle. She sends a letter to her husband-to-be, breaking off their marriage, but he doesn't take the rejection lying down and heads off to bring Ekberg back to Rome. The good doctor is exposed to a superstitious people and tries to reason the odd occurrences through science with the help of his chum that he brings along for laughs.
STORY: $$ (The story is typical. We have a young woman forced to adhere to her past, one that is steeped in black magic and vampirism. Her fiancé is a man of science who bad-mouths the old ways even when the legends of witchcraft and vampires are the only logical answer to the plague. This film injects too much "comedy" into the script with the doctor's squeamish sidekick who is only moderately funny at best).
ACTING: $$$ (The acting is okay. Anita Ekberg does a fine job as the damsel in distress. It is quite clear that her performance is hindered greatly in dubbing. Julian Ugarte is effectively creepy as her uncle and John Hamilton does a good job as her fiancé. Diana Lorys of BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL and Rosanna Yanni of DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE have co-starring roles as managers of the local inn. Diana Lorys does an amazing job transforming herself from mild-mannered innkeeper to seductive vampiress while Rosanna shines as her concerned sister).
NUDITY: None. However, there is more cleavage here than in an Hammer Horror film. Diana Lorys is an extremely sexy woman and Adriana Ambesi's lowcut dress can hardly contain her chest.