I lunghi capelli della morte

"I lunghi capelli della morte" by Antonio Margheriti is a classic b/w Gothic movie. Take a flickering candle, go down into the crypt, past the spider webs - and you wouldn't be surprised if Bela Lugosi was lurking in the shadow. Actually it's Barbara Steele which you can't complain about, either. Giorgio Ardisson plays Kurt, the son of a Count, who commits a murder, blames it on a witch, the witch is burnt and leaves a terrible curse behind - maybe the story is not something new, but it matters most in this movie to show how a man is slowly trapped in a revenge plan - so slowly that for most of the running time, he doesn't even realize the torment already began. That not much is happening, as sometimes reviewers do say, is done on purpose: Kurt would like to move, but he is becoming aware more and more of his helplessness, his inability to hide. "I lunghi capelli della morte" is a movie with intensity, atmosphere and beauty in its black and white imagery, and while I just wanted to check out the first chapter for the disc quality when the DVD arrived in the mail, I ended up watching it till the end - it was mesmerizing and really that good. Fans of the genre, don't miss it!

I think this is one of Barbara Steele's better horror films. It does have a creepy Gothic atmosphere - and great Gothic music to go with it. I like quite a few of the Italian horror films from the 1960s - 1970s - this is one of them.

This film surrounds a witch and lust. A woman with two daughters is taunted by a man who lusts for her - so much so he would force her into making love to him. She refuses him and is accused of witchcraft and therefor put to death. The older daughter is later put to death and leaving the youngest daughter alive. She grows up and marries... later on the older daughter (apparently a witch) comes back from the dead to seek revenge on those who harmed her family.

Good late night flick!!

7/10

Being a fan of Italian horror, particularly from the 50s and 60s, I was looking forward to this film having recently located a copy of it. However, it was somewhat disappointing. Most European horrors from this era don't move terribly fast, so a slow pace was neither surprising nor a problem in and of itself. This one, however, lacked something to keep it very interesting. The atmosphere wasn't bad; there was a castle and tomb that looked alright. The mood just didn't live up to expectations. It lacked the spooky feel of the greater films of this type such as Mario Bava's Black Sunday and Black Sabbath.

The plot, roughly, concerns a supposed witch burned at the stake in the late 1400s. She vows revenge, which it is assumed will take form in her two daughters, one of which being Barbara Steele (Black Sunday, Shivers, Castle of Blood). Barbara is as lovely as ever, particularly her long black hair. I prefer not to say more since I personally like seeing a film knowing as little as possible about it. The plot is nothing new anyway; originality in plot is rarely ever the reason fans of the macabre watch this type of film anyway.

For fans of gothic horror, and Barbara Steele, this is worth seeing though I would not say it is at the top of the list.

The great Antonio Margheriti, Italy's second-greatest Gothic Horror director (right after the unmatched Mario Bava), and the wonderful Barbara Steele, Horror's single greatest leading lady ever made two magnificent films in 1964. One was the insanely brilliant "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle of Blood"), which doubtlessly ranks among the greatest Gothic Horror films ever to be made. The other is this atmospheres and wonderfully macabre gem called "I Lunghi Capelli Della Morte" aka. "The Long Hair of Death". Maybe not quite as essential a masterpiece as "Danza Macabra", "The Long Hair of Death" is yet another glorious film by Margheriti, which once again proves that Barbara Steele is the ultimate goddess of Horror.

The film is magnificently set in the 15th century, when accused witch Adele Karnstein is burned in a rather bizarre stake ritual. While she is being lead to the stake, her oldest daughter Helen Karnstein (Barbara Steele)is forced into sex with the Count whom she has begged to set her mother free. Just before being consumed by the flames, however, the condemned witch puts a curse on the responsible Count and his ruthless son, vowing to take revenge from beyond her burning grave...

