A Mansão do Homem Sem Alma

An early film by director Antonio Margheriti under his alias 'Anthony Dawson' with echoes of 'Bluebeard's Castle'; the tone of which after he's spent nearly seventy minutes prowling about a spooky castle in pursuit of heroine Rossana Podesta is summed up by the exchange "What is that!? It's only an instrument of torture".

I collect horror dvds from the 60s and 70s. There are those that are classics because they are well made films artistically speaking. This is one of those films. Before I watched this film I had read that there was a jazz score that didn't seem to match the subject matter. At first, it did seem out of place, but once I got into the film I didn't even notice. The music actually plays a big part in building suspense.

Christopher Lee plays a nice mystery man role. Has a bit of a "who done it" kind of story. Over all a good film, especially for fans of Gothic kind of horror or Hammer films.

"La Vergine Di Norimberga" (aka. "The Virgin Of Nuremberg"/"Terror Castle") is a wonderfully atmospheric, and delicately demented Gothic gem from genius director Antonio Margheriti, that should appeal to every fan of the uncanny. No true Horror fan or even cineaste in general could possibly deny that the late Margheriti had a great talent to create a Gothic atmosphere. Especially his 1964 masterpiece "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle Of Blood"), starring the incomparable Barbara Steele is pure Gothic brilliance and ranks among my personal favorites. While "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" does not quite reach the brilliance of "Castle Of Blood", in my opinion, this is yet another excellent Gothic Tale that no lover of Gothic- and Italian Horror can afford to miss. The film is terrifically set in a medieval castle full of terrible instruments of torture. Mary Hunter (Rosanna Podesta), whose husband Georges Rivière) is the owner of the castle since he has inherited it from his father, awakes one night hearing screams. The castle was once owned by a blood-thirsty judge, and, after four hundred years, the judge suddenly seems to be walking the castle again, craving for blood...

The film builds up a wonderfully creepy and yet often beautiful atmosphere from the first minute, the eerie castle-setting, ingenious camera-work and sublime score by the brilliant Riz Ortolani go in hand how it will only be experienced in Gothic tales from the good old days. For the year of its release, 1963, the film has an unusually high gore level, and an enormous nastiness. Horror icon Christopher Lee (as far as I am considered, one of the greatest actors ever) has a small, but great role. Lee is once again outstanding, and my only regret with "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is that he had not quite a lot of screen-time. The English aka. title, by the way, is not quite 100% accurate. "La Vergine Di Norimberga" does indeed translate as "The Virgin Of Nuremberg", however, it is also the synonym for a gruesome medieval torturing device - the iron maiden. Atmospheric, excellent and very, very creepy, "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is a Horror experience that no real genre-lover could possibly afford to miss. Films like this one prove that Margheriti was Italy's second only to Mario Bava when it comes Gothic Horror. A must-see for every Italian Horror fan or lover of Gothic greatness.

This is a popular title in the Gothic tradition of Italian Horror cinema – from one of its most prolific exponents but, in hindsight, not really among the best examples – that I had been rather longing to see. In fact, I acquired it first in an English-dubbed version (also available on R1 DVD) and, subsequently, with its original Italian soundtrack (which is how I watched it now – although I do not recall it ever having played on Italian TV)! Curiously enough, while the film was released in the U.S. as HORROR CASTLE, the DVD sports the literal English translation of the Italian title (which refers to a particularly nasty medieval torture device).

Incidentally, despite the modern-day setting, events unfold completely in a vast ancient German castle! Similarly, the presence of genre icon Christopher Lee (billed Cristopher in the original Italian credits!) as a mysterious and sinister-looking manservant – bearing WWII-induced facial scars – proves misleading, since he is not actually the villain of the piece (although his character still perishes in the obligatory fiery climax)! The killer on the loose (who can also be considered a monster, given his hideous pre-DR. PHIBES look – ludicrously, as a result of the real-life failed "Valkyrie" attempt on Hitler's life, and possibly inspired by the seminal EYES WITHOUT A FACE [1959]!) is a Crimson Executioner-type torturer, albeit anticipating that very film by two years.

The heroine is played by Rossana Podesta' (soon to be divorced from the film's producer Marco Vicario), who spends much of the time prowling the castle grounds and conveniently discovering victims' bodies. Her husband (Georges Riviere) not only shuns her assertions to the ghastly goings-on but absents himself for periods on end which clearly points the finger of suspicion towards him; this notion, however, is dissipated when he finds himself trapped in a flooded underground cave straight out of Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933)! As it turns out, the real identity of the bloodthirsty maniac is not all that hard to guess – despite the film boasting the writing talents of Ernesto (1962's THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK) Gastaldi and Edmond T. (the 1960 version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC) Greville! Interestingly, the film is accompanied by an incongruously jazzy score by Riz Ortolani which works rather well; its main asset, however, is the enveloping brooding atmosphere vividly rendered through stylish color photography.

While Margheriti started out in low-brow sci-fi, he seemed to really find his métier within the Gothic Horror stakes, following this first effort with such effective examples as two Barbara Steele vehicles shot in monochrome – CASTLE OF BLOOD (though its color remake WEB OF THE SPIDER, dating from 1970, was a disappointment) and THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (both 1964), THE UNNATURALS (1969) and SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE (1973).

... starts out with Mary (Podesta) being awakened on a dark and stormy night.

She hears a scream, lights a candle, and goes to investigate. She wanders through the forbidding castle, finally arriving in the dungeon, where she finds a dead body in the torture chamber. Film goes from there.

Movie has beautiful cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini. The color scheme is predominantly red and gold, black and white, with lots of shadows mixed in. The music score by Riz Ortolani is jarring; part of it feels just right for the genre, while part of it sounds like it belongs in a nightclub.

Podesta's Mary is a refreshing change from the usual heroine. She doesn't just scream on cue and faint, she fights back and thinks before she acts. Lee is good, as always. The rest of the cast is ok.

Horror films' screenplay is routine, until the last half hour, when it has twist after plot twist.

Movie is a fun watch, very worth seeing. 3/4.