Terror-Creatures from the Grave (1966)

That was an excellent one.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I'm reviewing the Italian version of the film, with subtitles; the US version has extra scenes that make the movie markedly inferior.Another day, another gothic horror outing for Barbara Steele. I found this one absorbing for the most part. Steele is the star but is slightly sidelined as the story progresses, and her character is fairly one-dimensional. That said Terror Creatures has a lot going for it, there are some nice original touches among the familiar tropes, and the climax is very well realised.The story of course concerns a notary's assistant turning up at an ancient gothic mansion, which was formerly a medieval leprosarium, when his superior leaves before a letter arrives summoning him urgently. Our hero, played rather blandly by Walter Brandi (!) discovers the writer of the letter, an occultist, has been dead a year, and that a series of deaths of those who witnessed his demise have occured. As usual he turns Sherlock Holmes and attempts to solve the mystery.While the film has its faults (including a terrible title concocted for the US market!) it also has many good things going for it; the crisp atmospheric cinematography, some well judged horror moments, and an excellent ending. Recommending this one.

After receiving a letter from spiritualist Jeronimus Hauff, requesting to discuss the details of his will, lawyer Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi) arrives at the Hauff villa only to discover that his client has been dead for almost a year. Invited to stay the night by Hauff's widow Cleo (enigmatic Italian horror legend Barbara Steele), a perplexed Albert begins to investigate the mysterious circumstances behind his client's death, a series of recent grisly murders leading him to realise the full terrifying extent of Hauff's powers: the ability to call on the spirits of long-dead 'plague spreaders' to help him exact revenge on those who betrayed him.Stephen King once described Sam Raimi's gruelling 1981 splatter-fest The Evil Dead as 'ferociously original'. Ferocious it most certainly is, but having just seen Massimo Pupillo's stylish Gothic horror Terror Creatures From The Grave (1965) I'm no longer so sure about original, for as I watched, I couldn't help but repeatedly draw parallels between it and Raimi's classic video nasty.Both films feature a group of people in a creepy abode who fall victim to evil spirits from beyond the grave; both films have someone listening to an old recording detailing the demonic powers at work; both films make use of a lullaby to add extra creepiness; both films have a character who wanders out into some creepy woods only to turn up at the door later covered in wounds; both films have clocks that stop and start at will; and both films feature a demonic POV tracking shot that ends up in an extreme close up of a character's terrified face. Hell, Terror Creatures even has a couple of scenes of nasty gore (albeit in black and white).However, spotting these similarities hasn't made me think any less of Raimi: we all have to get our inspiration from somewhere, and The Evil Dead remains a firm favourite of mine, a superb piece of film-making that never fails to entertain. If anything, my love for Raimi's film has helped me to appreciate this particular Euro-horror more than I otherwise might have, every comparison driving home just how inventive and visually arresting Pupillo's film really is, despite its sometimes confusing story, admittedly creaky Gothic clichés, and undeniably weak denouement.

