An atmospheric, at times startling, and continuously mysterious and involving picture, 1965's "Terror-Creatures From the Grave" nevertheless turns out to be a somewhat tarnished gem in the crown for the so-called Queen of Horror, Barbara Steele. In the film, hunky leading man Walter Brandi arrives at the moldering mansion of Jeronimus Hauff, in the year 1911. An attorney, he learns from Hauff's widow (our Babs) that her scientist/spiritualist husband has been dead for almost a full year, and was thus incapable of summoning anyone to his house. But when Hauff's grave turns out to be empty, and all his old "friends" start dying one by one, Hauff's demise--or possible return from the dead--becomes open for debate. Into this moody stew, director Massimo Pupillo blends some eerie music (courtesy of Aldo Piga, and including a haunting medieval tune regarding "pure water") as well as some mild gross-out sequences: a hoofed-out eye cavity, an acid-scarred face, leaking guts after a saber impalement, and quivering boils on a plague victim's face. The film also boasts some effective B&W lensing and realistically run-down set decoration. As for our Barbara, although she is absent from the screen for at least half of the picture, she makes a decided impression with what time she has. Just look at the expression on her face during and just after her death scene...not for nothing has she been called the Queen of Horror! On the down side, the ending of this film is a terribly rushed affair, concluding with a lame deus ex machina windup not to be believed. Worse, we never even get to see those "terror-creatures from the grave"...only their deformed hands as the camera lets us observe from their POV. I cannot imagine any horror fan being completely satisfied with this denouement. Still, all in all, pretty effective stuff, especially for lovers of '60s Italian horror or Ms. Steele. Oh...and some more bad news. This DVD comes to us courtesy of those indolent underachievers at Alpha Video, with a fairly damaged print and lousy dubbing. If ever a horror film warranted a loving restoration....
Review of Terror-Creatures from the Grave
