Le monstre du château

'Scream of the Demon Lover' stradles the time period when sex and gore were slowly becoming more explicit and extreme in European genre movies. Made in 1970, the cast is a hodgepodge of nationalities and names, leading one to wonder if anyone could understand each other during shooting...the dialog ie obviously dubbed, so it's possible that the wooden acting is really the result of too many languages being spoken at once. Similar in some ways to Bava's far superior "Whip and Body", this film presents the story of a young female chemist who comes to live in a town's gothic castle helping the young baron find a way to bring his dead brother back to life. Most of the plot twists come from Italian gothic horror films of the 60's , and there is really very little original or striking about the locations or performances. In short, 'Scream of the Demon Lover' is a well-paced but cliche-laden movie that probably will entertain completists only.

This is the second José Luis Merino film I've seen this week and comparing the two, SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER is much more sexual in nature than TERROR OF THE LIVING DEAD due, no doubt, to the Italians being involved. DEMON LOVER is also set in the nineteenth century and stars Erna Schürer as a kittenish chemist who's come to Baron Dalmar's medieval estate to assist him in trying to bring his dead brother back to life. The villagers warn her that the Baron is killing women and ripping them to shreds after consensual sex but she stays on anyway, even after being drugged nightly and put on a rack in the dungeon (?!).

Although it's nowhere near as atmospheric or entertaining, the movie owes something of a debt to Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY and it's fascination with sadomasochistic mise-en-scène. The Baron and his hounds cut a dashing figure atop the grand staircase and sexy Schürer shows her globes a lot but she's outshone by the exquisite Agostina Belli, who also bares her boobs in the secondary role of a castle servant.

Erna Schürer was born Emma Costantino in Naples, Italy and modeled for "Vogue" and "Harper's Bazaar"before appearing in the popular "fumetti" foto-comic "Satanik" in the mid-60s. Placed under contract by movie producer Alberto Grimaldi, Erna spent most of the '70s cranking out "classics" like EROTIC CONFESSIONS FROM A WOMEN'S PRISON, YOUR HANDS ON MY BODY, STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER, MY PLEASURE IS YOUR PLEASURE, and DEPORTED WOMEN OF THE SS SPECIAL SECTION before more-or-less disappearing from the cinema scene. There's no birth or death dates given for Erna on IMDb and there's precious little about her on the worldwide web, either, for that matter. Today, Schürer's sure as sh!t a GILF somewhere (unless she's split the scene, if you know what I mean).

Ivana, a chemist, is hired by Baron Janos Dolmer to work in his secret laboratory in his big castle. The castle is located outside a small village, in which a series of brutal murders of young women has been committed. The townspeople all suspect Janos and his big doberman dogs (or is it rotweilers?). Ivana moves into the castle and pretty soon strange things starts to happen. Nobody of Janos' staff seems to want her around, her drink gets spiked and she has nightmares of a torture chamber in the cellar. Or is it really a dream? Janos himself is a bit suspicious, and the experiment he wants Ivana to participate in is far from normal.

It's quiet a good plot, and the characters are interesting. There are some logical gaps and the `scientific' discussions held between Ivana and Janos are laughable. The castle is beautiful and the atmosphere in the movie is very gothic. The flick features some nudity and sex.

I'd give this one a 6 out of 10. I'd recommend `La plus longue nuit du diable' by Jean Brismée instead if you're looking for an excellent 70's gothic horror movie.

Of course I was not familiar with the 1970 Italian horror movie titled "Il Castello Dalle Porte Di Fuoco" (aka "Scream of the Demon Lover") prior to stumbling upon it here in 2025 by random chance. And given my love of all things horror, of course I had to check out what director José Luis Merino had to offer. The English title of the movie was a bit odd, as the Italian title translates into "The Castle With the Door of Fire".

Was I harboring any grand expectations? No, not at all, as the movie was made five years before I was born, and the movie's synopsis wasn't exactly promising something extraordinary.

Writers Enrico Colombo, José Luis Merino and María del Carmen Martínez Román put together a fair enough script and storyline. It made for a watchable movie, for sure, but hardly a gem in the horror cinema.

Given my limited exposure to Italian cinema, much more so Italian cinema from before I was born, then I wasn't familiar with a single actress or actor on the cast list. The acting performances in the movie were definitely fair.

The version I had the chance to watch was dubbed in English, and yeah, I am not fond of movies dubbed in general, as I prefer to watch a movie in its original language. But at least the dubbing work in this 1970 movie wasn't as dubious as in many other dubbed movies, so that counted for something at least.

The movie doesn't really utilize special effects much, so there wasn't much to write home about there.

Watchable a single time, but the movie doesn't have the contents for more than that single viewing.

My rating of director José Luis Merino's 1970 movie "Il Castello Dalle Porte Di Fuoco" lands on a four out of ten stars.

A scary and creepy coproduction concerning a young woman , Ivanna : Erna Schurer , a scientist who has a busy day at a remote real state . As she comes to an eerie mansion located at an isolated place, there she works for a reclusive Baron : Charles Quiney as a mad doctor . She fantasizes about him, and both of whom fall in love, later on , to be aware the aristocrat is not what he seems . Along the way a rash of rather cruel killings happens in the area . Meanwhile , a police inspector: Mariano Vidal Molina attempts to track down a killer who is committing the grisly murders . And eventually Ivanna discovers a strange individual roaming in the cellar , corridor and rooms .

A horrifying Spanish Gothic with suspense, thrillls , tense , ghastly scenes and brief nudism in charge of two beauty Euro-starlettes : ans Agostina Belli and Erna Schurer . It was a limited success at the boxoffice , and being nowadays better considered than in the past . Stars Erna Schurer under pseudonym Jennifer Halley and Charles Quiney as Jeffrey Chase . Charles Quiney , was a mediocre Spanish actor , who played a few films , as he took a chance and jumped from warfare films : When heroes die , Hell Commandos to play adventure movies as Tiger of Kyber , Robin Hood and three Zorros : Zorro's Last adventure , Zorro rider of vengeance and Zorro of Monterrey . As he showed up almost exclusively in pictures directed by Jose Luis Merino , in fact Quiney was his fetish actor , and he was even known as the Spanish Errol Flynn. His career failed and eventually became a beggar and busker in the Madrid streets . In the film there various familiar faces of the Eurotrash of the 60s and 70s as Spanish people : Charles Quiney , Mariano Vidal Molina , Antonio Giménez Escribano and Italian actresses as Erna Schurer , Cristiano Galloni and Agustín Belli , the latter to be continued a successful career playing even with Kirk Douglas in Holocaust 2000.

It contains a granulated and washed-out cinematography by Emanuele Di Cola , being really necessary a perfect remastering . Shot on location in Spain and Italy : Grazzano Visconti , Emilia Romagna , Castello Di Montechiarugolo .This horrific motion picture was middlingly directed by Jose Luis Merino who recently passed away . This was a nice Spanish artisan who had a long career , shooting and writing all kind of genres , such as : Spaghetti Western : More Dollars for the MacGregor , Requiem for a Gringo , Gatlin Gun , Seven ride to Death , Frontier South . Thrillers : Colpo Sensazionale Al Servicio Del Sifar , USA violation or revenge, Superagents in Majorca , Shouts of Anxiety . Musical : Europa Sings , Aquellos Tiempos Cuple . Adventures : Robin Hood , three Zorros , Tiger of Kyber , Rebellion of the Bucaneers , Tarzan and King Salomon's mines . And horror : The Hanging woman and this Scream of the demon lover.