Good and atmospheric Italian horror film that also goes by the title of HORROR CASTLE (which I think is more appropriate). A man's wife is terrorized in a German castle by all sorts of unspeakable sights and goings-on, seemingly committed by a maniac or "ghost" in a hood. The revelation of who is responsible and why is quite interesting. Christopher Lee is on hand as a scarred henchman of sorts, though it's unfortunate that his voice is dubbed. What really clicked for me with this film was the style of the movie. This was a gorgeous-looking film, brilliantly lit and full of mood, utilizing scenic locales and awesome castle dungeons and hallways. Its fine direction by Antonio Margheriti really made me sit up and take notice more than anything else, and it's what really elevated the film. *** out of ****
35 Reviews
THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG (Antonio Margheriti, 1963) **1/2
Bunuel19763 January 2011
This is a popular title in the Gothic tradition of Italian Horror cinema – from one of its most prolific exponents but, in hindsight, not really among the best examples – that I had been rather longing to see. In fact, I acquired it first in an English-dubbed version (also available on R1 DVD) and, subsequently, with its original Italian soundtrack (which is how I watched it now – although I do not recall it ever having played on Italian TV)! Curiously enough, while the film was released in the U.S. as HORROR CASTLE, the DVD sports the literal English translation of the Italian title (which refers to a particularly nasty medieval torture device).
Incidentally, despite the modern-day setting, events unfold completely in a vast ancient German castle! Similarly, the presence of genre icon Christopher Lee (billed Cristopher in the original Italian credits!) as a mysterious and sinister-looking manservant – bearing WWII-induced facial scars – proves misleading, since he is not actually the villain of the piece (although his character still perishes in the obligatory fiery climax)! The killer on the loose (who can also be considered a monster, given his hideous pre-DR. PHIBES look – ludicrously, as a result of the real-life failed "Valkyrie" attempt on Hitler's life, and possibly inspired by the seminal EYES WITHOUT A FACE [1959]!) is a Crimson Executioner-type torturer, albeit anticipating that very film by two years.
The heroine is played by Rossana Podesta' (soon to be divorced from the film's producer Marco Vicario), who spends much of the time prowling the castle grounds and conveniently discovering victims' bodies. Her husband (Georges Riviere) not only shuns her assertions to the ghastly goings-on but absents himself for periods on end which clearly points the finger of suspicion towards him; this notion, however, is dissipated when he finds himself trapped in a flooded underground cave straight out of Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933)! As it turns out, the real identity of the bloodthirsty maniac is not all that hard to guess – despite the film boasting the writing talents of Ernesto (1962's THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK) Gastaldi and Edmond T. (the 1960 version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC) Greville! Interestingly, the film is accompanied by an incongruously jazzy score by Riz Ortolani which works rather well; its main asset, however, is the enveloping brooding atmosphere vividly rendered through stylish color photography.
While Margheriti started out in low-brow sci-fi, he seemed to really find his métier within the Gothic Horror stakes, following this first effort with such effective examples as two Barbara Steele vehicles shot in monochrome – CASTLE OF BLOOD (though its color remake WEB OF THE SPIDER, dating from 1970, was a disappointment) and THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (both 1964), THE UNNATURALS (1969) and SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE (1973).
Incidentally, despite the modern-day setting, events unfold completely in a vast ancient German castle! Similarly, the presence of genre icon Christopher Lee (billed Cristopher in the original Italian credits!) as a mysterious and sinister-looking manservant – bearing WWII-induced facial scars – proves misleading, since he is not actually the villain of the piece (although his character still perishes in the obligatory fiery climax)! The killer on the loose (who can also be considered a monster, given his hideous pre-DR. PHIBES look – ludicrously, as a result of the real-life failed "Valkyrie" attempt on Hitler's life, and possibly inspired by the seminal EYES WITHOUT A FACE [1959]!) is a Crimson Executioner-type torturer, albeit anticipating that very film by two years.
The heroine is played by Rossana Podesta' (soon to be divorced from the film's producer Marco Vicario), who spends much of the time prowling the castle grounds and conveniently discovering victims' bodies. Her husband (Georges Riviere) not only shuns her assertions to the ghastly goings-on but absents himself for periods on end which clearly points the finger of suspicion towards him; this notion, however, is dissipated when he finds himself trapped in a flooded underground cave straight out of Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933)! As it turns out, the real identity of the bloodthirsty maniac is not all that hard to guess – despite the film boasting the writing talents of Ernesto (1962's THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK) Gastaldi and Edmond T. (the 1960 version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC) Greville! Interestingly, the film is accompanied by an incongruously jazzy score by Riz Ortolani which works rather well; its main asset, however, is the enveloping brooding atmosphere vividly rendered through stylish color photography.
While Margheriti started out in low-brow sci-fi, he seemed to really find his métier within the Gothic Horror stakes, following this first effort with such effective examples as two Barbara Steele vehicles shot in monochrome – CASTLE OF BLOOD (though its color remake WEB OF THE SPIDER, dating from 1970, was a disappointment) and THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (both 1964), THE UNNATURALS (1969) and SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE (1973).
Nice Horror Mystery
whpratt130 January 2008
Max Hunter, (Georges Riviere) gets married and takes his wife, Mary Hunter (Rossana Podesta) to his ancestral castle which contains a large collection of torture devices used in Medieval times. Max is away from his wife on business and Mary finds herself in a house where she finds dead people being killed under her own roof and a servant named Erich, (Christopher Lee) who has a deformed face and acts very strangely towards her. There is a scene where a young girl gets her nose chewed off by a rat and a man finds himself drowning in a basement room filling up with water. This film is full of surprises and we also see pictures of Adolph Hitler which takes the film into another direction. Nice entertainment film for Halloween night.
Badly dubbed but exquisitely filmed movie...
AlsExGal28 January 2023
... starts out with Mary (Podesta) being awakened on a dark and stormy night.
She hears a scream, lights a candle, and goes to investigate. She wanders through the forbidding castle, finally arriving in the dungeon, where she finds a dead body in the torture chamber. Film goes from there.
Movie has beautiful cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini. The color scheme is predominantly red and gold, black and white, with lots of shadows mixed in. The music score by Riz Ortolani is jarring; part of it feels just right for the genre, while part of it sounds like it belongs in a nightclub.
Podesta's Mary is a refreshing change from the usual heroine. She doesn't just scream on cue and faint, she fights back and thinks before she acts. Lee is good, as always. The rest of the cast is ok.
Horror films' screenplay is routine, until the last half hour, when it has twist after plot twist.