What's Good About It: Barbara Steele and Mirella Maravidi - not necessarily in that order - atmospheric locations and interiors, bravura camera-work, colorful (if somewhat illogical) plot.What's Not So Good About It: Slack direction, poor editing and a less than spectacular climax.If you haven't already seen this film a "spoilers alert" may applyMirella Maravidi (a.k.a) Marilyn Mitchell is an attractive romantic lead who can look convincingly frightened and is obviously enthusiastic about the project. Barbara Steele, on the other hand, seems less enthusiastic about playing, yet again, the adulterous wife. However, her under-played characterisation contrasts well with that of her excitable step-daughter, and her death scene is very effective.One of the key features of "Cinque Tombe" is the choice of locations and Carlo Di Palma's lighting of them. The action takes place early in the last century during the winter - a most suitable time of year to set a horror film. The Villa Hauff, where much of the drama takes place, makes use of Castel Castelfusano - a building with a bizarre truncated shape. The prologue of the U.S. version shows a terrified man hurrying from a tavern late at night through deserted cobblestone streets and down a wide flight of steps. This sequence is ominously lit and conveys a real sense of menace. In contrast, later on in the film, the lake beside which Mirella Maravidi and Walter Brandt walk as their relationship develops is bathed in winter sunlight. In the exhumation scene, a gray mist drifts across a line of gaunt trees that form a backdrop to the cemetery. This location is also overshadowed by an odd-shaped "capella". The interiors are also superbly fitted out: the walls of Villa Hauff are like an art gallery. The Apothecary's store is lined with wooden chests of drawers and glass jars. The fireplace in Stinel's sparsely-furnished living room is used to frame a glamor shot and, later on, the aftermath of a suicide. In addition to the atmospheric lighting, Carlo di Palma occasionally treats us to some startling camera-work, such as a sequence quite early on in the film that begins with a high angle long shot of a departing horse and trap, followed by a big close-up of Barbara Steele's eyes as she watches and then turns as the camera draws back to show her furtively examining papers in Walter Brandt's briefcase. As director, Ralph Zucker should have tightened the script - which is essentially a tale of revenge that goes out of control - before starting. He should also have removed some of the more obviously illogical aspects of the plot - for example, if the plague-spreaders had their hands severed before they were hanged and buried in unconsecrated ground, how come it's their hands we see reaching out from their graves! In several scenes, most notably that of the town clerk's office, the dialog needs condensing to prevent the pace from flagging. If the failure to do this was because of pressure or inexperience, the editor should have been able to tighten the scenes. Unfortunately, the editing - especially in the second half - looks more like a basic assembly job than skilled cutting. Unnecessary "cover shots" are left in: when the shock discovery of an empty grave prompts the hero to phone his business partner, we don't need to see him leaving the graveyard to locate a phone - you can cut straight to him making the call! A shot of mummified hands inside a glass case coming to life, if kept short, can be scary; a prolonged tracking shot of all the hands wriggling (and doing nothing more) is not. Now, if one of those hands had suddenly smashed through the glass.... As far as the disappointing climax is concerned, it looks as if the film either fell seriously behind schedule and/or ran out of money. The final scenes look hastily improvised. If the director hadn't intended to show the plague-spreaders at the climax, it was a mistake to show one of their disfigured hands after Stinel's suicide. A partial manifestation two-thirds of the way through the film leads us to expect to see more later on. When this doesn't happen, we feel let down.In spite of its faults, "Cinque Tombe Per Un Medium" or "Terror Creatures From The Grave" has a lot going for it. If Ralph Zucker had had more experience, a less restrictive budget and a better editor, the film might have been a minor classic. As it stands, I believe this is a case of a film being saved by atmospheric locations, an imaginative lighting cameraman and a couple of enthusiastic actors.

Saw this one in a version called "Cemetery of the Living Dead" and was left shaking my head at the reviews I saw on IMDb, especially the ones that call this one of the great Gothic horror films.Granted, this film has a lot going for it. First, there's Barbara Steele, who just had to be in a film to guarantee it a creepy quality.Second, there are some great castle sets. The difficulty with this is that you often can't see the expanse of them because the film was shot so tightly, but maybe that's the print I was watching.Lastly, there's the story, which had some definite possibilities. There are plague carriers rising from the grave to spread the infestation. There are suicides to avoid these ghostly creatures. There's the deceased lead character, who has harnessed the power of life and death.The problem is that "Cemetery of the Living Dead" is so cheaply filmed that little of this matters. Instead of suspense, there are endless shots of people walking around rooms and down hallways, all to zero purpose.The plague makeups are also lousy. The dubbing is even worse. Beyond all that, the ghosts of the plague carriers are never shown, unless you count their rubbery "monster" arms. Nowadays, you could buy a better prop at a Halloween shop...for $5.00.Lots of promise to this one, but nothing is delivered. If you like watching people wander around, then this is the movie for you.