Nightmare Castle (1965)

A woman and her lover are tortured and killed by her sadistic husband. The pair return from the grave to seek vengeance.

Director:

Mario Caiano (as Allen Grünewald, Allan Grunewald)

Writers:

Mario Caiano (story, screenplay and dialogue), Fabio De Agostini (story, screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Barbara Steele, Paul Muller, Helga Liné

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Steele	...	Muriel Arrowsmith / Jenny Arrowsmith (as Barbara Steel)
Paul Muller	...	Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith (as Paul Miller)
Helga Liné	...	Solange
Marino Masé	...	Dr. Dereck Joyce (as Lawrence Clift)
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	Jonathan, the Butler (as John McDouglas)
Rik Battaglia	...	David

Storyline

A sadistic count tortures and murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, then removes their hearts from their bodies. Years later, the count remarries and the new wife experiences nightmares and hauntings. The ghosts of the slain return to exact their bloody revenge, until their hearts are destroyed.

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Plot Keywords:

gothic horror | supernatural | suspicion | mysterious event | earrings | 

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Taglines:

WARNING! See it with someone who's shockproof!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

5 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nightmare Castle

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematografica EmmeCi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Mario Caiano initially wanted to highlight the gory scenes with red color. The idea was dropped due to budget limitations.

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Quotes

Muriel Arrowsmith: You had your revenge. Why don't you kill me? Kill both of us.
Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith: You, I will kill you, you tart, you. You and your filthy friend. But death, my dear, must come to you only after I've torn from your bodies all the suffering and pain a human being can stand, and you don't know yet how long it takes to die of pain.
Muriel Arrowsmith: You're a monster.

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Alternate Versions

The uncut dubbed version is called "Night of the Doomed", and runs 97m.

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Connections

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 6 (1999)

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Soundtracks

Amanti D'Oltretomba
Composed by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

Let Your Italian Nightmares Begin

A mad scientist finds his wife cheating on him with the butler. After torturing them with electric shock and other gruesome methods (whippings, beatings) he finally kills them. But to get the inheritance from his wife's family, he has to marry her lunatic sister who is now cursed with the spirit of his dead wife. On top of this, we have an old women who remains young with the blood of the dead wife, who feels the dried and cold blood inside her.

Sounds good, right? And it is. The only thing that could have been better was the dubbing from Italian to English, but after the first five minutes you hardly notice anymore. The black and white really sets a mood and the fact the blood is black (because it can't be red) makes it seem even more sinister than it had to be.

Luca Palmerini calls this one an "elegantly executed story of love after death." Director Mario Caiano (under the name Allan Grunewald) is upstaged the same year by Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires", though I daresay the former is better. "Vampires" is given too much credit, while this film (and "Terror Creatures From the Grave") are forgotten. Caiano has said that Barbara Steele had a face that was "elusive and obscure", and was "an introverted sort of person." Considering her mythical status, even at the time, this may strike the viewer as odd. It sure seemed odd to me! And let us not forget the classic, creepy organ music by Ennio Morricone.

The Madacy DVD claims to be "digitally remastered", but is in the same poorly lit, grainy black and white as always. A better copy would surely improve this film's legacy. (Caiano had intended the film to be in black, white and red!) Interestingly, when you put the disc in a computer, it claims to be "Last Man on Earth".

I'm beginning to grow more fond of old horror films, especially with my disillusionment with modern horror. And this film is one of the better old horror films I've found. Recommended for those who are sick of Hollywood pumping horror films out for little girls.