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 The Long Hair of Death More at IMDbPro »I lunghi capelli della morte (original title)

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19 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Disappointing, though not bad.., 2 May 2002
Author: vemod from St. Louis, MO

Being a fan of Italian horror, particularly from the 50s and 60s, I was looking forward to this film having recently located a copy of it. However, it was somewhat disappointing. Most European horrors from this era don't move terribly fast, so a slow pace was neither surprising nor a problem in and of itself. This one, however, lacked something to keep it very interesting. The atmosphere wasn't bad; there was a castle and tomb that looked alright. The mood just didn't live up to expectations. It lacked the spooky feel of the greater films of this type such as Mario Bava's Black Sunday and Black Sabbath.

The plot, roughly, concerns a supposed witch burned at the stake in the late 1400s. She vows revenge, which it is assumed will take form in her two daughters, one of which being Barbara Steele (Black Sunday, Shivers, Castle of Blood). Barbara is as lovely as ever, particularly her long black hair. I prefer not to say more since I personally like seeing a film knowing as little as possible about it. The plot is nothing new anyway; originality in plot is rarely ever the reason fans of the macabre watch this type of film anyway.

For fans of gothic horror, and Barbara Steele, this is worth seeing though I would not say it is at the top of the list.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Italian Psychological Horror, 2 August 2007
Author: Tom Fowler (tom@tomfowlerwritings.com) from Overland Park, KS

Long Hair of Death is a great film. I have to disagree with other reviewers regarding this, both those here on the IMDb and some in printed publications. This is 1960s Italian horror at its very best and, to me, that means it is among the very best, period. I can understand why many in today's impatient, multi-task oriented audience would not like slow moving, atmospheric films which are very dull compared to the current era's action and gore oriented offerings. Films such as these require a cultivated taste of sorts and I realize they are not for everybody.

Long Hair of Death is outstanding because it is exactly what those who do not like it say that it is. It is slow moving, contains little action and there are long periods of -- not much. Not much, except for a feeling of dread and unease that begins immediately after the story begins and does not end until literally the film's end. The slowness is the main reason the viewer sits in uncomfortable agony waiting for something bad to happen, which eventually does.

The story concerns a woman burnt at the stake in 16th century Italy, falsely accused of murder. That she happens to be a count's wife and the count's son the real villain of the story are of great importance in the storyline. Giorgio Ardisson as the evil Kurt Humboldt is one of the big screen's most despicable characters, as throughout the film he commits multiple murder and rape, but sadly most persons not interested in obscure cinema will never know this or experience his splendid performance. The great Barbara Steele (How I wish she had done a greater body of work!) plays a dual role, her characters being pretty much the same as they were in 1960's Black Sunday, (La Maschera del Demonio), as Helen Karnstein, wife of Count Humboldt and also as her daughter Mary. Again, the story is pretty much the same as Black Sunday, with the emphasis being on the executed Helen and the curse she places upon the Count and his son Kurt Humboldt. Daughter Mary, who is a lookalike for her mother, assists in the revenge by playing upon the Count's guilt to destroy him emotionally and getting Kurt to fall in love with her. The fact that Kurt is already married to Mary's sister Elizabeth, herself abused by Kurt, adds dramatically to the sense of moral decay in the Humboldt castle.

The ultimate revenge is as creative as it is brutal. Watch the film to see what it is, I won't provide SPOILERS here.

Barbara Steele remains to this day the standard which all horror (scream) queens are judged, and that is interesting because she does very little screaming and performs little if any violence in her films. She is to horror acting what Alfred Hitchcock was to suspense directing. They frighten you with "What if . . . ," instead of actual brutality and exaggerated acting. From the moment she first appears on screen in any of her films one knows trouble will soon follow and it has nothing to do with anything she says or does. Whatever "it" is, she has it in abundance. Long Hair of Death will remind some viewers of 1972's Lisa and the Devil, (Lisa e il Diavolo) another story of a decaying household but set to modern times. One wonders how much better that film would have been with Ms. Steele in the lead instead of Elke Sommer, a fine actress but out of her depth in psychological horror.

Director Antonio Margheriti has never received the credit he deserves as a fine director of subdued horror. Margheriti will take you on a painstaking walk through the dreariest of castles and make you feel the suspense of every hesitant step and so it is with Long hair of Death. I recently viewed Long Hair of Death after having not seen it in awhile and was emotionally drained by the time the end credits rolled.