Movie is a fun watch, very worth seeing. 3/4.
She hears a scream, lights a candle, and goes to investigate. She wanders through the forbidding castle, finally arriving in the dungeon, where she finds a dead body in the torture chamber. Film goes from there.
Movie has beautiful cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini. The color scheme is predominantly red and gold, black and white, with lots of shadows mixed in. The music score by Riz Ortolani is jarring; part of it feels just right for the genre, while part of it sounds like it belongs in a nightclub.
Podesta's Mary is a refreshing change from the usual heroine. She doesn't just scream on cue and faint, she fights back and thinks before she acts. Lee is good, as always. The rest of the cast is ok.
Horror films' screenplay is routine, until the last half hour, when it has twist after plot twist.
Movie is a fun watch, very worth seeing. 3/4.
"The mind of man is ever at the service of evil!"
richardchatten15 November 2021
An early film by director Antonio Margheriti under his alias 'Anthony Dawson' with echoes of 'Bluebeard's Castle'; the tone of which after he's spent nearly seventy minutes prowling about a spooky castle in pursuit of heroine Rossana Podesta is summed up by the exchange "What is that!? It's only an instrument of torture".
Dull Eurpean horror flick
preppy-35 November 2005
This takes place in post WWII Germany. A man brings his new wife home to a beautiful and large castle he owns. It also has a torture museum overseen by a disfigured man (Christopher Lee slumming). The wife starts seeing a masked torturer walking around and dead bodies...but nobody else does. Is she going mad? You won't really care.
The story is predictable--I knew exactly how it was going to end. Also it's very dull---there are countless sequences of the wife wandering down hallways. The film is also in Italian and HORRIBLY dubbed--worse than any Godzilla film I've ever seen. It has a laughably inappropriate jazz score and has a burst of LOUD music every few minutes to accentuate a word or phase...and wake us up. Lousy acting too...only Lee is any good Dreary, dull, predictable. A must miss. Skip it.
The story is predictable--I knew exactly how it was going to end. Also it's very dull---there are countless sequences of the wife wandering down hallways. The film is also in Italian and HORRIBLY dubbed--worse than any Godzilla film I've ever seen. It has a laughably inappropriate jazz score and has a burst of LOUD music every few minutes to accentuate a word or phase...and wake us up. Lousy acting too...only Lee is any good Dreary, dull, predictable. A must miss. Skip it.
18th century Gothic novel goes to screen
m_mckechneay13 October 2005
It's astonishing: this Italian B-movie is very close to 18th century Gothic novels like the classic "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole (1765). Like in Walpoles novel the plot centers around a young woman, freshly married to a count and castle-owner. Now, the count may or may not be the brute who bestially murders women at nightfall - in the film the solution of this riddle is saved for the final showdown, while in the book it becomes obvious pretty soon, that the count is a despot and sinner. The main part of the movie features the camera tiptoeing behind the fragile woman, who, genre-typically seems even more vulnerable (and visible for an enemy) in her thin, white, silky nightgown. Like Isabella, the lead in Walpoles book, she wanders around in an subterranean labyrinth of vaults and crypts, well aware of the fact that some dark creature is down there with her in the dark. Well: for today's taste this film with it's crude special effects of miniature castle-views and rubber-scars in Christopher Lee's face is more up for laughter than for a real scare. Still it has a special atmosphere ... Interesting trivia: The Italian Original version (called "La Vergine di Norimberga" - "The Nuremberg Vergin") implies some subplot about a former Nazi-officer who was caught plotting against Adolf Hitler. As a punishment his face was mutilated, making him look like the Phantom of the Opera. In the DVD-version that is distributed in Austria and Germany (and which follows the German dubbed movie-version from the 60s) this plot is completely altered, leaving out any Nazi-references, even changing the names of the "bad guys" from "Fritz", etc. in the original to British sounding names like "Fred", maybe trying to catch up with the German "Edgar Wallace" Brit-scare-boom of that time. Seems the Germans are afraid of what in other countries is referred to as German Angst ...
Well, the sets were pretty...
Gafke7 May 2004
The bulk of this film consists of pretty redheaded Rossana Podesta (as Mary Hunter) wandering around her huge house and the adjoining gardens in a frilly nightgown. Her new husband is mysteriously away most of the time, the head maid looks like Judith Anderson in "Rebecca" and Christopher Lee has a big scary scar on his face! Throw in some silly jazz music that doesn't fit the action and you have this film. The Virgin of the title is actually an Iron Maiden, inside of which our heroine finds a young girl impaled one night. The servants speak in irritating sentence fragments probably intended to be menacing, a Ted Knight lookalike wanders around in a hideous plaid dinner jacket and a girl gets her nose chewed off by a hungry rat in the films most interesting scene. Is the sadistic hooded killer who creeps around the castle at night Mary's new husband? Or is it the sinister looking Christopher Lee? Or is it...gasp!...someone else??? The truth comes with no build up of suspense, although the make-up effects used on the "living skull" are pretty cool, considering the time this film was made. But, with the exception of the lovely Gothic atmosphere and the rat scene, this film is pretty dull. I had to fast forward through at least 20 minutes of Mary just walking around to get to the good stuff...and there wasn't enough good stuff to make up for the overuse of the FF button. I give it a 4 out of 10.
Nicely nasty!
Bezenby15 April 2017
Mary moves from America to Germany to live in a castle with her husband Max, but on her first night there discovers her husband gone and in the medieval museum that occupies the first floor she discovers an Iron Lady containing a chick with her eyeballs poked out. Thus begins another mystery film set in a Gothic location.
Mary's all suspicious about her husband, and the museum attendant, played by a battle scarred Christopher Lee, and also the housekeeper. In fact Mary doesn't trust anyone at all, which is just as well as things get rather strange rather quickly in this house. Luckily this is the kind of house that benefits from meddling as there are about a million secret rooms and catacombs to be explored.
You see there's an exhibit about the Punisher, some relative of Max that used to torture and kill women for some reason. Is this guy back, as some characters seem to think? Or is Mary just being a muppet and imagining it all? You'll have to watch the film to see.
Full of many twists and a bit of gore (including a girl who's had her nose chewed off by a rat!) this is a really fast moving film that might be short on plot but isn't short on style, gore, or how tall Christopher Lee was in real life. I never guessed the culprit at all so credit to the film for that, and the crazy make up effects.
