Castle of Blood (1964)

A writer accepts a bet that he cannot spend the night alone in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Once night falls at the castle, several who had been murdered therein return to life, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Sergio Corbucci (as Gordon Wilson Jr.), Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony M. Dawson)

Writers:

Sergio Corbucci (screenplay) (as Gordon Wilson Jr.), Sergio Corbucci (story)

Stars:

Barbara Steele, Georges Rivière, Margrete Robsahm

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Steele	...	Elisabeth Blackwood
Georges Rivière	...	Alan Foster
Margrete Robsahm	...	Julia Alert
Arturo Dominici	...	Dr. Carmus (as Henry Kruger)
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Edgar Allan Poe (as Montgomery Glenn)
Sylvia Sorrente	...	Elsi Perkings (as Sylvia Sorrent)
Umberto Raho	...	Lord Thomas Blackwood (as Raul H. Newman)
Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	KIller (as Phil Karson)
Benito Stefanelli	...	William (as Ben Steffen)
Johnny Walters
Merry Powers
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Peters
Salvo Randone	...	Lester - the coachman

Storyline

A writer accepts a bet that he cannot spend the night alone in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Once night falls at the castle, several who had been murdered therein return to life, reliving their deaths and seeking to kill the writer for his blood in a vain attempt to stay alive beyond that one night. Barbara Steele, as one of the living dead, tries to aid his escape from the castle.

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Plot Keywords:

castle | bet | reference to edgar allan poe | poe | italian gothic | 

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Taglines:

They love only for blood!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

27 February 1964 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Castle of Blood

Company Credits

Production Co:

Giovanni Addessi Produzione Cinematografica, Ulysse Productions, Vulsinia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sergio Corbucci began filming but Antonio Margheriti took over after one week and signed the movie.

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Goofs

During the opening scene when Alan Foster enters the tavern, the Four Devils, a crew member is visible in the reflection in the doors glass window. He's using a small hand held device and generating additional smoke for the scene.

a creating smoke.

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Quotes

Edgar Allan Poe: [while leaving after finding Foster's body] When I finally write this story, people will say it's... unbelievable.

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Connections

Referenced in Delirium Italian Style: Ruggero Deodato on Mario Bava (2013)

User Reviews

Another Brilliant Gothic Tale With Steele

Antonio Margheriti's "Danza Macabra" aka. "Castle Of Blood" of 1964 is a beautiful and incredibly haunting masterpiece of Italian Gothic Horror, and after Mario Bava's "La Maschera Del Demonio" (aka. "Black Sunday") of 1960 and Roger Corman's "Pit And The Pendulum" of 1961 (starring the great Vincent Price) another must-see that earned the wonderful Barbara Steele her more than deserved fame as the most important female Horror icon in the history of motion pictures. But not only is the beautiful and brilliant Barbara Steele one of my favorite actresses of all-time, the screenplay to "Danza Macabra" was co-written by no one less than the cinematic genius Sergio Corbucci, who directed such ingenious Spaghetti Western milestones as "Django" (1966) and "The Great Silence" (1968). Italy's number 2 in the field (right after Mario Bava), Director Antonio Margheriti is one of the all-time masters of Gothic Horror, and "Castle of Blood" is doubtlessly his greatest achievement. Hardly another film works so brilliantly in creating an incredibly haunting, yet beautiful atmosphere as it is the case with this creepy masterpiece.

When he encounters the famous writer of brilliant macabre stories, Edgar Allen Poe, in a gloomy London tavern, young journalist Alan Foster (Georges Rivière) accepts a bet from a nobleman, that he can not spend a night in his haunted castle in the night of all souls' eve. As soon as Foster enters the eerie castle, mysterious things start to happen. After a little while, however, he encounters an enchanting resident of the castle, the stunningly beautiful Elisabeth Blackwood (Barbara Steele). The mysterious events so far, however, have only been forebodings of the terrors the castle bears, however...

The eerie castle setting alone would be sufficient to create a gloomy mood, the excellent black and white cinematography and a great score by Riz Ortolani create an incredibly haunting atmosphere that is eerie beyond comparison. The wonderful Barbara Steele is fantastic as always, I simply can not find enough words to praise this wonderful actress. No other actress has ever been capable of uniting ravishing beauty with the uncanny as it is the case with Steele, and no actress ever will. Besides Steele, the movie's cast contains another stunning beauty, Margarete Robsahm, and she also delivers a great performance. George Rivière's performance as Alan Foster is great, and the rest of the performances are also very good. "Castle of Blood" is outstanding in many departments: Barbara Steele Delivers one of her best performances, the cinematography and locations are beautifully haunting beyond comparison, the atmosphere is incredibly eerie... The film simply is a perfect whole of atmosphere, Gothic beauty and the art of terror. In short: "Castle of Blood" is one of the most atmospheric and greatest Gothic Horror films ever made, and must not be missed by anyone interested in the genre! 10/10