If you are unfamiliar with this type of film and are unimpressed with the sensationalism of today's cinema, then find Long Hair of Death or any of the other fine films of Margheriti or Mario Bava. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised and join me in my admiration of Italian horror cinema of this period.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Burning witches, Barbara Steele, creepy castles, and ghosts - What more could you ask for?, 17 October 2005
7/10
Author: bensonmum2 from Tennessee

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A woman is burned for being a witch. Her daughter, Helen Karnstein (Barbara Steele) vows revenge, but is pushed off a cliff before she can carry it out. The younger sister, Elizabeth (Halina Zalewska), grows up and is forced to marry the man who framed her mother. Then one stormy night, Helen rises from the grave. Elizabeth's husband immediately falls for Helen and together they plot to get rid of Elizabeth. Will Helen really help kill her sister, or is it part of a plot to finally get revenge for her mother's death?

If you're a fan of either Italian B&W ghost stories or Barbara Steele, there's a lot here to enjoy. There's just something about B&W that seems to work for me in a ghost story. B&W makes Gothic look…well, more Gothic. Color never works as well for me with this kind of movie. The eerie passageways of the castle, the witch burning scene, and the dead corpses in the burial chamber are especially creepy in The Long Hair of Death. But my favorite scene, filmed in all its B&W glory, has to be Helen's appearance in the chapel after having been brought back from the dead. To quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing."

Barbara Steele made a boatload of horror films that I enjoy. In fact, she's in my all time favorite – Black Sunday. I have no way of knowing if this is true, but she appears to be having more fun with her role in The Long Hair of Death than I've noticed in some of her other movies. Regardless, there's no denying how mesmerizing she is here. It's impossible not to focus on her in every scene in which she appears.

I suppose I should give the usual warning to those more accustomed to the pace of modern horror. The Long Hair of Death is slow going. Those who require a killing or an explosion every five minutes should probably just skip it.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Lovely looking Gothic yarn, 22 February 2007
7/10
Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Well, it's obvious that The Long Hair of Death takes a lot of its influence from the Mario Bava masterpiece 'Black Sunday', but even so; Antonio Margheriti's film manages to deliver a good horror story in its own right. The plot is pretty much your classic Gothic horror yarn, and focuses on a small village. A woman is accused of being a witch and promptly put to death. However, her eldest daughter knows the real reason for her death revolves around the lord, and she's promptly killed also. The youngest daughter survives and is taken in by the murderous lord's family, eventually marrying his son. Soon after, a deadly plague threatens the village; and the older daughter reappears to avenge her mother's death. The main standout of this movie is definitely the atmosphere - director Antonio Margheriti does an excellent job of giving the movie a foreboding feel through the eerie black and white cinematography and the imposing sets. The plot can drag a bit at times, which is a shame; and so it's lucky that Margheriti was able to give the film an atmosphere as it keeps it going when the plot takes a downturn.

Another standout about this film is, of course, the fact that it has a leading role for Barbara Steele. Of course, she was almost certainly cast because of her success in Black Sunday, and as such; this isn't her greatest performance, but she's always nice to see and she does play the resurrected woman well. It does quite often seem like Margheriti is dragging the plot out and this is a shame as the film is overlong as a result and it has to be said that The Long Hair of Death would have benefited from a shorter running time. Antonio Margheriti made some good films in his career, though the fact that he doesn't get good recognition along with the likes of Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci doesn't surprise me. This film was released in between Margheriti's successes with The Virgin of Nuremberg and Dance Macabre, and although I prefer both of the mentioned films; this one is still worth seeing for the Italian Gothic horror fan. The film boils down to a somewhat predictable ending, but it's a nice ride getting there and overall, despite the fact that The Long Hair of Death may not be the most successful film of it's type - it's still worth a watch.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Like father, like son, 14 June 2008
Author: sheenafilm from Hamburg, Germany

"I lunghi capelli della morte" by Antonio Margheriti is a classic b/w Gothic movie. Take a flickering candle, go down into the crypt, past the spider webs - and you wouldn't be surprised if Bela Lugosi was lurking in the shadow. Actually it's Barbara Steele which you can't complain about, either. Giorgio Ardisson plays Kurt, the son of a Count, who commits a murder, blames it on a witch, the witch is burnt and leaves a terrible curse behind - maybe the story is not something new, but it matters most in this movie to show how a man is slowly trapped in a revenge plan - so slowly that for most of the running time, he doesn't even realize the torment already began. That not much is happening, as sometimes reviewers do say, is done on purpose: Kurt would like to move, but he is becoming aware more and more of his helplessness, his inability to hide. "I lunghi capelli della morte" is a movie with intensity, atmosphere and beauty in its black and white imagery, and while I just wanted to check out the first chapter for the disc quality when the DVD arrived in the mail, I ended up watching it till the end - it was mesmerizing and really that good. Fans of the genre, don't miss it!

