Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jeffrey Combs | ... | John Reilly | |
Barbara Crampton | ... | Susan Reilly | |
Jonathan Fuller | ... | Giorgio | |
Jessica Dollarhide | ... | Rebecca Reilly | |
Massimo Sarchielli | ... | Giannetti | |
Elisabeth Kaza | ... | Agnese | |
Luca Zingaretti | ... | Forte | |
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Helen Stirling | ... | Duchess D'Orsino |
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Alessandro Sebastian Satta | ... | JJ |
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Raffaella Offidani | ... | Sylvana |
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Marco Stefanelli | ... | Benedetti |
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Tunny Piras | ... | Grimaldi |
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Rolando Cortegiani | ... | Tonio |
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon | ... | The Gelato People (as Carolyn Gordon) | |
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Suzanna Gordon | ... | The Gelato People |
A troubled couple and their blind daughter come to Italy to visit a 12th Century castle they've inherited. Soon they are plagued by unexplained noises, mysteriously broken objects, and the daughter's claims of an unknown nocturnal visitor to her bedroom. When the housekeeper and a local prostitute and are discovered savagely murdered in the castle's dungeon, John must unlock the castle's secret to save himself from jail and his family from the castle's secret inhabitant. Written by D.A. Kellough <dkelloug@infinet.com>
A family of three (Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Jessica Dollarhide) have inherited a castle, but have no plans to stay on. So they take inventory in order to sell off the property. But they aren't the only living relatives -- in the basement is the "castle freak", a deformed cannibal chained to the dungeon. If he gets loose, the family's heritage may become one of pure carnage.
Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator") directs this film with a cast consisting of Jeffrey Combs ("Re-Animator") and Barbra Crampton ("Re-Animator"), produced by Charles Band ("Re-Animator"). Maybe you've caught on, but this is something of a "Re-Animator" reunion... with a few people missing. And a much lower production value (the film quality looks like 1970s issue or something from PBS during British comedy hour). For the most part, this is pretty solid film.
Combs is quite good, and one wonders why he's not given leading roles more often. Crampton is also good, and the blind girl (Jessica Dollarhide, in her only feature film) was remarkable. The freak? I have to say the makeup, effects and even the mannerisms were impressive. There's a scene where a prostitute meets her end... and they really went out of their way to show how horrific the freak could be.
The story isn't fast-paced or action-packed, so if you need to be constantly entertained, this may not be for you. But if you like a good development in your plot, I think you'd appreciate this lost treasure (definitely one of the lesser-seen Gordon horror films). I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have been, because I was half in the bag from drinking Scoresby Scotch (it's the connoisseur's Scotch)... but it kept me feeling pretty good. Thanks, Full Moon Features, for one of your better offerings.