This is only a very vague description of the first ten minutes of the film, but since I would hate to spoil any of this gem's wonderful spooks, I will leave it there. The storyline is fascinating and truly macabre, and includes trademark Gothic elements such as curses, resurrection and revenge as well as the black plague. As in all Gothic Horror films by Margheriti, the atmosphere is incredibly eerie and haunting, yet beautiful at the same time. Gloomy castle corridors and dark tombs make an excellent setting for this film's wonderfully creepy storyline. Barbara Steele is, as always, brilliant and absolutely wonderful. As always when reviewing a film with my favorite actress, I get the feeling of not finding the right words, since I simply cannot praise this wonderful actress enough. The other performances are good too, especially Halina Zalewska, who plays the second female lead, is worth mentioning. It's also fun to see a small supporting performance by Italian Cult-cinema regular Nello Pazzafini. Pazzafini's name isn't very well-known, but he was omnipresent in Italian films of many genres in the 60s and 70s, mostly in Spaghetti Westerns, Gialli and Poliziotteschi. This is one of the earlier films I've seen him in. It is, of course, Barbara Steele who is the main attraction, however. As said above, the atmosphere is wonderfully eerie and the settings are great. The film is beautifully shot, even though my copy isn't in the best quality. The score is also very cool and contributes a lot to the film's haunting mood. For all the horny Horror fans out there, an additional quality of this film should be revealed: In one love-making scene Barbara Steele's left breast is revealed! (I am not sure, however, whether it belongs to Barbara Steele or a body double). All things considered, this is yet another great Gothic Horror gem with the genre's undisputed goddess, Barbara Steele, and no Horror/Cult-cinema lover should consider missing it. 8.5/10

Long Hair of Death is a great film. I have to disagree with other reviewers regarding this, both those here on the IMDb and some in printed publications. This is 1960s Italian horror at its very best and, to me, that means it is among the very best, period. I can understand why many in today's impatient, multi-task oriented audience would not like slow moving, atmospheric films which are very dull compared to the current era's action and gore oriented offerings. Films such as these require a cultivated taste of sorts and I realize they are not for everybody.

Long Hair of Death is outstanding because it is exactly what those who do not like it say that it is. It is slow moving, contains little action and there are long periods of -- not much. Not much, except for a feeling of dread and unease that begins immediately after the story begins and does not end until literally the film's end. The slowness is the main reason the viewer sits in uncomfortable agony waiting for something bad to happen, which eventually does.

The story concerns a woman burnt at the stake in 16th century Italy, falsely accused of murder. That she happens to be a count's wife and the count's son the real villain of the story are of great importance in the storyline. Giorgio Ardisson as the evil Kurt Humboldt is one of the big screen's most despicable characters, as throughout the film he commits multiple murder and rape, but sadly most persons not interested in obscure cinema will never know this or experience his splendid performance. The great Barbara Steele (How I wish she had done a greater body of work!) plays a dual role, her characters being pretty much the same as they were in 1960's Black Sunday, (La Maschera del Demonio), as Helen Karnstein, wife of Count Humboldt and also as her daughter Mary. Again, the story is pretty much the same as Black Sunday, with the emphasis being on the executed Helen and the curse she places upon the Count and his son Kurt Humboldt. Daughter Mary, who is a lookalike for her mother, assists in the revenge by playing upon the Count's guilt to destroy him emotionally and getting Kurt to fall in love with her. The fact that Kurt is already married to Mary's sister Elizabeth, herself abused by Kurt, adds dramatically to the sense of moral decay in the Humboldt castle.

The ultimate revenge is as creative as it is brutal. Watch the film to see what it is, I won't provide SPOILERS here.

Barbara Steele remains to this day the standard which all horror (scream) queens are judged, and that is interesting because she does very little screaming and performs little if any violence in her films. She is to horror acting what Alfred Hitchcock was to suspense directing. They frighten you with "What if . . . ," instead of actual brutality and exaggerated acting. From the moment she first appears on screen in any of her films one knows trouble will soon follow and it has nothing to do with anything she says or does. Whatever "it" is, she has it in abundance. Long Hair of Death will remind some viewers of 1972's Lisa and the Devil, (Lisa e il Diavolo) another story of a decaying household but set to modern times. One wonders how much better that film would have been with Ms. Steele in the lead instead of Elke Sommer, a fine actress but out of her depth in psychological horror.

Director Antonio Margheriti has never received the credit he deserves as a fine director of subdued horror. Margheriti will take you on a painstaking walk through the dreariest of castles and make you feel the suspense of every hesitant step and so it is with Long hair of Death. I recently viewed Long Hair of Death after having not seen it in awhile and was emotionally drained by the time the end credits rolled.

If you are unfamiliar with this type of film and are unimpressed with the sensationalism of today's cinema, then find Long Hair of Death or any of the other fine films of Margheriti or Mario Bava. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised and join me in my admiration of Italian horror cinema of this period.