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The Ghostly Gothic Love Triangle, 30 July 2008
8/10
Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Admirers of moody European-made Gothic horror movies from the 60's rejoice! "The Long Hair of Death" has it all: sinister castles with numerous secret passageways and hidden vaults, malignant landlords and obedient servants, poor villages cursed with the black plague, the heavenly beautiful Barbara Steele, witches burning at the stake (whether innocent or not is irrelevant) and vowing revenge from beyond the tomb, uncanny thunderstorms and much more. And yet, it feels like a very atypical Gothic effort in comparison with the greatest contemporary classics of the genre like "Black Sunday", "The Red Masque of Death" or "The Virgin of Nuremberg" to just randomly name a couple. The setting and atmospheric are exactly right, but even though all the essential aforementioned ingredients are present, the rudimentary plot is unusual. In between all the witch's curses and acts of vengeance, "The Long Hair of Death" basically revolves on the bizarre triangular relationship between an obnoxious lord, his reluctant wife and her beautiful risen-from-the-grave sister. Of course, he – Kurt Humboldt - doesn't know his two muses are related, nor that one of them is actually a ghost and he definitely isn't aware of the fact they both despise and intend to kill him because Kurt (and his father) mercilessly burned their innocent mother like a filthy witch. Now it sounds as if I'm just carelessly revealing all plot twists for you here, and that's actually correct, but director Antonio Margheriti and veteran writer Ernesto Gastaldi don't even try to keep the denouement a mystery. We literally witness Helen Karnstein resurrect from the dead (in a gloriously macabre scene where flesh grows back onto the skull) and Elizabeth Karnestein openly declares her hatred against her husband, so it's only Kurt who doesn't know the outcome of the film. Oh well, the story usually isn't the main trump of this type of movies anyway. "The Long Hair of Death" is all about morbid atmosphere, nightmarish imagery and uncanny decors, stylish black and white cinematography and - of course – showcasing Barbara Steele's wondrous and penetrating dark eyes as much as humanly possible. Multiple sequences are downright astounding to watch, for example the witch burning near the beginning and the previously mentioned resurrection scene a bit later, and the suspense is even more emphasized through composer Rustichelli's creepy score and Riccardo Pallottini's tight cinematography. Antonio Margheriti's direction is magnificent. He never made any bad films and in my humble opinion he was Italy's most undeservedly underrated director. I could fill up another couple of pages talking about how mesmerizing Barbara Steele's looks are and how easily she owns every female Gothic character, but I'm guessing that part is already made clear. I have to congratulate the person who invented the title, as it was a brilliant idea naming film after the leading lady's beautiful long hair. I'll just add that, if you watch very carefully and don't blink your eyes, you'll catch a glimpse – like less than 1/3 of a second - of one of Steele's exposed breasts. Interesting, huh?

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Outstanding Thriller, 30 April 2009
8/10
Author: azcowboysingr from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

While the film quality of the DVD I bought is rather poor (faded & a little blurry), this is an outstanding movie. The plot is horror with a witch burned at the stake & cursing her accusers, a daughter violated & murdered, & another daughter raised by her killers & married off to the lecherous son. Of course, the dead daughter (Barbara Steele) returns from the grave to exact vengeance on the family who burner her mother & killed her to hide the fact that the Count raped her while she begged for her mother's life. The best thing about this film is the way a mood was set early on & never let up on the suspense. The plot is solid & well scripted for an Italian movie. For its day, the SFX are not too shabby. At times, I had the feeling that Shakespeare might have written this if he had been alive in the 1950's...lol. Another thing I enjoyed was seeing Barbara Steele in her prime, not to mention some scenes of her naked tits. While very tame by today's standards, the sex scenes were very daring & explicit for the '50's. I know that most of today's young people will not like this movie, finding it slow moving & even perhaps a bit boring, but anyone who enjoys well done suspense, atmospheric horror, & an intelligent script, will thoroughly enjoy this film.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
The Long Hair of Death, 3 April 2009
7/10
Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Perhaps director Antonio Margheriti's answer to Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH features a witch destroyed for the death of Count Humboldt's brother, framed for the murder by the real killer, Kurt Humboldt(George Ardisson)vying for a power of position in the kingdom. The witch vows revenge, cursing the Humboldts and calling on her daughter, Helen(Barbara Steele)to wreak vengeance on them. Having failed at her attempt to dissuade Count Humboldt of passing sentence on her innocent mother, Helen is then pushed off a cliff, into a rushing river, by him. Poor Elizabeth Karnstein(Halina Zalewska), as a child, had to watch her mother burn alive, and attend the funeral of her sister, Helen. As an adult, life hasn't improved much as Elizabeth has followed the commands of Count Humboldt, often fighting off the sexual advances of Kurt, who proclaims his intended desire to have her regardless of the young woman's disgust towards him. Under marriage, Elizabeth endures Kurt's control over her body, awaiting possible revenge down the road..it comes in the form of Mary(Barbara Steele). Helen's body awakens as the rains fall bringing hope to a village riddled with the black plague, and her corpse rises in the form of Mary, interrupting a church sermon, causing an already guilt-stricken Count Humboldt to collapse in a state of shock, his death providing Kurt with the throne. Kurt becomes enamored and infatuated with Mary, lustfully desiring her, soon plotting to kill Elizabeth. Mary, at first hesitant, soon joins Kurt in his scheme to poison her, suffocating her within a closed crypt. Thoroughly pleased with their "success", Kurt awakens the next morning in horror as the maidservant, Grumalda(Laura Nucci)exits her room after having a conversation with Elizabeth! How could this be?! The rest of the film shows Kurt's progressive state of unease as others mention seeing and talking with a wife that's supposed to be dead.