Mary's all suspicious about her husband, and the museum attendant, played by a battle scarred Christopher Lee, and also the housekeeper. In fact Mary doesn't trust anyone at all, which is just as well as things get rather strange rather quickly in this house. Luckily this is the kind of house that benefits from meddling as there are about a million secret rooms and catacombs to be explored.
You see there's an exhibit about the Punisher, some relative of Max that used to torture and kill women for some reason. Is this guy back, as some characters seem to think? Or is Mary just being a muppet and imagining it all? You'll have to watch the film to see.
Full of many twists and a bit of gore (including a girl who's had her nose chewed off by a rat!) this is a really fast moving film that might be short on plot but isn't short on style, gore, or how tall Christopher Lee was in real life. I never guessed the culprit at all so credit to the film for that, and the crazy make up effects.
Atmospheric Gothic horror
lor_8 February 2024
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Antonio Margheriti; Produced by Marco Vicario, released in America by Zodiac Films. Screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi, Edmond T. Greville and Antonio Margheriti; Photography by Riccardo Pallottini; Edited by Otello Colangeli; Music by Riz Ortolani; Assistant Director: Bertrand Blier. Starring: Christopher Lee, Rossana Podesta, Georges Riviere; Laura Nucci, Jim Dolen, Lucille Saint-Simon and Carole Windsor.
Italian horror film features mucho white nightgown action, with a contemporary setting, but the sets are in the old time period. Rossana is the wife of ex-Nazi German nobleman, having her troubles in his ancient family castle on the Rhine.
Italian horror film features mucho white nightgown action, with a contemporary setting, but the sets are in the old time period. Rossana is the wife of ex-Nazi German nobleman, having her troubles in his ancient family castle on the Rhine.
Several people gave this a 10....the apocalypse must be coming or maybe they're just pulling our legs!!
planktonrules1 February 2008
Other than the pending apocalypse, the only other way I can imagine anyone giving this movie a score of 10 would be if they were joking--yet, strangely, this bad Italian horror film managed to receive several 10s! Be afraid....be very afraid!!
An American lady (who doesn't look or sound the least bit American) marries a German man and moves into his castle near the Rhine. However, soon after arriving, she hears screaming and wanders into a torture museum in the castle and finds a dead woman crushed inside an iron maiden. So what do you do in a clichéd and badly written film? Yep, you faint (which she also does later in the movie when the chips are down again)! When she awakens, her husband and the servants try very hard to convince her it was all a bad dream but she isn't THAT stupid and so she spends much of the movie blindly investigating what is happening. So, you see someone horribly murdered and you stick around and investigate--even after being attacked by a hooded maniac!?!? Can anyone be that addle-brained?!?! Despite this murder and a lot more mayhem to come, the household does its best to cover up what is really happening. Again, this made no sense and was just dumb. Even worse, after the maniac is eventually cornered and is about to die, his servant (Christopher Lee) runs after him into the burning castle to die as well. Gee...yet ANOTHER brainless character!
Oh, and now that I mentioned Lee, let me point out that he is NOT a reason to see this film. Despite having a majorly cool scar across his face, his role is, at best, secondary. Plus, although the dubbing of his voice is close, that is NOT Lee's voice. Now I understand that this was originally an Italian language production but why they didn't have Lee use his own deep and melodious voice is beyond me.
Also, if you are brave enough to see this mess of a film, listen to the sound track. It might just be the worst sound track I have ever heard from a film. While not as inept as that in THE BEAST FROM YUCCA FLATS, the problem is how inappropriate the music is--with a flashy jazz score when something befitting a Gothic horror film was required. It's bad...laughably bad.
So what is GOOD?! Well, the mood is excellent and very spooky. While not as over the top gross and moody as THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (made roughly the same time with Christopher Lee), it is unusual in the brutality and vividness of its chamber of horrors. This does work well.
Overall, unless you are a rabid fan of Lee or you like really bad Italian horror films, then this one is very, very skip-able. Watch at your own risk and DON'T be fooled by maniacs who score this a 10!!
An American lady (who doesn't look or sound the least bit American) marries a German man and moves into his castle near the Rhine. However, soon after arriving, she hears screaming and wanders into a torture museum in the castle and finds a dead woman crushed inside an iron maiden. So what do you do in a clichéd and badly written film? Yep, you faint (which she also does later in the movie when the chips are down again)! When she awakens, her husband and the servants try very hard to convince her it was all a bad dream but she isn't THAT stupid and so she spends much of the movie blindly investigating what is happening. So, you see someone horribly murdered and you stick around and investigate--even after being attacked by a hooded maniac!?!? Can anyone be that addle-brained?!?! Despite this murder and a lot more mayhem to come, the household does its best to cover up what is really happening. Again, this made no sense and was just dumb. Even worse, after the maniac is eventually cornered and is about to die, his servant (Christopher Lee) runs after him into the burning castle to die as well. Gee...yet ANOTHER brainless character!
Oh, and now that I mentioned Lee, let me point out that he is NOT a reason to see this film. Despite having a majorly cool scar across his face, his role is, at best, secondary. Plus, although the dubbing of his voice is close, that is NOT Lee's voice. Now I understand that this was originally an Italian language production but why they didn't have Lee use his own deep and melodious voice is beyond me.
Also, if you are brave enough to see this mess of a film, listen to the sound track. It might just be the worst sound track I have ever heard from a film. While not as inept as that in THE BEAST FROM YUCCA FLATS, the problem is how inappropriate the music is--with a flashy jazz score when something befitting a Gothic horror film was required. It's bad...laughably bad.
So what is GOOD?! Well, the mood is excellent and very spooky. While not as over the top gross and moody as THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (made roughly the same time with Christopher Lee), it is unusual in the brutality and vividness of its chamber of horrors. This does work well.
Overall, unless you are a rabid fan of Lee or you like really bad Italian horror films, then this one is very, very skip-able. Watch at your own risk and DON'T be fooled by maniacs who score this a 10!!
Another Great Gothic Tale From Margheriti
Witchfinder-General-66620 June 2008
"La Vergine Di Norimberga" (aka. "The Virgin Of Nuremberg"/"Terror Castle") is a wonderfully atmospheric, and delicately demented Gothic gem from genius director Antonio Margheriti, that should appeal to every fan of the uncanny. No true Horror fan or even cineaste in general could possibly deny that the late Margheriti had a great talent to create a Gothic atmosphere. Especially his 1964 masterpiece "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle Of Blood"), starring the incomparable Barbara Steele is pure Gothic brilliance and ranks among my personal favorites. While "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" does not quite reach the brilliance of "Castle Of Blood", in my opinion, this is yet another excellent Gothic Tale that no lover of Gothic- and Italian Horror can afford to miss. The film is terrifically set in a medieval castle full of terrible instruments of torture. Mary Hunter (Rosanna Podesta), whose husband Georges Rivière) is the owner of the castle since he has inherited it from his father, awakes one night hearing screams. The castle was once owned by a blood-thirsty judge, and, after four hundred years, the judge suddenly seems to be walking the castle again, craving for blood...
