The Castle of the Living Dead (1964)

This Gothic Horror dispenses with heaving cleavage, secret passages and all that jazz for a cautionary tale regarding trusting creepy ass Counts who hand you invitations to their similarly creepy castles, and, strangely even for a Euro-horror film, it has Donald Sutherland playing three separate roles...for some reason.Those invited are a travelling troupe of performers led by greedy jerk Bruno, who travels with sister Laura, deaf/mute Gianni, level headed dwarf Nick, and newly recruited horny jerk Philip Leroy, who has taken over the role of Harlequin from violent jerk Luciano Pigozzi, who has flounced off after a bar fight with Bruno. This lot head off to the castle on the promise of a lot of cash, despite the warning of an old witch (Donald Sutherland!) who speaks only in rhyme.The first strange occurrence happens shortly afterwards when Philipe finds what looks like a stuffed crow stuck to a tree branch. Puzzled, he casts it aside and heads for the castle anyway, all the time hitting on Laura while Bruno grunts about the money they'll all make. Of course, Christopher Lee plays Count Drago, who lives in the castle with his hulking man servant. Drago appears to be quite the rabid taxidermist, as his castle is stuffed with all sorts of animals. You'd have to be some sort of actor in a cheap horror film to not guess where things are heading next...especially when Drago mentions that the new creature he's working with is 'the most dangerous of all'.Some people hate this film for some reason, but I found the set up different from the usual gothic horror clichés. Apart from Donald Sutherland's performance as the witch, and the bumbling soldier, it's good that the main hero of the piece ends up being the dwarf, rather than Philipe Leroy. I did have a good laugh at the dwarf dummy that is thrown off the side of the castle, mind. The sight of Donald Sutherland as an old crone speaking in rhyme and making a dwarf touch his/her hump for luck is something to behold also.I think this is also the earliest film I know that uses the Gardens of Bomarzo (aka The Sacred Grove or Park of the Monsters) as a location. Created in the 16th Century, this place is full of bizarre sculptures and buildings used by some fella to cope with the grief of his wife's passing. The Orcus is the most famous of the sculptures, having been used in the film The Relic, the naked Sherilyn Fenn film Phantoms, and of course Luigi Cozzi's utterly demented and classic film The Adventures of Hercules (which is one of the most entertaining films ever made).

"Castle of the Living Dead" is a slow and flawed Gothic horror entry.**SPOILERS**Traveling through the countryside, Laura, (Gaia Germani) Eric, (Phillipe Leroy) Sandro, (Mirko Valentin) Nick, (Antonio De Martino) Bruno, (Jacques Stany) and Dart, (Luciano Pigozzi) decide to seek shelter from the dangerous woods. Learning that their troupe has been offered a stay at a local castle owned by recluse Count Drago, (Christopher Lee) and against several objections, take up the offer. Staying on, they try to get the better of the situation and try to support their decision to stay. When they suddenly realize that their numbers are missing, they learn that the Count has a dark passion for stuffing and embalming animals and people, using the help of a special drug that he has discovered which preserves life in a death-like state. Using this, they try to flee the castle before it's too late.The Good News: This one here wasn't that bad at times. The castle's interior here are what really makes this film worthwhile, as it looks positively creepy. It's a regular Gothic masterpiece, as the normal components that this one uses is right up with the greats of the genre. The general appearance of the rooms, with ornate furniture, decaying traps and a flow that allows for some of the feeling of isolation and dread that the best out there capture the best that the film provides. The many different sculptures on display are quite fun, and make for an even creepier feeling from the location. From the different entries into the room all the way to the feeling that there's something that the outward appearance is hiding is brought the forefront. When the discovery of the taxidermy hobby is found, there's some really freaky scenes that come out. The main embalming one is the greatest one, and the few encounters outdoors are also worthy of praise. There's also the tour through the embalming room as the gigantic pieces of equipment used to perform the embalming, and once the talk turns to the special drug, it gets a little tense as the back-story given to it is a little unnerving and makes it feel really creepy. It's one of the best scenes in the film, and gets a lot right from it. The film does have a rather nice amount of action in it. The big fight atop the castle is a brilliant one, as well as the extended brawl occurring in the display room. There's also a pretty nice fist-fight thrown in at the beginning to put some extra action parts into it, and is enjoyable for the type and style done at the time. These here are what really keep the film going.The Bad News: This one here has a few problems with it. One of the things that ruins this is that there's a large amount of scenes in here that don't have a whole lot of purpose. The fight in the bar at the beginning is one, which isn't really necessary for it's plot and is essentially there only for the fact that it puts an action scene into the film. There's also the fact that the film literally stops to a halt when the troupe does their performance at the castle. It's a necessary scene, but it's incredibly dull and manages to slow the film down to include a scene that is really painful to sit through and makes it a really terrible choice to keep it through the length it is, and is a really big contributing factor. There's also the main factor in this one, which is the fact that there's a large amount of time where absolutely nothing happens and manages to provoke a sense of boredom frequently and easily. There's a large section through the ending of the film where nothing but talking happens, and the talking doesn't help the film. Most of it is about the disappearances and how they're going to get away, rather than actually putting a plan into action to get away. It's a little infuriating to see them actually catch on and not do anything about it, and yet because nothing is happening, it's boring to sit through. These here comprise all of the film's shortcomings.The Final Verdict: A really flawed Gothic entry, this one manages to get a few really good points in with all the other problems. Check this one out only for hardcore European Gothic Horror fans or Christopher Lee aficionados, while the others out there would find that this one's flaws come out more than it's good points.Today's Rating-PG: Violence

well, I've been looking for this for years, another film lost in the NAFTA/GATT shuffle. Amazingly enough, and with little fanfare, Turner Classic Movies dredged up a "restored" print and sneaked it in late night on Halloween, 2005.Christopher Lee is his usual charismatic self, despite smudges around his eyes as the only real makeup. The plot isn't much of a mystery, but it's fun to watch the cast run through the paces. Often confused with "Blood Castle"/"Torture chamber of Doctor Sadism" in reference works, it's easy to see that many never saw it, since it isn't all that similar except for the star. The two reasons that kept me looking are writer/1st assistant director Michael Reeves, and the debut role for Donald Sutherland. Reeves did his first direction on this, and some things will seem rather familiar to fans of "She beast", and "Witchfinder General", his later works. Sutherland plays 2 roles: an unintelligent soldier, and an old hag who speaks prophecy in rhyme. The hag is voiced by another, but Sutherland did his own dubbing for the soldier. Luciano Pigozzi turns up to add his own charm to the proceedings. Despite comments by others about there not being a huge need for restoration, I have to thank TCM for a lovely job, though the letterbox seems a little tight on top. it's old fashioned, and somewhat obvious, but definitely worthy of preservation.

The Castle of the Living Dead is quite a good, little known thriller about a man named Count Drago who has found the secret to preserving life instantly, a sort of life in death concept. His castle is full of all kinds of creatures that are in death just as they were in life. Lee plays the title role with relish as he entertains a group of roving entertainers in his castle. The film is quite atmospheric with some very good chase scenes through dark corridors and a graveyard as well. The cast is pretty decent with a pint-sized dwarf besting all. The film is of some note as it is one of the earliest performances of Donald Sutherland, who has a field day playing an incompetent policeman and a witch/old hag. Quite a good European little horror film!