I really wish I had not been loaded on cold medicine and halfway to comatose when I sat down to watch this movie, because from what I remember through the Robitussin haze, it was pretty cool.
A young man named Peter goes missing and his brother Robert tracks him to a grandiose country estate which is lorded over by the elegant Christopher Lee and his blonde bombshell niece, Eve. The village is gearing up for a yearly celebration not unlike The Burning Man, and Robert has no place to stay while continuing the search for his brother. Mr, Lee kindly offers him a room in his mansion, although Robert really seems less interested in finding his brother than in getting Eve into bed. However, when Robert begins having dreadful nightmares that may not exist only in his head, it is up to him, Eve and a wheelchair bound Boris Karloff to solve the mystery.
There's some really cool stuff in this hard-to-find film, not the least of which is Barbara Steele with blue/green skin and a headdress of rams horns, surrounded by guys in leather, whips and goats masks. As Lavinia Morley, the centuries dead witch who may or may not be possessing one of her descendants, Steele has rarely looked more beautiful and seductive as she does here. This film never takes itself too seriously and there are some wickedly funny moments, something which is all too often missing from horror films, or just isn't done right. Boris Karloff is a riot in one of his last film roles - the stories go that he was plagued by pneumonia on the set of this film and died from complications soon afterwards, but that did not stop him from playing the part of a slightly eccentric, somewhat snooty but always likable scholar to absolute perfection. The opening scenes are great fun, going from Black Mass to psychedelic 60s party (bordering on orgy) within minutes. You won't be bored by the visuals, that's for sure.
The story may not be anything new, but it is cleverly told and seems always fresh and bright for all that the film is 40 years old. The performances are really great and the characters are truly likable, even the bad guys. It's not an easy film to find, but if you can, grab it. It's worth seeing, even if only once.
A young man named Peter goes missing and his brother Robert tracks him to a grandiose country estate which is lorded over by the elegant Christopher Lee and his blonde bombshell niece, Eve. The village is gearing up for a yearly celebration not unlike The Burning Man, and Robert has no place to stay while continuing the search for his brother. Mr, Lee kindly offers him a room in his mansion, although Robert really seems less interested in finding his brother than in getting Eve into bed. However, when Robert begins having dreadful nightmares that may not exist only in his head, it is up to him, Eve and a wheelchair bound Boris Karloff to solve the mystery.
There's some really cool stuff in this hard-to-find film, not the least of which is Barbara Steele with blue/green skin and a headdress of rams horns, surrounded by guys in leather, whips and goats masks. As Lavinia Morley, the centuries dead witch who may or may not be possessing one of her descendants, Steele has rarely looked more beautiful and seductive as she does here. This film never takes itself too seriously and there are some wickedly funny moments, something which is all too often missing from horror films, or just isn't done right. Boris Karloff is a riot in one of his last film roles - the stories go that he was plagued by pneumonia on the set of this film and died from complications soon afterwards, but that did not stop him from playing the part of a slightly eccentric, somewhat snooty but always likable scholar to absolute perfection. The opening scenes are great fun, going from Black Mass to psychedelic 60s party (bordering on orgy) within minutes. You won't be bored by the visuals, that's for sure.
The story may not be anything new, but it is cleverly told and seems always fresh and bright for all that the film is 40 years old. The performances are really great and the characters are truly likable, even the bad guys. It's not an easy film to find, but if you can, grab it. It's worth seeing, even if only once.