La novia ensangrentada (1972)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Vicente Aranda

Writers:

Vicente Aranda (writer)
Sheridan Le Fanu (novel)

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The revenge of a young bride on her wedding night!

Plot:

A young husband's sexual fantasies frighten his new wife and cause her to seek advice from Carmilla...

Plot Keywords:

Supernatural | Female Frontal Nudity | Breast Removal | Pubic Hair | Lesbian Scene

Cast

Simón Andreu	...	Husband
Maribel Martín	...	Susan
Alexandra Bastedo	...	Mircalla Karstein
Dean Selmier	...	Doctor
Ángel Lombarte	...	Carol's father
Montserrat Julió	...	Carol's mother
Maria-Rosa Rodriguez	...	Carol (as Rosa Rodriguez)

Also Known As:

Blood Castle
Bloody Fiancée
The Blood Spattered Bride (USA)
Till Death Do Us Part (cut version)

Runtime:

100 min | USA:82 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Isla de La Toja, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Company:

Morgana Films

Trivia:

The Anchor Bay release of the film is in English, also dubbed in English to clean up the Spanish accents of the actors attempting English throughout. It is not likely that a Spanish language version of this film exists.

Goofs:

Continuity: Susan draws a portrait of Mircalla Karstein, on which Susan's husband doodles in the upper right-hand corner. Later, when Susan looks at the drawing, her husband's doodling is missing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

They certainly got the title right.

"The Blood Spattered Bride" is yet another cinematic interpretation of Sheridan LeFanu's novel "Carmilla". An unnamed husband (Simon Andreu) and his uptight new bride, Susan (Maribel Martin) have a decidedly kinky relationship revolving around his physically hurting and sexually dominating her, which naturally makes her quite uncomfortable. They go to stay with some relatives of his, where he recounts the tale of Mircalla, one of his ancestors who died under suspicious circumstances. She's soon having very vivid and violent nightmares that include a stunning blonde beauty (Alexandra Bastedo) and things take an even more bizarre turn when Carmilla, a stranger who resembles the lady in the nightmares, turns up, and starts wielding a mighty influence over Susan.

This movie does have some of the elements common to the erotic vampire genre. It has the right look, and is always appropriately moody with some memorable images. It downplays the supernatural angle of traditional vampire lore while giving the villainess a different sort of motivation for her actions other than drinking blood to sustain "life". It maintains a dreamy sort of atmosphere throughout. It also has less to do with sex and eroticism than other films of its type and instead really lives up to its title and delivers blood by the bucketful. (This is certainly one of those cases where a knife *can* be seen as a phallic symbol, as the act of penetration occurs over and over again.) Its portrayal of lesbianism has less to do with love and desire for other women than animosity towards men. And it's not hard to imagine why such animosity would develop when the husband is used as a prime example of a macho man who doesn't like seeing his sense of control and virility threatened.

The acting is generally good enough, with Bastedo a standout as the seething Carmilla. I guarantee you will not forget the scene where her character is discovered at the beach.

This is ultimately worth a look if you have an affinity for this genre.

7/10