5 tombe per un medium

Quintessential spaghetti horror film; it even stars Barbara Steele, the queen of such films. Every is there, the over-blown scenery including a medieval castle, a cast of delectable victims, the couple in love, and lots mysterious, unexplainable deaths, and as a bonus a memorable soundtrack. Is it the work of a maniacal killer(of course) or something more?

An attorney (Walter Brandi) arrives at a castle to settle the estate of its recently deceased owner. The owner's wife (Barbara Steele) and daughter reveal that he was someone who was able to summon the souls of ancient plague victims and, in fact, his spirit was roaming the castle at that very moment.

Not surprisingly for an Italian film of 1965, the quality (at least in the copy released by Mill Creek) is of average or below average quality. And unlike Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires", which came out the same year, this film is in black and white. Hopefully some day a company will invest in cleaning up an original print. (Dark Sky Films would be perfect for this, if we use their version of "She-Beast" as a template. Comparing the Mill Creek version of that film with Dark Sky's is the difference between trash and treasure.)

The most redeeming element of this film is Barbara Steele, who steals the show with her large, mesmerizing eyes. Walter Brandi, who plays the attorney Albert Kovac, is a formidable lead, and it is a shame I am not better acquainted with him. He appeared in other horror gems of the era: "Bloody Pit of Horror" and "Curse of the Blood Ghouls", and acts as sort of a poor man's Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. Interestingly, the actress who showed the most potential -- Tilde Till, who played the maid -- never acted in anything else.

Director Massimo Pupillo gave producer Ralph Zucker the directing credit, despite Zucker having no directing responsibilities at all. Why Pupillo found this film not worthy of carrying his name is beyond me... it is a solid story, allegedly based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe (though I do not know which story and rather doubt the source). To say Pupillo was a rival of Bava would give him too much credit, but he is an important figure in the early Italian horror scene.

Perhaps, in fact, Pupillo was a colleague of Bava's. The film's writer, Romano Migliorini, also wrote the Bava classics "Kill Baby Kill" and "Lisa and the Devil"... not to mention the original "Inglorious Bastards". So maybe they were all within the same circle? Yet, Bava now has the glory while this atmospheric Gothic horror -- easily on par with Roger Corman's Poe films -- is left forgotten.

Luca Palmerini's review consists of two words: "good stuff". Ignoring the occasional audio problems and lackluster video quality, this is a fair statement. The plot, acting and directing are all superb, and any fan of classic film will really enjoy it. Again, I hope a better copy surfaces, but until then there is still enough to appreciate here.

When an Italian Gothic Horror film from the 60s stars Barbara Steele, this is more or less the recipe for cinematic perfection, at least in the mind of yours truly. The wonderful Miss Steele, doubtlessly the most iconic Horror actress ever, is best known for her fantastic roles in some of the most fascinating Italian Horror films, including Mario Bava's masterpiece LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO ("Black Sunday"/"The Mask of Satan", 1960), Antonio Margheriti's masterpiece DANZA MACABRA ("Castle of Blood", 1964) and I LUNGHI CAPELLI DELLA MORTE ("The Long Hair of Death", 1964), Mario Caiano's AMANTI D'OLTRETOMBA ("Nightmare Castle", 1965), Camillo Mastrocinque's UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1964), and Riccardo Freda's L'ORRIBILE DR. HICHCOCK and LO SPETTRO. Outside Italy, she starred in another one of the all-time greatest Gothic Horror films, Roger Corman's PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), alongside fellow Horror legend Vincent Price. While Massimo Pupillo's 5 TOMBE PER UN MEDIUM aka. TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (1965) is not among the most memorable Italian Horror films starring Steele, it is nonetheless an entertaining and creepy little flick that my fellow Eurohorror buffs should enjoy.

In 1911, the attorney Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi) arrives at a Gothic castle in order to settle the will of the owner, Jeronimus Hauff. Hauff died one year earlier, but insisted in being interred for a year, before being re-buried. The castle is now inhabited by Hauff's daughter Corinne (Mirella Marvadi) his second wife, Corinne's step-mother Cleo (Barbara Steele), and the caretaker Kurt (Luciano Pigozzi). The rest of the personnel leaves the castle by night, since it is said to be haunted. In the 15th century, the Hauff castle had been the scene of the grisly execution of several man accused of deliberately spreading the plague out of pure malice. At the attorney's arrival, the village near the castle is struck by a series of mysterious and violent deaths...

As almost all Italian Gothic Horror films, this one is elegantly filmed and supported by a moody score. For 1965 standards, the film includes several moments of rather explicit gore. The death scenes are great and there are some awesome macabre set-pieces such as a glass showcase displaying severed hands. While there is no explicit sleaze or nudity, the film delivers some mild erotic scenes, such as Barbara Steele taking a bath. The settings are nice, and the film maintains an eerie atmosphere from the start. The storyline is not too coherent, and, sadly, Barbara Steele's screen-time is very limited. Apart from Barbara Steele, the most well-known face in the film is Italian cult regular Luciano Pigozzi, who is known for his resemblance to Peter Lorre, and who was part of countless Italian genre flicks from the 60s to the 80s.

Overall, 5 TOMBE PER UN MEDIUM is not one of the highlights in Barbara Steele's Italian Horror filmography; however, this has to be seen in the context that the film is in excellent company. Italian Gothic Horror films with Barabara Steele are generally as atmospheric and great as Horror cinema gets, and even this lesser one is a highly entertaining film that Cult lovers should not miss. Barbara Steele, we worship thee!

Another of those Barbara Steele Italian horror movies. I guess it's the dark black hair that always gets her cast as a heavy. She is always quite striking and a pretty good actress. This one is full of revenge, plague, and pestilence. Apparently, the lord of the manor has been mistreated or privy to the shenanigans of about five people and seeks revenge from the grave on them. One is his unfaithful wife, Steele. Each murder is set up in some bizarre way, each person murdered in an ugly, undignified way. There's always something in me that says, "Did they really deserve to die, or could he have cast them into some legal trap, like the Count of Monte Cristo. But death it is. Some of the people who die are not horrible people, but it doesn't matter. This guy has powers in the great beyond. What about his soul, one full of vengeance. Why have the spirits allowed him to be so heartless and venomous. The two good people, are a young lawyer and the daughter of the castle's former resident. She is tiresome and rather insipid. He is mostly confused. Nobody in his right mind should still be in that castle. But it is quite scary and visually impressive. It's worth an hour and a half.

5 tom be per UN medium directed by Massimo Pupillo, is a lackluster spaghetti horror (as in spaghetti western?)! Also known as Cemetery of the Living Dead, this Italian chiller thriller benefits largely from the presence of the stunning queen of horror flicks Barbara Steele. Generally a bunch of nonsense about a terrible plague, in which the victims are then summoned from the dead by an idiot for some vague reason. The transfer is good, but then film was dodge and dubbed to begin with so beware. Still for Steele fans a nice treat at this price.

Reall old and good horror with a great actors and great less directing. Original Italian horror film and really good one.

Starring: Walter Brandi, Mirella Mravidi, Barbara Steele. Director: Massimo Pupillo.