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 | suspicion | mysterious event | earrings | back from the dead | 

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Taglines:

A mad, sadistic scientist on the loose!

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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

The initial script treatment for the film was titled Orgasmo and re-uses ideas from Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart".

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Quotes

Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith: [to Muriel Arrowsmith] I've asked you before not to come down to my laboratory while I'm busy with my experiments.

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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 Eurotika!: Is There a Doctor in the House? (1999)

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Soundtracks

Amanti D'Oltretomba
Composed by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

Badly written, beautifully executed

Laughable dialogue doesn't detract too much from this moody, sometimes disturbing Italian Gothic. The story seems to be loosely adapted from an M.R. James ghost story called "Lost Hearts". Although the torture scenes in the uncut version are remarkably strong for their time, there are other things that are more disquieting. Most hideous of all is the character of Solange, the maid, whose youth has been restored by a dead woman's blood. When she speaks of how the blood grows cold and heavy in her veins, it's a very unsettling moment. The black-and-white photography is beautifully atmospheric. Ennio Morricone's music is more conventional than usual -- especially the mazurka that represents Muriel, which is too simple and sentimental for a Barbara Steele character... but the tremendous Fugue for organ which dominates the soundtrack deserves special mention. In spite of its lapses, and with apologies to Mario Bava, this is still my favorite Italian Gothic horror film!