The She Beast (Revenge of the Blood Beast)

The She Beast (Revenge of the Blood Beast)

1966

Director- Michael Reeves

Cast- Barbara Steele, John Karlsen, Ian Ogilvy, Mel Welles, Joe "Flash" Riley, Ennio Antonelli, Lucretia Love

            

     A British couple are traveling through 1960’s era communist controlled Transylvania for their honeymoon (because nothing says love like the Eastern Block). Philip (Ian Ogilvy) and Veronica (Barbara Steele) are a happy couple who always seem to be in on their own private joke. They stop at an inn ran by a truly vile inn keeper and meet a strange man who introduces himself as Count Von Helsing (Karlsen), the latest member of the famed family that exterminated Dracula. Of course, he’s not really a Count now that the communists have taken his castle and his title. He says that he remains in his home country to fight any evil threats that may rear their head. One such evil threat is a 17^th century witch, Vardella, who terrorized the area. Vardella was executed (in a really originally way which involved being impaled to a dunking chair and drowned in a lake) but her soul was not exorcised and it still remains, waiting to re-emerge.

            

   

Phillip and Veronica, in a freak accident run their car off the road and into the lake. Vardella’s spirit takes possession of Veronica, turning her physically into Vardella’s  hideous form. Vardella then runs rampant, murdering and wreaking havoc. Phiilp and Von Helsing have to track her down, capture her and exorcise her spirit in order to save Veronica.

            

    This movie is quirky. It can’t seem to make up its mind whether its horror or comedy and has a lot of the silliness of the popular movies of that era. It’s an original idea, but not well executed. I guess we have to give the director a break though. This was Michael Reeves directorial debut. He would find his stride quickly though. His 3^rd film was the excellent Witchfinder General with Vincent Price! Unfortunately he would die soon after from an accidental over dose.

            

    The only fault I can find with the film is that there wasn’t enough Barbara Steele! Once she gets possessed she is replaced with another actor and doesn’t show her face again until the end of the film. On the other hand, it is a chance to see Barbara in color, so you take the good with the bad.

The Long Hair of Death

Long Hair of Death

1964

Director- Antonio Margheriti

Cast- Barbara Steele, George Ardisson, Halina Zalewska, Laura Nucci, Giuliano Raffaelli,  Umberto Raho, Nello Pazzafini

From Italy

          

     Ever beautiful gothic beauty Barbara Steele plays Helen, a young woman whose mother is about to be burned for witchcraft. Helen goes to the feudal lord, Count Humbolt, to beg for mercy. The Count blames her mother for the death of his brother. Helen says she can prove that her mother is innocent. The Count says he’ll listen to her, but first he decides to have his way with her. While he has his way with her, Helen’s mother is burned anyway. As the flames consume her, Helen’s mother pronounces a curse on the village and the Humbolt family. To hide the shame of what he has done, the Count murders Helen. Helen’s younger sister, Lisabeth, is now alone in the world, being raised by a woman of the court, in the castle of the man who murdered her mother and sister.

         

     A few years go by and Lisabeth has not only become a beautiful young woman, but also the spitting image of her mother. The Count’s son, Kurt, has his eye on Lisabeth and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He isn’t smitten with her in a romantic sense but is more like a possessive child who wants a new toy. Lisabeth refuses his advances so, as the Lord’s son, he marries her and she has no choice. As her husband, he has his way with her. Meanwhile, the curse that her mother pronounced has come to fruition. The Count is in failing health and can feel death’s icy fingers closing on him and a plague is ravaging the village.

           

     During a sermon attended by the nobility a storm comes up. The doors of the church swing open and a young woman is standing there, the spitting image of Helen, whom the Count murdered. Seeing her, his heart finally fails and he dies. She says that her name is Mary and that she has become lost after her carriage was overturned on the road.

            

     She is taken into the castle and Kurt’s infatuation with Lisabeth is forgotten as he shifts his attentions to Mary. She plays coy and his desire for her increases. They finally seal the deal on their lust and he hatches a plot to kill his wife Lisabeth so that he can have Mary all of the time. He carries out his plot, murdering her in her sleep. The only problem is, even though he never sees her again, everyone else in the castle claims to see her and talk to her and acts as if nothing is wrong. Is his wife dead or not? And who is this Mary that looks like the dead Helen? All of these mysteries are solved in the film’s conclusion.

