Customer Reviews

Nightmare Castle

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nightmare Castle has finally to DVD in a pristine print from Severin films. It had been reported all over the web about how Severin Films uncovered a negative and are remastering the print in HiDef which will blow away all other releases. Having watched this , you will indeed get a super clean transfer, widescreen and uncut. Time to get rid of the grainy or cut transfers.
This movie is an ultra Gothic movie, with tons of atmosphere & some shocking gore scenes. The musical score is phenominal. You get Barbara Steele(Muriel Arrowsmith) in a dual role. She gets killed by her sicko husband Paul Muller (Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith) when she gets caught having an affair. He remarries a reletive of Barbara Steele(who is blond), Jenny Arrowsmith who inherited her sister's fortune. Now he wants to kill her & inherit it from her.
The murdered couple come back to haunt Dr Arrowsmith & Jenny until they get total vengeance. They get inside Jenny's head to where she thinks she is Muriel.
That is basically the movie in a nutshell, but what makes this above average is the heavy Gothic atmosphere. If you are in the mood to watch, you will very much enjoy the film. On top of that the transfer of Severin films is just fantastic, with a couple of minor glitches here and there, but overall the transfer is very sharp with blacks looking very solid as opposed to a faded worn looking transfer. Severin films is to be commended for this effort. Very much recommended !

What a treat for the legions of Barbara Steele worshippers -- a beautiful restoration of NIGHTMARE CASTLE, with our girl in a double role and virtually every scene! The movie's never looked this good before; with the exception of two or three brief seconds, the image is immaculate. No Italian subtitles, but respectable English dubbing. And -- the disc's crowning glory -- a wonderful video interview with Steele, done for this release, where she talks in some detail about the beginnings of her career. Steele fled Hollywood, Fox, a blonde dye-job, Don Siegel, and Elvis Presley for Rome, where she fell in love with the Italian culture and the Italian film industry, making that series of horror flicks that elevated her to cult status. Full of intelligent observations about her directors and co-stars (including some information about her role that Fellini cut from CASANOVA), here's a half-hour that shows a Steele you don't know, but will love. If you think you'll like this release, trust me -- you will! Highly recommended for horror fans.

This film haunted me for years as I saw it when I was 7 or 8 years old and the ending stuck with me for decades. I never knew the title of the film and I finally found it by chance a few years ago. Unfortunately, the battered prints of this film that were available didn't do it justice.

I bought this new re-mastered version hoping for the best and I was not disappointed. The print is extremely clean and looks fantastic with a few very minor glitches. This version runs one hour and 40 plus minutes! Which is considerably longer than any print I've ever seen.

The film is dripping with wonderful gothic atmosphere and filmed in glorious black and white. It's a great movie if your a fan of these creepy old horror film and this version also includes some interesting extras. A thirty minute interview with Barbara Steele, a 14 minute interview with the director and a couple of U.K. trailers for the film.

This film has never looked better and if you're a fan this is a must buy!

As a big fan of the "golden age" of Italian horror films, I had a pretty rough copy of this movie I'd bought and assumed it was never going to get any better. Luckily, Severin Films managed to get hold of the original negative and create what is surely the ultimate edition of NIGHTMARE CASTLE. The film itself drags in places and the plot about a scientist who has a cure for aging long before Botox, Retin-A and plastic surgery is kind of silly at times but it's worth it for the great creepy climax. The cinematography is something I really failed to appreciate fully until seeing this incredible transfer. The transfer is great and evidently, they cut quite a bit out of this in order to fit into late-night television time slots. Thankfully, it is fully restored and has great extras like interviews with the director and Barbara Steele. Also, this has the first horror score from Ennio Morricone and it really enhances the mood. As I said before, I never appreciated the lighting too much on the old transfer but this is one beautifully shot movie. The make-up and special effects are excellent too. I knew I was going to buy this as soon as I heard about it but if you are on the fence about it, I assure you that if you have not seen NIGHTMARE CASTLE as presented by Severin Films, then you really have not seen it. I'm glad to have this pristine version in my collection and I recommend it to others who appreciate 1960s Italian horror films.

Italian director Mario Caino's film "Gli Amanti Del'otre tombe" was dubbed in English and sold to American audiences in 1965 as "Nightmare Castle" starring Barbara Steele who had appeared in Federico Fellini's "8 1/2". Barbara Steele was for many years a celebrated "scream queen" of horror films. Her exotic beauty- dark hair, cat-like eyes and pale skin, made her a hot item in Italian cinema. In Nightmare Castle, Barbara Steele plays a beautiful but spoiled scientist's wife who dallies with the gardener. When her affair is discovered, her husband tortures the lovers through electrocution in his dungeon. The lovers die. Some time afterward, the scientist marries his dead wife's look-alike sister or half sister. She becomes a victim in the scientit's twisted world but the lovers from beyond the grave make it possible for her to win out in the end. The cinematography is black and white but chilling and Gothic in its ambiance- old castles, dungeons, ghosts, creepy noises. It's an enjoyable movie with really great piano/organ music as well even if it's repetitive. However, for an old 60's film some parts are awfully violent and scary so this is material to be viewed by adults and serious horror fanatics. And of course fans of horror legend Barbara Steele.

