Terror no Cemitério

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.

I originally caught this black and white thriller in 1966 on a double bill with the color Bloody Pit Of Horror and Terror Creatures made more of an impression on me. It has great atmosphere, graphic special effects makeup (for the time) and a wonderful soundtrack. If anything is lacking, the ending seems a bit rushed. I recommend the VHS version that Something Weird released a few years back. It is struck from an immaculate print and contains the European version of the movie-this includes a brief topless shot (unfortunately not of Babs Steele but she does emerge from her bath in a subsequent tantalizing scene.) The Alpha Video DVD release is taken from a rather scratchy print and is minus the nudity but is available for less than $6.00. This Italian shocker would be a welcome addition to any Euro film collection.

An advocate at law : Walter Brandi , arrives in a castie to sette the state of its recently deceased owner . Then there appears vengeful spectres roaming here and there with fateful and scabrous consequences.

Nice horror movie revolving around a haunted house with plenty of scary beings , eerie murders , shocking appearances and anything else . Set at a ghastly castle where happens terrifying and creepy events. In spite of of a few scenarios and its short budget the movie is acceptable thanks to the evocative photography and eerie horror set pieces. Stars the great Barbara Steele , the main figure of the Italian Gothic , here become a terror myth , including films as An Angel for Satan, The Specttro ,She Beast , Nightmare Castle , The horrible secret of Dr Hitchcock , and the classic Mario Bava film : Mark of the Devil or Black Sunday . She is accompanied by a mostly unknown cast such as : Walter Brandi, Maravidí, Alfredo Rizzo, Riccardo Garrone and special mention for Luciano Pigozzi who used to play under pseudonym Allan Collins and nicknamed the Italian Peter Lorre .

Displaying a frightening and thrilling musical score by Aldo Piga . It contains a sinister and dark photography in black and white , taking adequate use of lights ahd shades , as well as the camera positioning , being made by the pretigious Carl Di Palma , to be followed a notorious career as a great cameraman in USA, especially for Woody Allen . The motion picture was decently directed by Massimo Pupillo as Max Hunter . He was a simple artisan who directed a few films as the Spaguetti : Django Kills Softly , terror movies as : La Vendetta di Lady Morgan, and Il boca scarlatto or Bloody Pit of Horror also starred by Walter Brandt along with Mickey Hargitay. Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable .

Having been in a kind of Barbara Steele mood, i decided to throw in the version i have had collecting dust on my video shelf for some time now. Deciding to compare my version to other information that might be listed about this films, i was saddened to find out that the ALPHA VIDEO version listed it's version as a mere 61 minutes, informing me that there was some 24 minutes missing from this release. Saddened i shall now search out the full film and do hope it is a lot better than this well worked over copy i have now. This film deserves to be remastered in a official version that contains everything cut as do all movies being released on to any personal format. ...... Happy Viewing.