Nella stretta morsa del ragno (1971)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Giovanni Addessi (screenplay)
Bruno Corbucci (screenplay)

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Based on Edgar Allen Poe's "Night of the Living Dead"

Plot:

A Londra l'americano Alan Foster, di professione giornalista, incontra lo scrittore Edgar Allan Poe per avere un'intervista...

Plot Keywords:

Actual Animal Killed | Remake

Cast

Anthony Franciosa	...	Alan Foster
Michèle Mercier	...	Elisabeth Blackwood
Klaus Kinski	...	Edgar Allan Poe
Peter Carsten	...	Dr. Carmus
Silvano Tranquilli	...	William Perkins
Karin Field	...	Julia
Raf Baldassarre	...	Herbert
Irina Maleeva	...	Elsie Perkins
Enrico Osterman	...	Lord Thomas Blackwood
Marco Bonetti	...	Maurice
Vittorio Fanfoni
Carla Mancini
Paolo Gozlino

Also Known As:

And Comes the Dawn... But Colored Red (International: English title)
Dracula im Schloß des Schreckens (West Germany)
Dracula in the Castle of Blood (International: English title)
E venne l'alba... ma tinto di rosse (Italy)
Edgar Poe chez les morts vivants (France) (reissue title)
In the Grip of the Spider (International: English title)
Le prisonnier de l'araignée (France) (reissue title)
Les fantômes de Hurlevent (France) (reissue title)
Web of the Spider (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min | Italy:109 min

Country:

France | Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Company:

Paris-Cannes Productions

Trivia:

Although advertised as being "based on the story Night of the Living Dead by Edgar Allan Poe", there is no such actual story by Edgar Allan Poe concerning the events in the film. Like the classic The Black Cat (1934) with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, this film (and 1964's Danza macabra (1964)), scriptwriters Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi drew from Poe's literary traditions rather than a specific text. The most direct use of Poe's writings was the presence of an actor playing the writer and having him recite one of Poe's actual stories -- specifically, the short verse "Berenice". But there is no story called "Night of the Living Dead" by Poe, and no story relating the events shown in either film version.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Danza macabra (1964)

Not as macabre (or as good) as Danse Macabre

For some reason, Italian maestro Antonio Margheriti felt the need to remake his masterpiece 'Danse Macabre' almost a decade on; and personally, I can't see a single good reason for doing so. The original worked mainly through its atmosphere rather than its plot, and this was put across well through the stunning black and white photography. In the move from black and white to colour, the film has lost the main thing that made it great; and the fact that Margheriti doesn't handle the plot as well this time around ensures that this film isn't much more than an interesting cult film. In typical Italian fashion, the plot doesn't make a great deal of sense; and this is made all the more infuriating by the fact that it doesn't have the stunning Gothic atmosphere to fall back on. The plot follows a journalist by the name of Alan Foster, who ends up making a bet with the great Edgar Allen Poe that he can spend a single night in an old Gothic castle, which is rumoured to be inhabited by ghosts. While in the castle, the journalist encounters several strange characters; and soon finds out that they're more than they seem.

The only real name on the cast list belongs to cult German actor Klaus Kinski, who gives the only memorable performance of the film in the role of Edgar Allen Poe. The original film benefited from the presence of the beautiful Barbara Steele; but this film has to make do with Michèle Mercier, who isn't particularly bad; but is no Barbara Steele. Anthony Franciosa ('Tenebrae') takes the lead role, and like much of the rest of the film; is instantly forgettable. The atmosphere surrounding the central location isn't too foreboding, and the sets look more cheap than Gothic. Margheriti does help the film along by way of a number of shots that help to build the atmosphere; the scene that sees smoke edging down a flight of stairs being the standout. There is a sense of beauty about the film, and while the plot always feels like an afterthought - it does bode well enough to fully fit the style of the film. However, there are too many tedious scenes and for everyone that works, there's at least two that don't. Overall, this film may be a point of interest for fans of 'Danse Macabre' (myself included), but I really can't rate as a film worth tracking down.