The film builds up a wonderfully creepy and yet often beautiful atmosphere from the first minute, the eerie castle-setting, ingenious camera-work and sublime score by the brilliant Riz Ortolani go in hand how it will only be experienced in Gothic tales from the good old days. For the year of its release, 1963, the film has an unusually high gore level, and an enormous nastiness. Horror icon Christopher Lee (as far as I am considered, one of the greatest actors ever) has a small, but great role. Lee is once again outstanding, and my only regret with "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is that he had not quite a lot of screen-time. The English aka. title, by the way, is not quite 100% accurate. "La Vergine Di Norimberga" does indeed translate as "The Virgin Of Nuremberg", however, it is also the synonym for a gruesome medieval torturing device - the iron maiden. Atmospheric, excellent and very, very creepy, "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is a Horror experience that no real genre-lover could possibly afford to miss. Films like this one prove that Margheriti was Italy's second only to Mario Bava when it comes Gothic Horror. A must-see for every Italian Horror fan or lover of Gothic greatness.
The film builds up a wonderfully creepy and yet often beautiful atmosphere from the first minute, the eerie castle-setting, ingenious camera-work and sublime score by the brilliant Riz Ortolani go in hand how it will only be experienced in Gothic tales from the good old days. For the year of its release, 1963, the film has an unusually high gore level, and an enormous nastiness. Horror icon Christopher Lee (as far as I am considered, one of the greatest actors ever) has a small, but great role. Lee is once again outstanding, and my only regret with "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is that he had not quite a lot of screen-time. The English aka. title, by the way, is not quite 100% accurate. "La Vergine Di Norimberga" does indeed translate as "The Virgin Of Nuremberg", however, it is also the synonym for a gruesome medieval torturing device - the iron maiden. Atmospheric, excellent and very, very creepy, "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is a Horror experience that no real genre-lover could possibly afford to miss. Films like this one prove that Margheriti was Italy's second only to Mario Bava when it comes Gothic Horror. A must-see for every Italian Horror fan or lover of Gothic greatness.
Good Atmosphere
GathofBaal7 September 2000
I recently bought this at a video store moving sale for $5. I don't usually buy movies I haven't seen, but it had Christopher Lee in it, so I took the chance. I wasn't disappointed. The atmosphere is cool, lightning, fog, dimly lit castle, you get the idea. Christopher Lee is great as always, and there is some decent gore. Worth renting.
A bland and banal film
BloodStone5 April 2006
Did this film ever suck!! It was a blind purchase & one I regret getting. The title of the film is based on an iron maiden type torture device which gouges out the eyes of it's victims via two large spike at eye level. However, the device isn't really used but only once through out the entire film for a grand total of one gruesome death (almosts don't count here). Virgin of Nuremberg is boring, has silly dialog, laughable musical score & a razor thin "plot" that made little to no sense. And all this "atmosphere" previous reviewers are raving about is over-hyped. Believe me there are literally dozens of good horror films with better "atmospheres". And to add insult to injury, the great Christopher Lee was under used. Only one gruesome death & a few non-eventful ones. I was expecting a almost sleazy, torture-filled, damn near exploitation horror flick. Instead I get something so bland horror wise, it could almost be shown to a group of elementary school children (probably put them to sleep). TVON was like a heavily watered down version of Mario Bava's much superior film, "Baron Blood." What a turkey! I sure hope Christopher Lee's "Whip & The Body" is better (it has to be).
Brave Leading Lady
EdgarST14 April 2017
Made four years before J. Lee Thompson's "Eye of the Devil" (produced by the British branch of MGM) and also taken from a literary source, "La vergine de Norimberga" has a similar story about a wife who decides to investigate the dark side of her husband's affairs while visiting the man's castle in an European village, and both are in the end realistic stories with a sinister facade. While the tale of the British movie is rooted on frightening manifestations of folklore and tradition in France, this one has a political secret behind the mystery and the horror in Germany. But the similarities vanish in the visuals, for "Eye of the Devil" is in black and white and has a cold leading lady (played by Scandinavian Deborah Kerr), in opposition to "The Virgin of Nuremberg" which is in vivid colors and led by a fiery protagonist (played by Mediterranean Rossana Podestà). Both women are brave characters and not precisely screaming queens, and although there are some screams here and there, they are moved by undaunted curiosity, decidedly firm in their quest to find the truth. Much in the vein of Roger Corman's Poe adaptations, Podestà wanders, runs and hides in corridors, torture chambers, dungeons and gardens, there are some miniatures that evoke Ulmer's fascinations with scale models, and a highly dramatic music provided by Riz Ortolani. See it.
Another beautiful Italian horror flick
The_Void12 October 2005
Often considered to be one of the best Italian horrors of the sixties; The Virgin of Nuremberg truly is an outstandingly beautiful film. Directed by one of the finest directors of the time, Antonio Margheriti, the film constantly succeeds at building a fabulous atmosphere, which is a huge asset to the story as it is one that requires suspense; and atmosphere is one of the best ways of building it. This film was Antonio Margheriti's first foray into the horror genre, and he's done a very good job of it! There are directors that have spent their entire careers making horror films and still haven't managed to come up with a film nearly as potent as this one. The plot is pure pulp fiction and it follows the wife of a man that owns a foreboding old castle. After a series of strange events, she becomes convinced that a hooded maniac is torturing people in the dungeon of the castle and it isn't long after that before she becomes a victim herself. But who is this hooded man, and how does her husband fit into the plot?
The Virgin of Nuremberg features the great Christopher Lee. He may get the highest billing, but he isn't the star of the show. His role here isn't one of those two-minute cameos that big actors tend to get in small films, however, but he's more of a co-star than the star of the show. Georges Rivière, who would work with Margheriti again a year later on the excellent Danse Macabre, takes the leading man role; while Rossana Podestà is the real star as the leading lady. Her role doesn't involve a great deal of acting, but she looks pretty and definitely does justice to the typical Italian horror female protagonist. The central villain, like many villains in horror movies, takes influence from the 'Phantom of the Opera' idea, in that he's deformed - only the way that he became deformed is actually quite ingenious. The make-up effects on the villain are surprisingly non-shabby too. The fact that much of the film takes place in one location does it no end of favours as it allows the director to build the suspense better, and since the central location looks great; it makes for a very beautiful horror movie. Highly recommended!
