La Vierge de Nuremberg

What truly makes the difference between "La Vergine di Norimberga" and the rest of the Italian horror movies of the 60s and 70s is the amazing visual composition that director Antonio Margheriti creates with the aid of his team. Music and visuals converge to create one of the most beautifully looking horror movies.

Based on a novel by Frank Bogart, the movie is about a woman, Mary (Rosanda Podestà), who has recently moved to his new husband's castle in Germany. The Gothic castle keeps many secrets and one night Mary watches a murdered woman inside of one of the many torture devices kept in the castle's museum. Her husband, Max Hunter (George Riviere), thinks it was a hallucination since there is no proof a murder took place in the castle, but she is convinced that the old family friend Erich (Christopher Lee), is responsible of the murder. The mysterious dark figure of "The Punisher" roams the castle, but is he a ghost? or something else? This movie mixes perfectly the suspense and the mystery, the jazzy score at first may seem odd, but it fits the movie very well, giving a bigger atmosphere of surrealism to the movie, very fitting to Mary's confused state of mind. The beautiful sets are like a canvas, with a palette predominantly red that gives the movie an elegant, yet dark look. It is a very unique look for a horror movie, and it works in an awesome way.

The acting is good for the most part, although the dubbing that Italian movies used to have is a bit bad. Particularly in the case of Christopher Lee, whose voice is quite different. Nevertheless, Podestà makes a great performance and while Lee is relegated to a supporting role, he also makes a good job. George Riviere's performance may not be the best, although It would be better to judge it with the original audio.

The score is haunting, and very appropriate. Oscar winner Riz Ortolani created a score that sets up the atmosphere of surrealism the film demands. In fact, if a flaw was to be found, was that at times it feels too much style over substance, as there are points of high visual beauty but little plot development.

The SFX are quite advanced for its age, mainly in the make-up department, as the movie delivers some gore making a bizarre contrast between the beauty of the setting and the gruesome violence of the villain. While this movie may seem outdated, it is an overlooked gem that is still very good.

This was the first horror movie by Antonio Margheriti, and it was without a doubt his best. A joy to watch, Italian Gothic horror at its best. 8/10

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.

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.

Good and atmospheric Italian horror film that also goes by the title of HORROR CASTLE (which I think is more appropriate). A man's wife is terrorized in a German castle by all sorts of unspeakable sights and goings-on, seemingly committed by a maniac or "ghost" in a hood. The revelation of who is responsible and why is quite interesting. Christopher Lee is on hand as a scarred henchman of sorts, though it's unfortunate that his voice is dubbed. What really clicked for me with this film was the style of the movie. This was a gorgeous-looking film, brilliantly lit and full of mood, utilizing scenic locales and awesome castle dungeons and hallways. Its fine direction by Antonio Margheriti really made me sit up and take notice more than anything else, and it's what really elevated the film. *** out of ****