'Terror In The Crypt' generously boasts two gloriously-breasted starlets, and the looming, venerable presence of horror icon Christopher Lee, whose sepulchral-toned, Count Ludwig adds much verisimilitude to the overtly familiar Karnstein family misfortunes. 'Terror In The Crypt' is a noirish Gothic melodrama, with prolific scrivener Ernesto Gastaldi doing yet another salacious riff on Sheridan le Fanu's immortal blood-spiller 'Camilla'.
While the film has an admittedly lugubrious pace, this actually sits quite happily against the musty, high contrast, cobwebbed theatrics. Whereas, Jesus Franco will have even less plot, a surfeit of orgiastic flesh and interminable half-hour zooms; DP's, Guiseppe Aquari & Julio Ortas have clearly taken much care over their breathtaking compositions; with their effective use of chiaroscuro lighting, and some impressive, yet wonderfully subtle tracking shots. The striking master shots are equally atmospheric, giving vintage fright fans a glorious gander at all the finely honed Gothic baroque Camillo Mastrocinque has so meticulously crafted. I was also beguiled by Carlo Savina's spare, piano-led score, eerily placing the viewer dead centre within all these macabre machinations! To the uninitiated this all might seem a tad ponderous, but to those of us who still appreciate a rippingly lurid, creep-creeping yarn; wherein buxom, kohl-eyed lovelies cower timorously beneath their vampiric violators, and bloody maleficence creeps beyond the boundaries of death, 'Terror In The Crypt' is a timeless Gothic classic deserving of a little more kudos than it currently generates.
While the film has an admittedly lugubrious pace, this actually sits quite happily against the musty, high contrast, cobwebbed theatrics. Whereas, Jesus Franco will have even less plot, a surfeit of orgiastic flesh and interminable half-hour zooms; DP's, Guiseppe Aquari & Julio Ortas have clearly taken much care over their breathtaking compositions; with their effective use of chiaroscuro lighting, and some impressive, yet wonderfully subtle tracking shots. The striking master shots are equally atmospheric, giving vintage fright fans a glorious gander at all the finely honed Gothic baroque Camillo Mastrocinque has so meticulously crafted. I was also beguiled by Carlo Savina's spare, piano-led score, eerily placing the viewer dead centre within all these macabre machinations! To the uninitiated this all might seem a tad ponderous, but to those of us who still appreciate a rippingly lurid, creep-creeping yarn; wherein buxom, kohl-eyed lovelies cower timorously beneath their vampiric violators, and bloody maleficence creeps beyond the boundaries of death, 'Terror In The Crypt' is a timeless Gothic classic deserving of a little more kudos than it currently generates.