Le Moulin des supplices

Beautifully directed and photographed European horror film that owes a debt to Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE.

An evocative, creepy score by Carlo Innocenzi helps director Giorgio Ferroni conjure a work of great atmosphere and intense drama.

As in EYES and Franco's ORLOFF, the subject is a fanatic obsessed with preserving the life of a dearly departed member of his family -- in this case, his daughter Elfi, played by the achingly beautiful and sensual Scilla Gabel.

The setting, a windmill outside Amsterdam, is a superb arena for the fantastic goings-on that provide frisson upon frisson of wonder and dread. The "stone women" of the title are frightening, fascinating figures of fear and are richly employed by Ferroni who demonstrates an acute talent for fantasy.

The superb opening sequence establishes a mood that never falters, and the exciting finale, with the Stone Women ablaze, is pure magic.

A handsomely produced gem.

Most people who write about the 1960 French-Italian coproduction "Mill of the Stone Women" can't seem to resist comparing it, and quite rightly, to "House of Wax" (1953) and "Eyes Without a Face" (1959); I guess I've just done so myself! But "Mill" has a lot more to offer than just a mashup of those two great pictures. In it, handsome Pierre Brice plays Hans van Harnim, a writer in what appears to be late 19th century Holland, who goes to the windmill home of one Prof. Wahl to do a story on his unusual abode and the professor/sculptor's carousel collection of grotesque female statues. What follows, for van Harnim, is quite the nightmarish experience, as he discovers the secrets of both this statuary and Wahl's mysterious daughter, Elfy. While not nearly as classic or seminal as two other horror films that premiered that year--Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" and Uncle Alfie's "Psycho" (then again, how many pictures are?)--"Mill" still manages to provide some shudders. The film begins quite eerily, and its unusual backdrop, that of the misty canal district in Holland's countryside, is a unique one for a horror film. An hallucinatory freakout sequence that transpires roughly halfway in is truly disorienting, before the picture turns to more conventional, albeit still quite fun, mad-scientist fare. The film also gives us handsome sets, nicely muted colors, interesting direction by Giorgio Ferroni, and perhaps the most inspired use of a creepy windmill since Uncle Alfie's "Foreign Correspondent" (1940). And almost stealing the show, in her role as Elfy, is Scilla Gabel, a gorgeous actress with Sophia Loren-type looks and the otherworldly air of the young Barbara Steele. In all, a very fine horror outing, nicely presented on this DVD from the good folks at Mondo Macabro, and with loads of fine extras, to boot.

This is a nice, creepy film, reminding me of a cross between "ReAnimator" (without the humor), "House of Wax" and the "Twice Told Tales" episode with Vincent Price as the father of an untouchable daughter.

A young man staying at an old windmill-turned-wax museum is seduced by the strange and beautiful young daughter of the man who runs the mill, himself an eccentric old scientist. (is there any other kind?) But he, his daughter, and the family doctor who cares for and loves her, are all hiding a terrible secret...and there's a reason why the wax statues of famous villainous women all look so lifelike! When the pretty, innocent girl from the nearby village, (whom our hero has fallen in love with, despite the best efforts of Creepy Girl) goes mysteriously missing, it's off to the mill to learn the terrible truth!

This is a dreamy, sometimes slow-moving, but never disappointing film which features a great "acid trip" sequence and the surprising nudity of several buxom young hotties. Should not be missed by fans of the colorful Italian, Hammer- esque genre. Wonderfully atmospheric and genuinely creepy. Great stuff!

Vintage and cult Italian movie , an offbeat and creepy story whose important status it retains today . It deals with a sculpture-studying art student called Hans (Pierre Brice) who encounters in Holland a mysterious mill , and inside a carousel , a type of sinister wax museum which showcases amazing figures . There Hans meets the professor's attractive and seductive daughter (Scilla Gabel) , and starts feeling passion for her in spite of his real love for Lisa Lotta (Dany Carrell) . Little by little he becomes aware of the strange experiments being conducted by a deranged mad doctor (Herbert Böhme) and his nefarious helper (Wolfgang Preiss) . UNBELIEVABLE! A Beautiful Girl Becomes a Petrified Monster! In Blazing Technicolor . Chilling : it will scare your pants off . Monstrous : have you been petrified lately ? . Grisly : blood is red in Technicolor . Frightening and wonderful exciting ¡ . Why do warm-blooded beauties suddenly turn to stone?

This is an outlandish chiller story with grisly horror , genuine thrills and shocks . This was reportedly Giorgio Ferroni's one of the biggest success and being well written by notorious writers/filmmakers as Remigio Del Grosso , Ugo Liberatore , Giorgio Stegani and Giorgio Ferroni himself , though taking parts here and there of other films . The eerie story contains bit good fun with killings , chilling interpretations , relentless horror and thrilling events . The chiller version of the 50s films packs scary chills and terrifying deaths . Concerning a strange carousel with beautiful babes rather than horses , and the starring soon finds out that the statues contain shocking secrets . The film blends ¨Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe¨ films , ¨Hammer¨ style , and ¨Andre De Toth's House of wax¨ . The Carousel figures are the real stars of this production , being alrightly realized . Some scenes are clumsily shot but the movie has some good moments here and there , the illogical parts in the plot are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the creepy wax models , eerie killings and many other things . This one still has the power to give the audience the creeps , thanks to attractive characters nicely played by protagonists as Pierre Brice -the unforgettable Winnetou- as Hans who despite his true love for his girlfriend Dany Carrell he falls with a mysterious woman : the always gorgeous Scilla Gabel , as well as Wolfgang Preiss who starred several wartime films playing Nazis , Liana Orfei who performed a lot of Peplum and the unknown Herbert A.E. Böhme .

It packs a rousing and suspenseful original music by Carlos Innocenzi . Colorful as well as glimmer cinematography with brilliant colors by Ludovico Pavoni . This creepy and gory horror movie is also titled : ¨Mulino delle donne di pietra¨ , or ¨Horror of the stone women¨ , ¨Drops of blood¨ and was professionally directed by Giorgio Ferroni . He was an expert on Peplum and Western . As he directed ¨Pompei (1936)¨, ¨The war of Troy¨ with Steve Reeves ,¨Hercules against Molock¨ , ¨Il Colosso Di Roma¨ with Gordon Scott and ¨Lion of Tebas¨ (1964) . He also directed Western as "Fort Yuma Gold" , ¨Wanted¨ , "Blood for a Silver Dollar" , and Wartime genre as ¨Battle of El Alamein¨ and Terror in acceptable results , such as : ¨Night of the Devils" and ¨ Mill of the stone woman". Rating . 7/10 . Decent terror movie .

Mill of the Stone Women otherwise known as Drops of Blood is a creepy little horror that looks fantastic for a movie barely out of the 50's.

It tells the story of a young man who is set to work on a macabre waxwork laden carousel. He becomes bewitched by the mysterious daughter of the owner, but nothing is quite as it seems.

Italian made the film looks incredibly ahead of its time. Sure the acting is offensively overdone, the score is forgettable and the external sfx of the windmill are laughable but the concept itself and delivery is really quite impressive.

Italy dominated horror throughout the 60's and 70's, this early title is a demonstration of why. Yes it's flawed (Badly in places) but it's an interesting little title regardless with a brilliant dark finale.

The Good:

Looks great

Solid ideas

The Bad:

Gratuitous overacting

Could have been constructed a tad better

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

She totally got a head of herself!

Waxworks were a common subject matter in the 50-60's, we need a revival!