The Virgin of Nuremberg features the great Christopher Lee. He may get the highest billing, but he isn't the star of the show. His role here isn't one of those two-minute cameos that big actors tend to get in small films, however, but he's more of a co-star than the star of the show. Georges Rivière, who would work with Margheriti again a year later on the excellent Danse Macabre, takes the leading man role; while Rossana Podestà is the real star as the leading lady. Her role doesn't involve a great deal of acting, but she looks pretty and definitely does justice to the typical Italian horror female protagonist. The central villain, like many villains in horror movies, takes influence from the 'Phantom of the Opera' idea, in that he's deformed - only the way that he became deformed is actually quite ingenious. The make-up effects on the villain are surprisingly non-shabby too. The fact that much of the film takes place in one location does it no end of favours as it allows the director to build the suspense better, and since the central location looks great; it makes for a very beautiful horror movie. Highly recommended!
What a waste
jtyroler1 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Going by some of the other reviews, I kind of wonder if I was watching the same movie. To avoid a lot of obvious dubbing of dialogue, many of the actors speak either by facing away from the camera or by barely moving their lips. If this is one of the best Italian horror films of the 60's, Roger Corman's Edgar Allen Poe movies are approaching the status of Citizen Kane.
It didn't make all that much sense that Christopher Lee's character knew the identity of person going around killing others - which, I guess was supposed to be OK because the killer was part of the plot to assassinate Hitler. This little subplot allowed for the use of Nazi newsreel footage and to explain why the guy has had the flesh removed from his head - which amazingly, seemed to make the facial muscles larger than they should be. Considering the time this film was made and meant to be dubbed in multiple languages, I guess this "special effect" was pretty good.
Much of the film seems to be shot to lengthen the running time of the movie - at least it doesn't seem to have much purpose otherwise. There's only so much one can take of a woman in a nightgown and robe walking around the castle's corridors.
It didn't make all that much sense that Christopher Lee's character knew the identity of person going around killing others - which, I guess was supposed to be OK because the killer was part of the plot to assassinate Hitler. This little subplot allowed for the use of Nazi newsreel footage and to explain why the guy has had the flesh removed from his head - which amazingly, seemed to make the facial muscles larger than they should be. Considering the time this film was made and meant to be dubbed in multiple languages, I guess this "special effect" was pretty good.
Much of the film seems to be shot to lengthen the running time of the movie - at least it doesn't seem to have much purpose otherwise. There's only so much one can take of a woman in a nightgown and robe walking around the castle's corridors.
The jazz score does not work in this horror flick
sbenton451 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Though I am fond of listening to jazz, I found the jazz score for this movie too intrusive and distracting. The problem manifested itself early in the movie when, during a break in the action, a very nice jazz melody rang out that, unfortunately, seemed to be totally inappropriate to the setting and mood being created by the visuals. Great movie music supports the mood or spirit of the action on the screen. It should not take over. There are exceptions, or course, such as the music from "O Brother, Where Art Thou" which essentially plays a lead role in that film. In my opinion, the film would benefit greatly from a re-score, or at least the provision of an alternate score. (Has anyone tried this kind of thing before? It would be well suited to the DVD format).
Modern Italian Gothic sadly a waste of Christopher Lee
kevinolzak27 April 2024
1963 was a busy year in Italian horror for Christopher Lee, kicking off in high style with Mario Bava's "The Whip and the Body," followed in rapid succession by the little seen "Katarsis," Antonio Margheriti's "Horror Castle," and finally the Le Fanu adaptation "Terror in the Crypt." Margheriti had made a name for himself on science fiction titles like "Assignment: Outer Space" and "Battle of the Worlds," but with "Horror Castle" entered the field of Gothic terror with a modern day storyline in splendid color that still reeks of 19th century atmosphere with the American bride of a German nobleman making inquiries on the elaborate torture chamber kept in pristine condition under the care of chauffeur Erich (Lee), a symbolic relic of a notorious 17th century ancestor known as 'The Punisher.' The picture opens with her discovery of a young woman's corpse inside the iron maiden, or "The Virgin of Nuremberg," the title bestowed upon most European prints, though her husband is eager to convince her she was only dreaming. Rosanna Podesta's wife is a stubborn young woman who refuses to abide by any rules and persists in exploring every avenue inside the foreboding castle, which later pays off when she rescues another innocent maiden whose face was gnawed by a hungry rat in the most grueling sequence. Lee's character is mostly a shadowy red herring figure granted less than 10 minutes screen time, but does feature prominently in the climactic conflagration (reuniting with Mirko Valentin in 1964's "The Castle of the Living Dead" to close out this period of Euro horror). As the suspicious behaving husband, Georges Riviere would soon follow with a second Margheriti Gothic, "Castle of Terror," a more traditional black and white entry opposite Barbara Steele.
If You Thought This Movie Was Realistic, Then You're A Flying Pig.
Brakathor28 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This is indeed a Horribly bad Film. Firstly, I would like to start off by saying, I am not really a fan of these 60's/70's early color horror films, to which some might ask: "Very well... then what business do you have watching and commenting on this movie?" Simply I like Christopher Lee, and was naive enough to think that a horror film can be both frightening AND plausible, and as I was going down the many comments to see what people had to say about this film, it was the comment of "This film emphasizes realism rather than surrealism" Which was enough to make me spit.... or at least add a comment. So of course as I will be examining the plot elements of a sort of "mystery" plot, there may be spoilers.