       

   

     This is a very moody film. It’s forgotten, I think, in the shadow of the superior Black Sunday, another Italian gothic Barbara Steele story. The Long Hair of Death has a lot going for it though. It is very creepy with a macabre musical score. The 15^th century setting with its dark castle, hidden passages and dusty crypts, create the right mood. A perfect film if you’ve just watched Black Sunday and are still hungry for more Barbara Steele.

Curse of the Crimson Alter

Curse of the Crimson Alter

1968

Director- Vernon Sewell

Cast- Christopher Lee, Borris Karloff, Barbara Steele, Mark Eden, Michael Gough, Virginia Wetherell, Rupert Davies

            

      So the first thing you notice is Holy Crap Look at That Cast! Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele, all horror legends in their own right, sharing the screen together! And then as an added bonus, Hammer stars Michael Gough and Rupert Davies to boot! How can this go wrong? Well to be honest, this stellar cast is not utilized to full effect and the movie doesn’t live up to its potential. That is not to say that it doesn’t have some things to love.

           

   

  Robert  (Mark Eden) is an antique dealer who is looking for his missing brother, who was procuring antiques for him in the quaint old village of Greymarsh. Now, we the viewer know, from the start of the film, that his brother met his end at the hands of an ancient witch (Barbara Steele) but Robert doesn’t know that.

           

      Upon reaching Greymarsh, he meets the town’s aristocratic land lord (Christopher Lee) and the town elder and resident folklorist (Karloff). Robert finds out that the town' history includes  an ancient witch, who was burned a few hundred years ago. Since then, her spirit has taken revenge on the ancestors of those who killed her.

            

      The film was obviously influenced by, or was trying to pander to, the hippie culture of the day. References to mind altering drugs and a drunken, hedonistic party with barely veiled sexuality, and some psychedelic visuals are all present. However, the film doesn’t really push these things far enough to make any real impact on the film and are more of a distraction.

            

      Seeing Lee and Karloff is always a treat and seeing them share several scenes together is a reward in itself. The real attraction though is Barbara Steele. Her witch is green skinned and horned, like a Ray Harryhausen creature come to life. I could have used a whole movie just of her.

           

Black Sunday

Black Sunday (The Mask of Satan)

1960

Director- Mario Bava

Cast- Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici, Enrico Olivieri, Antonio Pierfederici, Germana Dominici

From Italy

          

Not to be confused with Black Sabbath, another Mario Bava horror film made 2 years later, Black Sunday is one of Bava’s earlier directorial efforts and it’s a home run. The horror starts right out of the gate with a scene of witches being executed by a 17^th  century inquisition. They are branded with the mark of Satan and then an iron mask lined with nails (The Mask of Satan) is hammered onto their face in a very gruesome scene (especially for this era). Before her death, the witch Asa (Barbara Steele) gives the on lookers a what for by vowing her eventual revenge.

            Fast forward 200 years to a pair of doctors traveling cross country. They take a detour and through a series of accidents, unknowingly release the witch Asa from the enchantments that had trapped her soul. The doctors run across a lonely young woman, Princess Katia (also played by Barbara Steele), a descendant of the witch’s brother and, you guessed it, the spitting image of the witch Asa. The witch, now free from her tomb, enacts a plan to take revenge on the last of her family and replace the Princess.

            Asa is a different sort of witch than we usually see in that she is also a vampire.  There is a really good effect where the witch ages or grows young by syphoning life energy. It’s subtle and effective.

            This film is grim and gothic, not just in its plot but its overall tone.  Princess Katia, even without the involvement of her vampire-witch ancestor, is the archetypal emo girl. She is death obsessed and hopeless.  As she says, “What is my life? Sadness and grief. Something that destroys itself day by day and no one can rebuild it.” Barbara Steele, with her large eyes, dressed all in black, casts a striking image. She also does a good job of alternating between the two characters. As Asa the witch, she is able to seem wanton even with a face pierced with holes!

     There is plenty of creepy imagery; maybe the most disturbing is that of scorpions crawling from the empty sockets of an eyeless face. The sets are beautiful and detailed. This is an all-around great movie; musical score, special effects, tone, pace, just about everything.  Its a worthy addition to your horror library.