La cripta e l'incubo

Though only superficially faithful to Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's famous novella, "Carmilla," this picture merits praise for its consistent visual distinction, and a unity of mood, (elsewhere, and accurately described as "stately") that lift it far above the overpraised (and dramatically disjointed) "Castle of the Living Dead" which Mr. Lee completed about the same time.

Allegedly set in Styria, but filmed in Italy, this film boasts deep focus black and white cinematography that clearly takes its visual cues from Bava's "Black Sunday." Indeed, this film even features a witch condemnation sequence rather similar to the one depicted in the earlier film.

The castle interiors are alive with looming shadows, the rooms dressed with the appropriate paraphernalia of the genre, (flaming braziers, suits of armor, baroque prickets and saint statues; while the exteriors contain some of the most enchanting landscapes one could wish for--not to mention unforgettable nightscapes--as of two women fleeing across a hillside in billowing peignoirs and lit by the moon, (rather like the cover of a Phyllis Whitney novel).

Also in its favor are some scenes quite faithful to Mr. Le Fanu's original, as in the barouche accident which occasions the arrival of the vampiress, (here re-named "Luba" for inexplicable reasons).

There are some demerits: a heroine that looks like a cross between Barbara Streisand and Maria Callas, and an Elke Sommerish Lady in Waiting whose adulterous relationship with Mr. Lee seems entirely gratuitous.

Nonetheless, admirers of 1960s Italian gothics need to re-examine this piece which is often unfairly dismissed, as it warrants far more attention and respect than such slush as "Terror Creatures From the Grave."

The film is known by a few titles 'La cripta e l'incubo' (original title)'Crypt of Horror' aka 'Terror in the Crypt' aka 'Crypt of the Vampire' - no matter the title, it's a pretty good Gothic vampire and witch film. I enjoyed the film anyway.

It's basically about a girl who is having nightmares and taken ill. Her father calls in a doctor for help and a historian to find out more about the family history - to see if he can find what the family curse is and help put an end to it.

This is a film that if you enjoy the clichés like: family curses, vampires, witches, worshiping devils, evil spirits, nightmares, castles, cellars, graveyards and crypts all rolled into a fun Gothic film experience then you might like this particular movie.

7.5/10

Many of my fellow Eurohorror enthusiasts seem to have been disappointed by Camillo Mastrocinque's "La Cripta e l'incubo" aka. "Crypt of the Vampire" of 1964. For understandable reasons as the film, which stars Horror icon Christopher Lee, certainly doesn't range among the most memorable efforts in Italian Gothic Horror from the 1960s. Fact is, however, that this country, time and sub-genre stands for many of the greatest Horror films ever brought to screen, and even many of the lesser productions, such as this film, are entertaining films as such. This is one of only two Horror films by director Mastrocinque, the other being the vastly superior "Un Angelo Per Satana" of 1966 starring Genre-Goddess Barbara Steele (my favorite actress). This "Crypt of the Vampire" very obviously borrowed many story-elements from another Italian Gothic Horror film, Mario Bava's unequaled masterpiece "La Maschera Del Demonio" aka. "Black Sunday of 1960 (probably my choice for the greatest Horror film of all-time, and, of course, it also stars Barbara Steele). It can in no way compete with Bava's masterpiece, of course, nor with the many other Italian Gothic highlights from the day, be it Bava's, Antoino Margheriti's, or Riccardo Freda's films of even with Mastrocinque's own "Angelo Per Satana". Yet "Crypt of the Vampire" has many qualities. One has to give it to director Mastrocinque that he was capable of creating an uncanny atmosphere in spite of an obviously low budget. Again, he did so more impressively in "Un Angelo Per Satana", but one has to admit that this film is also highly atmospheric.