The following is the sort of "realism" which made me hate this film. Firstly, the wife character loses consciousness by fainting twice in this film. Everyone knows that women often used to faint because they wore corsets, but the woman in this film does not wear one, she simply faints the first time out of "fear" we suppose, when she finds a dead body, and the second time she faints when she sees one of the castles servants. "this is after being chased by a maniac, fending him off and rescuing a woman who he deformed in front of her with starving rats" I would consider this to be much more traumatic than simply seeing one of her servants who she is not sure she can trust after finding her wounded husband in a bizarre robe for no apparent reason. Furthermore, it is annoying and VERY poor writing to have the main character lose consciousness inexplicably at 2 very vital plot points, and extremely lame to think that a person would so easily be able to confuse seeing a dead person, then fainting, with having a dream. what do REAL people do when they see a dead body?? ...CALL THE POLICE! Another very lame instance is when the woman enters a room, sees only immobile statues, then leaves, and shortly after she leaves, one of the statues comes to life. Scary? No. But comical that a deranged killer has nothing better to do than pretend to be a statue for minutes on end. Furthermore, the fact that he's been able to walk freely around this castle for years and years and years is ridiculous "as would be the case if we're to believe he was there since the fall of the Nazis" A clear reason why Christopher Lee's character was made to know the killers identity, though frankly, all the servants would all have to, as little sense which THAT would make to be honest. Also the husband being trapped in the water chamber for much of the latter parts of the film only to escape after spending half an hour in there before diving under water and managing to escape merely by hitting against a random block of stone on the ground. Now let us get onto the "red herrings" as they were described by other commentators... 1. the woman is fleeing the castle, only to find a statue of the hooded figure on the floor in front of the exit. Why is it there? Who put it there? apparently someone who enjoys lugging around heavy ironic statues of deranged killers as a practical joke and can manage to do so silently. To me this was almost like the film making fun of itself, but most importantly, it wasn't scary. 2. There is a FBI agent roaming around the castle grounds at all hours without any apparent cause "he talks with the woman early in the film"
Stylistically, the reasons used by many people who commented on this movie to say it was GREAT are the exact reasons why I found it horrible. The music is SO over the top for most of the film that it is annoying. For example, the woman is given sleeping pills to help her sleep, but she instead throws them on the floor, then as the husband comes back to kiss her goodnight the music comes on BLASTING "dun dun duuun DUN DUN DUUUUN!!" ... ooh no he might see the pills and!.. ?? ...say: "oh so you dint take your pills. How sad."??? this same music comes back to torment us once more as she is walking around the castle, and what does she find? NOTHING... oooh sweet Jesus! ...then again as she is running along the outside of the castle it comes again... And when it comes to a stop? nothing. She stops running. It is hard to emphasize this, but with music SO over the top with either nothing to be scared of, or no scare at the end, it comes across as very boring and lame. Only in the later moments of the film does the music truly begin to invoke real suspense, but frankly, by this time we are bored of the same 2 bars of music. Another aspect I found very tedious and unsuspenceful, was for much of the early movie all we really have is this woman walking and running around the castle aimlessly looking for her husband... or looking for SOMETHING.. and very aimlessly, which given the fact that it reminded me of a very funny comedy sketch from SCTV did not help at all. In the end, this may be one of the best early horror films ever made in Italian dubbed cinema, but just as a movie in GENERAL, among all movies, it is a very very poor piece of cinema. All I can say is that I lament the fact that Christopher Lee did not get better roles, as he is a good and powerful actor, who to me was the only good thing about this film.
The following is the sort of "realism" which made me hate this film. Firstly, the wife character loses consciousness by fainting twice in this film. Everyone knows that women often used to faint because they wore corsets, but the woman in this film does not wear one, she simply faints the first time out of "fear" we suppose, when she finds a dead body, and the second time she faints when she sees one of the castles servants. "this is after being chased by a maniac, fending him off and rescuing a woman who he deformed in front of her with starving rats" I would consider this to be much more traumatic than simply seeing one of her servants who she is not sure she can trust after finding her wounded husband in a bizarre robe for no apparent reason. Furthermore, it is annoying and VERY poor writing to have the main character lose consciousness inexplicably at 2 very vital plot points, and extremely lame to think that a person would so easily be able to confuse seeing a dead person, then fainting, with having a dream. what do REAL people do when they see a dead body?? ...CALL THE POLICE! Another very lame instance is when the woman enters a room, sees only immobile statues, then leaves, and shortly after she leaves, one of the statues comes to life. Scary? No. But comical that a deranged killer has nothing better to do than pretend to be a statue for minutes on end. Furthermore, the fact that he's been able to walk freely around this castle for years and years and years is ridiculous "as would be the case if we're to believe he was there since the fall of the Nazis" A clear reason why Christopher Lee's character was made to know the killers identity, though frankly, all the servants would all have to, as little sense which THAT would make to be honest. Also the husband being trapped in the water chamber for much of the latter parts of the film only to escape after spending half an hour in there before diving under water and managing to escape merely by hitting against a random block of stone on the ground. Now let us get onto the "red herrings" as they were described by other commentators... 1. the woman is fleeing the castle, only to find a statue of the hooded figure on the floor in front of the exit. Why is it there? Who put it there? apparently someone who enjoys lugging around heavy ironic statues of deranged killers as a practical joke and can manage to do so silently. To me this was almost like the film making fun of itself, but most importantly, it wasn't scary. 2. There is a FBI agent roaming around the castle grounds at all hours without any apparent cause "he talks with the woman early in the film"
Stylistically, the reasons used by many people who commented on this movie to say it was GREAT are the exact reasons why I found it horrible. The music is SO over the top for most of the film that it is annoying. For example, the woman is given sleeping pills to help her sleep, but she instead throws them on the floor, then as the husband comes back to kiss her goodnight the music comes on BLASTING "dun dun duuun DUN DUN DUUUUN!!" ... ooh no he might see the pills and!.. ?? ...say: "oh so you dint take your pills. How sad."??? this same music comes back to torment us once more as she is walking around the castle, and what does she find? NOTHING... oooh sweet Jesus! ...then again as she is running along the outside of the castle it comes again... And when it comes to a stop? nothing. She stops running. It is hard to emphasize this, but with music SO over the top with either nothing to be scared of, or no scare at the end, it comes across as very boring and lame. Only in the later moments of the film does the music truly begin to invoke real suspense, but frankly, by this time we are bored of the same 2 bars of music. Another aspect I found very tedious and unsuspenceful, was for much of the early movie all we really have is this woman walking and running around the castle aimlessly looking for her husband... or looking for SOMETHING.. and very aimlessly, which given the fact that it reminded me of a very funny comedy sketch from SCTV did not help at all. In the end, this may be one of the best early horror films ever made in Italian dubbed cinema, but just as a movie in GENERAL, among all movies, it is a very very poor piece of cinema. All I can say is that I lament the fact that Christopher Lee did not get better roles, as he is a good and powerful actor, who to me was the only good thing about this film.
"Hilde has left unexpectedly"
hwg1957-102-26570427 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Based on a novel by Frank Bogart this film has several titles including 'Horror Castle' which is the one I viewed. It seems people either love or hate this film. In a castle by the Rhine a hooded killer is killing people, mainly women. Is it Max Hunter, the owner of the castle? Is it the scarred Erich, his assistant? Is it the frozen faced Martha, the housekeeper? Is it Fred the butler? Or is it....? Sounds interesting but I found it rather tedious. The plot and the actions of the characters don't make any sense. Most of the film seems to be Max's wife Mary wandering around the castle in a silky dressing gown being frightened. Only at the hour mark does she get dressed.