Okay, Euro Horror buffs, its time to throw out every copy of this film that you acquired throughout the years. Severin Films has released the definitive version in all its atmospheric, black and white glory. Over the years, this film always received a bum rap by horror critics sniping that its not up to par with the works of Mario Bava or Antonio Margheretti and its partly due to the fact that it was always presented in a splicy, washed out print.
Not now. Here we have a disturbing fairy tale of betrayal and revenge from the grave from director Mario Caiano who, with Enzo Barboni, his director of photography, make a hauntingly beautiful hommage to the essence of Barbara Steele. Although always remembered for her performance as Katia/Asa in Bavas 'BLACK SUNDAY', here we have an experienced, mature portrayal giving Steele her greatest horror role to date. Fans of Jess Franco will recognize actor Paul Muller in an extremely, slimy performance and Helga Line, who almost blows away Steele in the Hot babe department, as Muller's mistress. The film is presented in sharp, widescreen transfer with a crystal,clear soundtrack which really enhances the haunting music score by, surprise, Ennio Morricone. Enjoy this wonderfully gothic, romantic gem of Italian horror from a time which we will never see the likes of, and in some instances, yearn for again.

Just some thoughts on this Barbara Steele movie...

Some spoilers ahead.

Nightmare Castle (1965) is an Italian horror film that has nearly everything you'd want in a horror movie suitable for watching on a dark and stormy night. It's atmosphere is dark and macabre and the organ music by Ennio Morricone that plays throughout is eerie and unsettling. It was filmed in black and white. The stunning Barbara Steele once again plays dual roles, just as she did in Black Sunday (1960). The plot is quite bizarre. Basically a sadistic count kills his cheating wife and her man. The count marries his wife's sister after he discovers that his wife's will gave her fortune to her sister. The sister is in an institution. After the count marries the sister, she begins having nightmares. That's all I want to say. Watch to find out how everything unfolds.

In my opinion, this movie isn't quite as good as Black Sunday, but it's no slouch, either. I recommend it for fans of Barbara Steele and fans of black and white horror movies of yesteryear.

A truly great collaboration starring the Queen of Horror & a supporting cast as good as she. The director, writer, photographer & musical score (Ennio Morricone of the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly fame) all add their own touch to this winner. It makes for a good spooky tale today. When it was released it was cutting edge frightening. Go B Horror movies!

This is the USA version of the black-and-white 1965 release of the Italian film that originally ran (in Italy) for 104 minutes. Unfortunately some imprudent editing has clearly diminished several of the finer points of the film, shaving off a star for me.

It's essentialy a terrific classic horror film, very gothic, and a bit of a psycho-thriller to boot. One big plus is the superb filmscore by none other than Ennio Morricone, (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.)

The story: An evil and depraved Count with a large estate, (who also happens to practice a sort of Frankenstein-ish medicine), catches his cheating wife [Barbara Steele] with her lover. He tortures and kills them, draining his wife's blood (more on this later) but he's nettled to discover that his wife has written him out of her will (she was very rich), having awarded all her riches to her step-sister who is locked away in a mental asylum.

The hag of an aged housekeeper had been helping the Count to do his wife in because he had promised her a cut of the inheritance when his wife met her demise. *But* he also had a means, by using his wife's blood, of making this decrepit witch young and beautiful and he does so [This point is not all that well-made in this version of the film].

Then the Count elects to bring the step-sister [also Barbara Steele but now with a blonde wig] home, as she has somewhat recovered her sanity, and he plans to gain control of the estate through her. Much to the displeasure of the housekeeper (now young and beautiful) the Count unexpectedly marries the attractive step-sister during the carriage trip home. [For reasons unexplained, the step-sister looks exactly like the first wife, blonde hair aside, which should not be since they were not blood relatives... oh well -- it was probably "half-sister" before the translation went awry.] The Count pacifies the housekeeper as the plan is cemented between the two of them to drive the new wife crazy again, making it easy for him to access her inheritance.

The final Macguffin occurs when the Count invites his new wife's asylum doctor to his estate to care for his unstable wife. That drives up the suspense a notch or two since this unwitting physician is now in jeopardy too.

I like this film a lot but there certainly are some abrupt transitions. I've also seen some very marginal copies on multi-film DVD collections so beware of those. You get what you pay for, at least when you're lucky you do.

In summary, I can definitely recommend this creepy drive-in film for fans of the genre. The setting is first-class and the terrific filmscore is just icing on the cake.

Aside from the dubbing being off, Nightmare Castle is one of the best horror films from the 'Love Generation'(besides Rosemary's Baby or Night of the Living Dead, The Innocents), yet. It sticks right to the plot, where some horror movies of that genre definetly do not.
Scream queen Barbara Steele plays a double role in this one; as (raven haired) Muriel who gets murdered along with her lover by her jealous husband Steven (Paul Muller). Her (blonde haired) troubled sister, Jenny is constantly plagued with visitations by her ghost. Jenny is also slowly being driven mad by Steven and the maid (Helga Line) and when given the chance, they slip a few mickeys in her drinks. Muriel and her lover eventualy re materializes and seeks revenge by killing Steve and the maid, while Jenny and her doctor (Lawrence Clift) flee the castle for good. This double role richly showcases her etraordinary and in some cases brilliant talent.
This film definetly has all the makes of a classic victorian horror story, with a touch of sexuality of course.
Since this is the shorter version, I definetly recomend 'The Faceless Monster'. This full length version also can be found on this site. It is featured in the film compilation 'Euro Fiends From Beyond The Grave.' Enjoy!