Admittedly, Margheriti's film takes it's time developing the plot, but I truly enjoyed the Gothic trappings of the massive castle and the secret walls which seem to exist throughout, leading to rooms as an exit from the burial chamber. Steele is featured in quite a grand style, Margheriti allowing her to seduce Kurt with her feminine wiles(..she is positively beautiful in this movie, and enchanting)and embellish in his torment at the end as a spirit whose finally seeing her enemy squirm. Ardisson, as the conniving, lecherous, egotistical, back-stabbing, underhanded Kurt Humboldt is a perfectly loathsome creature easy to root against, with the ending providing a feeling of satisfaction that justice was served. I wonder if those behind THE WICKER MAN saw the ending to this movie. I would definitely warn those with little tolerance for characters moving throughout a castle at great length, because this film follows them almost from one complete place to another. I had a feeling that Margheriti wanted to establish the importance of a medieval palace and how the characters move throughout, displaying the ability to cleverly hide adultery and fornication, while also showing how one could concoct a scheme to successfully murder someone without getting caught. And, to be honest, I think Margheriti simply enjoyed shooting within the castle, hoping to engage the viewer in the atmosphere within the walls. Above all, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH is still a revenge story through and through, with the director building his story, bit by bit, allowing Kurt to follow his rotten father(..who at least felt sorrow and guilt for actions he committed)to his own tragedy, just as the witch he put to death promised.

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Gripping but Lots of Wasted Space, 31 January 2007
7/10
Author: Hitchcoc from United States

I've just recently discovered the Italian horror film. This one is pretty decent. I could have been much improved with a little effort at editing. Everything is set up nicely for revenge. You have the evil of witch burning as an innocent victim is set afire. She curses the people who put her there and we all know she'll be back. Nasty stuff begins to happen in the dukedom as the plague begins to decimate the population. The bad guys prosper pretty well, isolated from the rest of the rabble, but then a young woman (Barbaba Steele) returns. To keep her quiet, the patriarch of the castle pushed her off a cliff. She comes back to help her sister who has been forced into an ugly marriage with the young master. There are a series of efforts to kill this woman and things come to a satisfactory ending for the audience. The problem is the pacing. It drags on and on. There are these meandering trips through the castle, seemingly going nowhere. The whole effort to cover up a murder seems so convoluted. Let's just say there are simpler ways to go about these things, especially when you wield a lot of power. Still, I mostly liked it. Visually it is interesting and the acting is quite good.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Bodice ripper here., 18 May 2011
Author: oscar-35 from Movieland

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*Spoiler/plot- 1964,(I lunghi capelli della morte) A Medieval costume piece with a wrongfully executed beautiful 'witch' by a arrogant nobleman and his family and the witch returns from the dead to exact bloody revenge on those who condemned her and tried to destroy her family of descendants.

*Special Stars- Barbara Steele and George Ardision are the leads.

*Theme- The 'wrongs' you do can follow you down the ages.

*Based on- Medieval folk tales and witchcraft legends.

*Trivia/location/goofs- Italian horror starring a major Gothic horror actress of these decades.

*Emotion- Mostly due to this rich costumes and exotic historic sets this film is very watch able. The films bodice-ripper love scenes make this romantic horror film stand out from other Barbara Steel films.

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