Skip to main content

Nightmare Castle (1965)


One of the movies I watched during "Terrorpolooza 2012" was an Italian gothic horror.  When it comes to gothic horror, Europeans tend to surpass North American in quality.

A scientist catches his wife and her lover together, and shows them the extent of his wrath. Soon, his new wife starts to experience hints to the fate of her sister- the scientist's previous wife.
Sometimes, as is the case with "Nightmare Castle," the simplest of plots is the best.  Murder and revenge are all that were needed to create the circumstances for the events in this story.  It moves along smoothly and fairly quickly, with the creepiness and scares spread throughout evenly.  If this were a book, I would have very little problem with sitting down by flickering candlelight, reading it, and enjoying the chills run up my spine.

The characters, while somewhat simplistic in nature are still interesting enough to keep me wondering what was going to happen next.  I really liked the mix of ghosts, mad scientist, and vampire.

While the characters themselves may have been a little two dimensional at times, the acting was superb.  Barbara Steele as BOTH Muriel and Jenny was simply beatiful (both with dark or blonde hair) and marvelous.  She was able to make both characters different from each other, while still making them compliment each other.  I thought Paul Muller did a fantastic job portraying the sadistic Dr. Arrowsmith.  I also quite enjoyed Helga Liné in the role of Solange (the Dr's mistress).  In her younger form, she's also quite beautiful.

"Nightmare Castle" is one of those movies that modern horror film makers should watch to learn about using light, shadow and how to to create mood, suspense, and errieness.  The camera work may not be super creative, but it's still highly effective in bringing a sense of growing doom to the viewer.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend "Nightmare Castle" to my friends- nor would I hesitate to agree to sit down and rewatch this wonderful piece of Italian horror.  I'm placing this movie in The Good.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Grave Questions: Jessica Cameron

February is " Women in Horror Month "- a month in which to celebrate the impact that women have had on the genre and the industry- from writing, to acting, to directing and producing. Jessica Cameron has experienced the industry in all those capacity- making her a perfect choice for me to ask some " Grave Questions " of in order to raise awareness of the great women in Horror. Please not that this article SHOULD'VE been posted in February, but due to technical difficulties, we're putting it up now.  Thank you. TCoT :   Which female horror stars helped to inspire you to not only enjoy the genre- but to get involved in bringing scary movies to the world? Jessica :  I literally said to my " Truth or Dare " producer, "If the Soska sisters can make " Dead Hooker in a Trunk " with nothing, then I can make " Truth or Dare ".  So needless to say that those girls have been a huge inspiration in everything I do behind the

Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Sometimes, a director/producer will surprise you- such was the case during " Terrorpolooza 2012 " when I watched Charles Band's " Meridian: Kiss of the Beast " Catherine Bomarzini has come home after her father's death.  Needing company, she asks Gina to stay with her.  Soon, the two meet a wondering troupe of performers that Catherine invites to dinner at her castle. Catherine find herself pulled into a love triangle and an ancient curse that only she can break. After watching movies like " Evil Bong ", and " Demonic Toys ", I really wasn't expecting too much from this Charles Band movie- but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story is actually quite interesting with lots of potential for eerie scenes, and character development.  It's a nice twist on the classic " Beauty and the Beast " story.  It's a bit slower than most of Band's other works, but moves smoothly and draws you with it. I have to ad

The Phantom of the Opera

  Not too long ago, I reviewed the silent horror classic, "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror", and wound up being in the mood to view a few other of the silent horror films in my collection.  The next one I watched was "The Phantom of the Opera", starring Lon Chaney, Sr, and released in 1925.   A mysterious stranger has been threatening the star singer of the Paris Opera House- someone who has signs his letters simply as, "The Phantom".  This stranger wants to clear the way so his protege, Christine Daae can ascend to stardom herself.  Soon, her love for the Comte de Chagny collides with The Phantom's desire for Christine forcing both to take drastic actions in order to be with the one they love. " The Phantom of the Opera " actually underwent three periods of re-shoots and editing, due to poor reception and test viewings.  In 1930, a sound version was created- often assumed to be what is called "The Eastman House Print".  It is