Rossana Podesta as Mary Hunter is very picturesque roaming about in her silky dressing gown but it does pall after a while. Christopher Lee as Erich doesn't have much to do. The rest of the cast are bland. The Riz Ortolani score is amusingly over the top. On the positive side the film does look good and the sets are atmospheric.
Being a dubbed version some of the credits are Anglicised. Editor Otello Colangeli becomes Angel Coly, director of photography Riccardo Pallottini become Richard Palton and of course as often happens director Antonio Margheriti becomes Anthony Dawson. But when he is credited with special effects Antonio Margheriti now becomes Anthony Matthews!
Not a classic as other people see it but then that's only my opinion.
Rossana Podesta as Mary Hunter is very picturesque roaming about in her silky dressing gown but it does pall after a while. Christopher Lee as Erich doesn't have much to do. The rest of the cast are bland. The Riz Ortolani score is amusingly over the top. On the positive side the film does look good and the sets are atmospheric.
Being a dubbed version some of the credits are Anglicised. Editor Otello Colangeli becomes Angel Coly, director of photography Riccardo Pallottini become Richard Palton and of course as often happens director Antonio Margheriti becomes Anthony Dawson. But when he is credited with special effects Antonio Margheriti now becomes Anthony Matthews!
Not a classic as other people see it but then that's only my opinion.
Unique Gothic Horror
rundbauchdodo14 July 2001
This film by Antonio Margheriti certainly tells one of the most unusual stories ever told in a Gothic horror movie. Margheriti directed it through and through Gothic - the old, creepy castle, thunderstorms, secret passage ways, skulls piled up, medieval torture devices and so forth - but the story takes place in the presence.
The Bavarian town of Nuremberg made headlines after World War II: The biggest process against Nazi leaders was held there. So it's no surprise that the motive for the happenings in the film "La Vergine di Norimberga" directly rely on Nazi war atrocities - and to combine Gothic horror with the darkest chapter of German history is undoubtedly unique (the German version, however, censored the whole Nazi subplot and made the killer's motive much simpler - avoid this version at all costs). This combination may sound odd, but it works in this film perfectly and gives it also a "no war ever again"-statement that I fully support (but if one watches how many wars are always going on in all different places on earth, one really wonders if mankind has learned of the past war atrocities including WWII).
Christopher Lee gives another supporting role to remember, and Riz Ortolani's score is bombastic, but fits the Gothic atmosphere of the picture. There are some surprisingly gory moments in the film (concerning it was made in 1963), but they never make the impression of being gratuitous or senseless. I highly recommend this film not only to fans of the genre. The U.S.-video print from "Panther Video" (long out of print, though) presents a surprisingly good looking picture quality with lush colors and clear sound that would also make a fine DVD release possible.
My rating: 8 out of 10 - look for this gem!
The Bavarian town of Nuremberg made headlines after World War II: The biggest process against Nazi leaders was held there. So it's no surprise that the motive for the happenings in the film "La Vergine di Norimberga" directly rely on Nazi war atrocities - and to combine Gothic horror with the darkest chapter of German history is undoubtedly unique (the German version, however, censored the whole Nazi subplot and made the killer's motive much simpler - avoid this version at all costs). This combination may sound odd, but it works in this film perfectly and gives it also a "no war ever again"-statement that I fully support (but if one watches how many wars are always going on in all different places on earth, one really wonders if mankind has learned of the past war atrocities including WWII).
Christopher Lee gives another supporting role to remember, and Riz Ortolani's score is bombastic, but fits the Gothic atmosphere of the picture. There are some surprisingly gory moments in the film (concerning it was made in 1963), but they never make the impression of being gratuitous or senseless. I highly recommend this film not only to fans of the genre. The U.S.-video print from "Panther Video" (long out of print, though) presents a surprisingly good looking picture quality with lush colors and clear sound that would also make a fine DVD release possible.
My rating: 8 out of 10 - look for this gem!
Starts good, then quickly devolves into amateur story/dialogue/acting/scenes/editing/directing/boring/uninspired nonsense
Bababooe30 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Christopher Lee is given top billing here. He's in the movie for maybe 3 minutes total and does nothing. His voice is dubbed, and he just looks stupid. I am beginning to hat this mans acting and choice of jobs. I recently watched all the Lee Dracula movies and his best attributes are his costume and stance, his British accent as Dracula is ridiculous and his dialogue is trash. Hammer was good for a couple of things, sets/color/lighting and music. Go watch some of the trash Lee appeared in the 70s. Real garbage. Very sad.
Now to this movie. What we have here is a wife of a castle/museum owner wandering around. It started out mysterious and intriguing. Then nothing much happens. The husband is away most of the time. And Lee is there to show off his stupid scar. The story is somehow about a Nazi conspirator to kill Hitler who is deformed and now he's on a rampage to torture women, just as the new wife movies in. How convenient! I guess producers needed stores and they picked this one.
The music is completely inappropriate. We have some kind of Bebop jazz number in a castle horror film, probably to invoke some kind of romance between the new wife and husband. Then there's the ridiculous horror tones when the wife is running around outside.
The death scenes are nonsense. The makeup is trash. Lee was garbage. There's a real funny section when he climbs the side of the house, then rolls off and falls to the ground. I was hoping he was dead. But then, get this, and FBI agent, helps him and since they can't get in the house, they drive away to get help. Well, if you have a car, and you just tried to get in the castle by breaking down the door with your shoulder, maybe you can try crashing through the door with the car, rather than driving away for help. Maybe the cops can bring a battering ram, or have extra keys to the castle. Real stupidity in this film. There's a scene where the husband is trapped in a dungeon filling with water. This goes on for ½ hour. Finally, he miraculously breaks out and then saves his wife. And then we get the happy ending. Lee dies in a fire with the Nazi punisher. This is one stupid crappy movie. If you're a fan of Lee, DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. If you're a fan of horror movies, or movies in general, or art, or life or anything, do not see this movie.
The film makers had a budget. Sets, a freaking castle, some decent actors that were given crap dialogue, and this is what we get.
The only reason to see this movie is to study it, then read the reviews of people who like/loved it, and then write a psychological paper on the human mind. Current IMDb rating is a joke at 5.9. This is a 1 star, nothing to see here. Garbage story/dialogue/dubbing/acting/scenes/music/sound effects/editing/just plain stupid movie.
