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7
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8 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
Demented
Lord Arrowsmith (Paul Muller) tortures and murders his faithless
wife (Barbara Steele) and plans to cash in on her inheritance,
but things become complicated when her unbalanced twin sister
(Steele again) enters the picture...
After
a rocky start working for Rank in England and Fox in America,
eerily beautiful English actress Barbara Steele found her footing
in Italy. Granted she had grander ideas of stardom working in
the more 'serious' side of the Italian film industry, but her
casting in Mario Bava's classic directorial debut Black
Sunday (1960) changed all that. She became the new "Queen
of Horror" virtually overnight, a mantle she wore with some
trepidation, and it wasn't long before other Italian filmmakers
sought to exploit her talents in other Gothic chillers. 1965's
Gli amanti d'oltretomba (literally "Lovers Beyond
the Tomb") is one of the best of these later efforts, and
from an acting standpoint it offers Steele one of her best showcases.
The admittedly clichéd
setup comes courtesy of director/co-writer Mario Caiano, who
never really fulfilled the promise of this early effort; he
would spend the rest of his career helming various spaghetti
westerns, action films and historical adventures of varying
quality. Truthfully, his staging comes off as a little staid
and ordinary compared to the Gothic films of Bava and Riccardo
Freda of the same period, but what he lacks in elegance he more
than makes up for in sheer audacity. There's a surprising amount
of blood and explicit kinkiness for the period, though it all
looks a bit quaint and old hat these days. Even so, the stylish
art direction, as well as some superb black and white cinematography
by Enzo Barboni (Hercules and the Princess
of Troy), gives the film ample mood and atmosphere. Also
adding to the appeal is the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. This
was one of the great composer's earliest credits, and it also
marks his debut in the horror genre. The score may not be so
quirky and individual as his best known efforts, but it does
add immeasurably to the film's impact.
The cast includes
a nice array of familiar Euro cult faces. Inevitably, Barbara
Steele steals the show with her dual performances as the faithless
Muriel and the naive and unbalanced Jenny. The unearthly beauty
and persona of Steele leant her to being cast in dual roles
such as this, a trend established by Bava in Black
Sunday, but this is one of the few Italian horror films
that really allowed her to do some real acting. She's smolderingly
sexy as Muriel and believably bewildered as Jenny, and the latter
performance deserves note as marking the first time in an Italian
horror film that she dubbed her performance into English. If
Steele lingers in mind the most, that's not to say that Paul
Muller (Eugenie
de Sade) is far behind as the despicable Lord Arrowsmith
(and yes, I'm sure rock fans will have a nice chuckle at the
sound of the name). Muller, a Swiss actor who found ample work
in the Italian film scene, clearly relishes the opportunity
of playing a leading role. A fine actor often squandered in
minor supporting roles, Muller makes the most of every scene
he is in, and he manages to play the role without lapsing into
absurd histrionics. Beautiful Helga Liné, soon to become
something of a counterpart to Steele on the Spanish film scene
(she can be seen in some of the Paul Naschy horrors, but is
likely best remembered for playing the silky Russian spy in
Horror Express,
1972), is also in good form as Muller's lover/housekeeper, Solange.
Liné would later show no qualms about doffing her clothes
in horror films of varying quality, but here she manages to
hold her own against Steele while remaining dressed in a severe
outfit throughout. "Lawrence Clift" (actually Italian
actor Marino Mase of
Lady Frankenstein
— thanks to Robert
Seletsky for the tip!) plays
the young hero with sincerity, while Rik Battaglia (Duck
You Sucker) and Giuseppe Addobbati (Kill,
Baby... Kill!) perform capably in smaller roles.
Contemporary viewers
may find it all to be a bit too slow and suggestive (and admittedly,
there are a few too many scenes of people wandering about aimlessly)
but for fans of the so-called golden age of Italian horror,
Nightmare Castle is essential late
night viewing.
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Severin's
release of Nightmare Castle marks
the film's first truly acceptable appearance on R1 DVD. There's
been some controversy over the use of the title Nightmare
Castle, as this is the title of the cut American version,
but it is most likely the title it is best known by in the U.S.,
so it really does make sense on that level. The film has been
sourced from the original Italian negative elements, so the actual
on screen title is Gli amanti d'oltretomba — but the array
of Anglicized names (a typical ruse in Italian genre films of
the period, in an attempt to fool audiences around the world into
thinking that these were English pictures), as well as Steele's
misspelled credit (as "Steel"), remain as usual. The
film is fully uncut, restoring almost 15 minutes of material excised
from the U.S. edit, though it also should be noted that previous
bargain basement releases bearing the U.K. title The
Faceless Monster were also fully uncut — they simply ran
short due to the PAL conversion process. Even so, this is the
best the film has ever looked on DVD. The blacks are deep, whites
are clean, and the gray scale has plenty of texture. There is
some edge enhancement evident here and there, as well as some
very sporadic vertical scratching and other print damage, but
on the whole the 1.66/16x9 transfer looks terrific. The mono English
soundtrack sounds about as good as one could reasonably expect,
but one regrets that the Italian track was not also included.
While it's nice to have Steele's vocal performance preserved for
her performance as Jenny, the other vocal performances tend to
be of the campy variety, thus undercutting the mood Caiano works
so hard to sustain.
Extras include a half hour interview with Steele
(again showing selective memory as she perpetuates the myth that
Bava forbade any primary colors from the set of Black
Sunday), a shorter interview with Caiano and the U.S. and
U.K. theatrical trailers. As far as the trailers are concerned,
the more serious U.K. trailer looks and sounds pretty good, while
the familiar hokey U.S. trailer is in rough shape. The Steele
interview allows the actress to talk about her background in the
cinema, and while she still shows some ambivalence about her reputation
for these types of films, it's great that she's now willing to
embrace it somewhat and discuss it on camera. Caiano's interview
is equally interesting, and he explains everything from his choice
of an American pseudonym (Allan Grunewald) to his relationship
with the cast and crew.
6/03/09 |
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