A truly sensational quartet of Italian gothic horror from the 60s and 70s from Severin. Some familiar titles, but never looking as vibrant and beautiful or sound as good. Sourced from their original negatives and occasionally offering both the Italian and American version. This is a particularly rich batch of terror treats this time around that you owe it to yourself not to miss out on.
Terror-Creatures from the Grave (1965) (aka Five Graves for a Medium) Two cuts- the Italian and American version- of this gothic horror gem starring raven-haired, saucer-eyed beauty Barbara Steele, the undisputed queen of Italian horror at the time. Albert (Walter Brandi), a lawyer, has been summoned to the remote Villa Hauf, for a changing of the will of a notorious occultist doctor. When he arrives, he finds that the man has been dead for a year and the villa is occupied by the doctor’s pretty daughter Corinne (Mirella Maravidi) and her sexy stepmother Cleo (Barbara Steele). He discovers the villa has also been built over the graves of plague victims and the doctor had been doing unholy experiments (there’s even a case filled with the dismembered hands of plague ‘spreaders’). Witnesses to the doctor’s death suddenly begin dying in hideous ways, and when the doctor’s grave is exhumed, he is not in it. Directed by Massimo Pupillo (under the name of an American producer friend of his- Ralph Zucker). It has all the tropes of the genre- and really builds slowly to an atmospheric, creepy, grave and crypt-opening end. The American cut has a different beginning (with a victim trampled by a horse) and a gorier demise to one character, who impales himself on a sword rather than hang himself. But I have great affection for the film and Barbara Steele is just great- especially when her evil side emerges. The extras on the disc includes a hilarious interview with actor Riccardo Garrone, who dismisses the film as junk and said he just did it for the paycheck. There is an interview with director Massimo Pupillo, and selected scene commentary with Barbara Steele, who angrily disputes reports that she was difficult on the set and denies that she got a “dressing down” by the director in front of the crew. Audio commentary is with film experts Rod Barnett and Dr. Adrian Smith. This has been a “public domain” title and has looked crummy for decades. It looks spectacular here, newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.
Night of the Damned (1973) This one is a real rarity- a sex and horror exploitation feast directed by Filippo Walter Ratti and starring handsome Pierre Brice (Mill of the Stone Women) as Jean Dupree, an intrepid investigative reporter, who gets a cryptic letter from an old friend who is a Prince, with references to The Flowers of Evil by Baudelaire. Jean and his wife Danielle (Patrizia Viotti) travel to his castle and meet his beautiful but fearsome wife Rita (Angela De Leo), who says her husband is dying of the same malady that killed his ancestors. Danielle begins having reoccurring dreams about a painting in their bedroom of a witch being burned at the stake, meanwhile Rita is descending to the catacombs of the castle, lording over sex orgies and sacrifices. Not surprisingly this ran afoul of the censors at the time but now is fully uncut (and even offers silent sex orgy outtakes as an extra).
The Devil’s Wedding Night (1973) A sexy reimagining of Countess Dracula in many ways, this stars the gorgeous Rosalba Neri as the vampire queen. Mark Damon (House of Usher/Black Sabbath) plays twin brothers who travel to Transylvania to hunt down an occult ring kept by the Countess (which lights up bright red when held up to the moon and can release all sorts of evil black magic on the world). One brother is seduced and bitten by her and the other attempts to save his brother and stop the queen of evil. Lots of nudity and bisexual shenanigans, which culminate in a battle to the death on the roof of the castle accompanied by a lot of thunder and lightning. Directed by Luigi Batzella, this disc has a delightful interview with Rosalba Neri (Lady Frankenstein), who still looks sensational, and her reminiscences about the making of the film are really fun. Audio commentary by film historians Martyn Conterio and Kat Ellinger. Also, an interview with the producer and cinematographer and a video essay tribute to Rosalba Neri’s breasts by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (author of 1000 Women in Horror).
Baba Yaga (1973) Based on a sexy comic by Guido Crepax, this strange and beautiful erotic thriller is skillfully directed by Corrado Farina and stars Isabelle De Funes (whose look seems modeled after Louise Brooks) as fashion photographer Valentina. Living and working in Milan, she’s independent, free-thinking, and has a relaxed, casual relationship with her director boyfriend (Luigi Montefiori/aka Anthrophagous star George Eastman). While walking home at 3 a.m. after a party she encounters a mysterious woman dressed all in black (played by the fabulous Carroll Baker) named Baba Yaga, who insinuates herself diabolically into the Valentina’s life. She is a 1,500-year-old witch who intends to use her dark powers to subjugate Valentina to her will. With all sorts of kinky S & M imagery, not to mention a porcelain “Annette” doll in a bondage outfit brought to life. This is a wonderfully surreal stew, a mixture of pop art modernism with gothic chills. A scene where Carroll Baker full-frontally disrobes before Valentina (an idea she came up with) was cut from the film (but the outtake is preserved here). I absolutely love this movie- there’s a dreamy, strange, hypnotic quality to the film, and the director at times replicates the comic strip visuals, which work beautifully. This 3-disc collection is in 4K, scanned from the original negative and comes with an extra disc of special features like interviews with the director and son of the director and expert video essays by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and short films by Corrado Farina, who unfortunately only directed two features. The third disc is the CD soundtrack by Piero Umiliani.
This entourage of Italian sex-horror looks fantastic. And what enticing reviews BABA YAGA. Wow.