Perry Kate
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Diagonaldi
Very well executed
Tockinit
not horrible nor great
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
GL84
While trying to take care of an abandoned castle they're going to inherit shortly, a man and his fiancée find themselves under a vampire's deadly spell and try to break his hold over her before he can fully turn her into a vampire.An admittedly fun and enjoyable Italian Gothic horror romp, filled with all the usual trimmings and trappings of the genre: the large, mostly vacant castle going off in every direction, filled with hidden passageways, vaults and crypts riddled with cobwebs and dust accumulated for years, talk of curses and the dead coming back to life. It's all here, as well as the ever-approved women running around in low-cut blouses and lingerie, which considering who's doing that for the most part makes for some really enjoyable moments to come from ogling the women. As well, with such a frenetic and thrilling finale it certainly ends on a high note as well since this features so many great moments during the final chase through the castle and onto the grounds outside leading to a wild climax, so this has those areas going for it as well. There's only one real flaw here, and that it tends to be a bit too short, mostly though the second half which seems to be running through "Bram Stoker's Dracula" at a fevered pace in order to keep the film going, but the Gothic atmosphere and action make this one a real blast to watch.Today's Rating-Unrated/PG-13: Violence.
mlraymond
This is by no means a great film, but it has a certain over the top romanticism about it that's very effective in creating a strange, other worldly atmosphere.Unbeknown to the new owners of a refurbished castle, a vampire has taken up residence in the cellar. At a housewarming party, the aristocratic stranger dances with the beautiful wife of the bland hero, and then leaves, causing much gossip as to his identity and purpose. Later, he attempts to seduce the wife in her bedchamber, but her frightened screams drive him away temporarily.The best part of the movie comes next. The wife wakes up next to her sleeping husband, and goes out into the moonlit garden in her revealing negligee. She sits on a marble bench and looks frightened, but also as if she were waiting for someone. A man's voice calls to her and she looks around fearfully, asking who it is and why she can't see him. The vampire comes out from behind a hedge and hands her a bouquet of flowers, and declares his love for her. She takes the flowers, even as she stammers that she's married. The vampire makes a poetic speech about how her beauty outshines the stars. By the time he gets through, she is flinging herself passionately into his arms.This is great stuff. The vampire nobleman is obviously derived from Stoker's Count Dracula, and his courtship of the wife is unadulterated romanticism, even if a bit corny for some viewers.Graziella Granata is one of the most stunningly beautiful women ever to appear in any Italian horror movie, and her low cut gowns and night dress reveal plenty of her fabulous figure.Yes, the dubbing is poor, and the acting mediocre, and the dialogue foolish, the plot muddled, etc. But from the moment when the vampire ( who interestingly enough is never named; so he might actually be Count Dracula) appears at the party and dances with the wife, this movie had me hooked. The eroticism underlying all vampire stories is fully on display here, and well worth the inconvenience of putting up with the less inspired aspects of the movie.
johnrtracy
I first watched this film on TV in the late 60's, early 70's. At that time i thought that it was a pretty good film. Recently, i purchased it on DVD and have, somewhat, changed my mind. The atmosphere, castle and surrounding settings are very good, however, the acting could be better. The opening sequence is great, however, the movie goes downhill from there. Graziella Granata, is drop dead gorgeous and Walter Brandi, her husband/male lead is OK. My main problem is with Dieter Eppler, the Vampire. He is way too stiff and his makeup is overdone. He,i assume, does his best with what he has to work with but looks like an extra in a stage play, who just comes in and out. The music is fine and the film, overall, is worth watching. I just feel that it could have been so much better. John R. Tracy
goblinhairedguy
Here's a "full-blooded", old-fashioned (some might say out-dated), baroque Italian vampire opus which deserves a better reputation than it's achieved. Although Hammer Studios merits credit for re-popularizing the moribund Gothic horror genre in the early 60s, the contemporaneous Latin (Italian, Spanish and Mexican) efforts usually evoke a more authentically Romantic and decadent atmosphere. This one features overwhelmingly ornate sets; voluptuous ingenues with inviting dark eyes and heaving bosoms; high-collared, flouncy-vested Don Juans; absurdly stilted dialogue; and a lush, intrusive score full of piano glissandos, piercing oboes, and even a theremin during the vampire seductions. The deliberate pacing serves to intensify the well-timed shocks, there are some clever camera set-ups, and fine shadowy photography (particularly during the dungeon-set climax). Fans of fast-paced, violent, revisionist horror will think it a dinosaur, but connoisseurs should find it greatly satisfying.