Count Karnstein (Christopher Lee) has sent for a doctor to help his daughter Laura (Adriana Ambesi). The young lady Karnstein has been tormented by terrible nightmares, and it is believed that she is possessed by the evil spirit of a dead ancestor... The film's major weakness is that it is too slow-going, especially in the first half. It is always atmospheric though, and the film really catches up in the second half, and gets quite creepy in some parts. Also, there are some nicely demented characters, such as a disfigured beggar. As it was the case with a truly brilliant Gothic film from the same year, Antonio Margheriti's "Danza Macabra" (aka. Castle of Blood"), this film has a certain lesbian subtext. The female cast in this film are beautiful, but not comparable to Barbara Steele (I can't stop praising her) and Margarete Robsahm who stunned viewers in "Danza Macabra". Also, while the (implied) lesbianism is a nicely exploitative element in this film, the explicit stuff that became common practice in Exploitation cinema only a few years later in the late 60s makes it look very harmless. Even so, it is a fun element of the film. More screen time for the great Christopher Lee would certainly have helped the film. The female cast members are entirely hot, but none of them is extremely talented. As said, the film's strong point lies in the atmosphere. Overall, "Crypt of the Vampire" is by no means a must-see or even a very good film. However, I personally enjoyed it and I think that many of my fellow fans of Italian 60s Gothic Horror might see it the same way.

If there is one thing that even the most low-budget of Spaghetti horrors excel in, it has got to be atmosphere. That is one thing that Terror in the Crypt does extremely well. It exudes a flair of picturesque horror and mystique enhanced all the more by its superb cinematography and eerie score.

Apart from it's great atmosphere, the film is very well crafted and entertaining. I would put it in the vein of other great EuroGoth gems like Terror Creatures From the Grave and The Blancheville Monster. Plus, the immortal Christopher Lee adds plenty to the picture as he always tends to do. But, like many of the other fans of this picture, I would have loved to have seen Lee chew the scenery with genre queen Barbara Steele as this is the type of film that was right up her alley.

Like so many other Gothic efforts, the story revolves around a generations-old family curse. Christopher Lee's character is a Count who fears that a witch's curse is starting to come to fruition as members of his extended family are dying one by one. A great cast of characters makes this story even more interesting. There's Laura, the Count's daughter and prime suspect in carrying out the witch's hex during her nightmare-wrought sleep. There is Laura's sultry friend Lyuba (I must note that the two starlets have great chemistry together and always look like they are on the verge of releasing years of bottled up sexual frustration on each other). A wise old crone who tries to help Laura decipher her nightmares. And there is a young historian who is brought in to try and find out as much of the family's dark history as he can in an effort to thwart the curse.

Terror in the Crypt (recently released as Crypt of the Vampire) is definitely worth the time and money for any fan of EuroGoth films or even just for those wanting to get a glimpse at Christopher Lee's Italian ventures.

One thing I could immediately appreciate about "Crypt of the Vampire" were the masterfully atmospheric opening sequences of a young girl, wandering around the woods by herself at night, and approaching an eerie and seemingly abandoned carriage. She spots something, dies instantly and we the viewers only witness the door of the coach slowly closing again. This was a wondrous mood-setter for an obscure and late 60's European horror gem with the inexhaustible Christopher Lee and directed by a random Italian dude who wanted to be as successful as Mario Bava ("Black Sunday") or Antonio Margheriti ("The Virgin of Nuremberg"). The heavenly beautiful Laura Karnstein, daughter of the honorable Count Ludwig played by Lee, witnesses the aforementioned opening sequence in a dream. Since she suffers from this kind of nightmares quite regularly, her concerned father seeks the help of the acclaimed Friedrich Klauss, who professionally restores manuscripts. Hopefully he can find a link between Laura and a notorious ancestor of the Karnsteins; a countess who reputedly kidnapped and killed young girls for the purpose of witchcraft. Is Laura really the reincarnation of her wicked ancestor, like the family curse states, or is the Count's young mistress Annette simply trying to drive the righteous heiress towards insanity? "Crypt of the Vampire" nearly isn't on par with some other contemporary European Gothic horror movies, but it's nevertheless a compelling and definitely worthwhile film. The script is full of obvious and slightly less obvious twists and occasionally even dares to touch certain taboo subjects, like subtle hints towards lesbianism. The Karnstein Castle is always shown from the same perspective, from beneath a hillside, but the interior filming locations are nice and gloomy. All the obligatory goth-horror elements are well represented, including thunderstorms, spontaneously dying candles, secret passageways, hidden vaults, etc. There are also a handful of uniquely grisly and genuinely horrific images in the film like the sight of a hunchback hanging dead from a chiming church bell, a corpse emerging from a coffin and pointing out who murdered her and voodoo practicing housemaids. Christopher Lee doesn't exactly give away his greatest performance ever, but even as a mediocre player he's still worth admiring. Luckily, in this case he also receives excellent support from the ravishing female cast members Adriana Ambesi and Véra Valmont.