I will recommend another movie instead: Bloody Pit Of Horror. This is not a great film, but it is fun.
Now to this movie. What we have here is a wife of a castle/museum owner wandering around. It started out mysterious and intriguing. Then nothing much happens. The husband is away most of the time. And Lee is there to show off his stupid scar. The story is somehow about a Nazi conspirator to kill Hitler who is deformed and now he's on a rampage to torture women, just as the new wife movies in. How convenient! I guess producers needed stores and they picked this one.
The music is completely inappropriate. We have some kind of Bebop jazz number in a castle horror film, probably to invoke some kind of romance between the new wife and husband. Then there's the ridiculous horror tones when the wife is running around outside.
The death scenes are nonsense. The makeup is trash. Lee was garbage. There's a real funny section when he climbs the side of the house, then rolls off and falls to the ground. I was hoping he was dead. But then, get this, and FBI agent, helps him and since they can't get in the house, they drive away to get help. Well, if you have a car, and you just tried to get in the castle by breaking down the door with your shoulder, maybe you can try crashing through the door with the car, rather than driving away for help. Maybe the cops can bring a battering ram, or have extra keys to the castle. Real stupidity in this film. There's a scene where the husband is trapped in a dungeon filling with water. This goes on for ½ hour. Finally, he miraculously breaks out and then saves his wife. And then we get the happy ending. Lee dies in a fire with the Nazi punisher. This is one stupid crappy movie. If you're a fan of Lee, DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. If you're a fan of horror movies, or movies in general, or art, or life or anything, do not see this movie.
The film makers had a budget. Sets, a freaking castle, some decent actors that were given crap dialogue, and this is what we get.
The only reason to see this movie is to study it, then read the reviews of people who like/loved it, and then write a psychological paper on the human mind. Current IMDb rating is a joke at 5.9. This is a 1 star, nothing to see here. Garbage story/dialogue/dubbing/acting/scenes/music/sound effects/editing/just plain stupid movie.
I will recommend another movie instead: Bloody Pit Of Horror. This is not a great film, but it is fun.
Who done it?
phasermuse3 November 2005
I would have to rank this movie as perhaps one step above an Ed Wood cult movie. Actually, when the final 15 or so minutes arrived, the story became interesting, but the movie wandered around the castle following Rossana Podesta looking brave and uninteresting in a doughty dressing gown so I did not care when she learned the monster was not her husband and the old man finally got peace.
I take horror films (excepting slice and dice genre) as seriously as all the people who wrote good reviews for "Horror Castle" but the direction was below amateurish and the film editor could have lobed off a good hour with no loss. Very disappointed. What did I miss? Oh, and by the way: the music was absolutely ridiculous. If the movie had even a little bit of rhyme and reason it was destroyed by the fakey bebop opening, and Glen Miller-backed love scenes and stock suspense music which made the score seem like a satire. But on what?
I take horror films (excepting slice and dice genre) as seriously as all the people who wrote good reviews for "Horror Castle" but the direction was below amateurish and the film editor could have lobed off a good hour with no loss. Very disappointed. What did I miss? Oh, and by the way: the music was absolutely ridiculous. If the movie had even a little bit of rhyme and reason it was destroyed by the fakey bebop opening, and Glen Miller-backed love scenes and stock suspense music which made the score seem like a satire. But on what?
Forgettable gothic nonsense.
BA_Harrison21 July 2022
The Virgin of Nuremberg is the name given to a device once used by a man known as The Punisher, who, centuries ago, tortured and killed sinful women of the Rhine region in Germany. When Mary Hunter (Rossana Podestà) accompanies her husband Max (Georges Rivière) on a business trip to Germany, she stays in his ancestral castle, where creepy housekeeper Martha (Laura Nucci) warns her that The Punisher has returned to continue his dastardly work.
In terms of gothic ingredients, this '60s Euro-horror from director Antonio Margeriti has got the lot: stormy weather, a shadowy castle, hidden passageways, a torture museum, skulls and skeletons, a cobwebby crypt, etcetera, etcetera. What it doesn't have, however, is a very strong storyline, the plot going nowhere slowly for most of the film: Mary spends much of the film wandering through various rooms in the house whilst looking mildly upset, getting nowhere nearer to unravelling the mystery.
It's a shame, because the atmospheric opening, in which Mary discovers the eyeless body of a young woman in the 'virgin', promises a wonderfully macabre time, but there is only one other torture scene that matches that moment as far as ghoulishness goes: a victim has a cage placed on her head, the hungry rat inside eating away her nose. Even the presence of Christopher Lee doesn't help matters, the iconic British horror star wasted in a weak supporting role (and suffering the indignation of being dubbed by another actor).
The final act reveals the monster to be Max's father, a Nazi general who was horribly disfigured by surgeons (the graphic procedure shown in a B&W flashback) after he carried out an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler. Max's father is genuinely creepy, but it's a case of too little too late.
Margheriti achieves some cool visuals along the way, with some nice use of coloured lighting, but it's nothing that Bava couldn't do better. Riz Ortolani's jazzy score is more suited to a sleazy giallo or a sexy Euro-spy movie.
4/10.
In terms of gothic ingredients, this '60s Euro-horror from director Antonio Margeriti has got the lot: stormy weather, a shadowy castle, hidden passageways, a torture museum, skulls and skeletons, a cobwebby crypt, etcetera, etcetera. What it doesn't have, however, is a very strong storyline, the plot going nowhere slowly for most of the film: Mary spends much of the film wandering through various rooms in the house whilst looking mildly upset, getting nowhere nearer to unravelling the mystery.
It's a shame, because the atmospheric opening, in which Mary discovers the eyeless body of a young woman in the 'virgin', promises a wonderfully macabre time, but there is only one other torture scene that matches that moment as far as ghoulishness goes: a victim has a cage placed on her head, the hungry rat inside eating away her nose. Even the presence of Christopher Lee doesn't help matters, the iconic British horror star wasted in a weak supporting role (and suffering the indignation of being dubbed by another actor).
The final act reveals the monster to be Max's father, a Nazi general who was horribly disfigured by surgeons (the graphic procedure shown in a B&W flashback) after he carried out an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler. Max's father is genuinely creepy, but it's a case of too little too late.
Margheriti achieves some cool visuals along the way, with some nice use of coloured lighting, but it's nothing that Bava couldn't do better. Riz Ortolani's jazzy score is more suited to a sleazy giallo or a sexy Euro-spy movie.
4/10.
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