SHIVERS (1975)

  Big fan of director David Cronenberg but his first horror film here has never really been my favorite. It's kind of a zombie movie except these zombies are really horny! Oh and they're actually controlled by a parasite that sneaks around like a slug and crawls into people's orifices(including the great Barbara Steele in a bathtub). Lynn Lowry gets naked for no reason and we get lots of orgy scenes to go along with the murderous rampages. Still an impressive early movie clearly made on a low budget with ideas that would be more fleshed out in years to come. AKA IT CAME FROM WITHIN and THEY CAME FROM WITHIN

Known in Italy as THE DEMON UNDER THE SKIN:

THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964)

 Director Antonio Margheriti(or Anthony Dawsom as he's credited here) gives us his take on Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY with a kinda similar witch's revenge tale(there are actually 2 so-called witches knocked off here so that's something different). Complete with Barbara Steele, it's hard not to compare these 2 films and Bava, as usual, is responsible for the more iconic movie.  Margheriti is no slouch in the gothic horror department though and if slow-moving, artfully-shot Euro-ghost/witch stories are your bag you could certainly do worse than this.  

 Despite the title there isn't anyone being strangled to death by any long hair. You'll have to watch more modern garbage for that type of literal horror junk. 

THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK (1962)

 Slow-moving Italian gothic ghost(or is it?) story set mostly in an old dark house. The element of necrophilia practiced by our titular Dr.(Robert Flemyng) is pretty crazy to see in a film from this era. Doesn't contain any blood or gore but director Ricardo Freda is certainly a master of creating a certain dark atmosphere with his horror films. His next venture in this vein would be THE GHOST which is a similar lurid tale also featuring a Dr. Hichcock and Barbara Steele, though she is quite a bit more evil in that one. AKA RAPTUS: THE SECRET OF DR. HICHCOCK

THE GHOST (1963)

 The great Barbara Steele and her big anime eyes are possibly the best reasons to watch this tale of a nasty cheating wife(Steele) who plans to off her mad scientist-type invalid husband(named Dr. Hitchcock) with the help of her boy-toy to obtain his fortune. Things go awry and spooky stuff ensues. Despite things moving at a fairly sluggish pace everything does pay off by the end and there are some satisfying twists that mostly make sense.
 This is director Riccardo Freda's follow up to THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK from a year earlier and some reviews I've seen seem to think it's a sequel because of the main character having the same surname but there's really nothing else tying the 2 films together. That film is equally slow but entertaining though from what I recall after catching it in a theatrical showing many years back. AKA THE SPECTRE




                                          THE GHOST OF DR. HITCHCOCK!:

DANSE MACABRE (1964)

 One of the complaints about old horror movies I hear from people with no patience or ability to sit still for more than 5 minutes, like human beings, is that many of them contain long boring scenes of people creeping around old castles with nothing else happening. If you're also not a fan of that kind of non-action this probably will not be the movie for you since there are some long stretches where that goes down. It's your basic guy has to stay in a haunted house story and even the presence of Barbara Steele doesn't make this one all that special. A couple of unique things here are in  the opening and closing segments you get Edgar Allen Poe just hanging out in a pub and being all goth-like and the ending is not a very happy one(unless you happen to be a ghost). This unfortunately is not enough for me to recommend this to anyone unless you're really into old slow-moving ghost movies. AKA CASTLE OF BLOOD
 Adding to my negative feelings about this is that the DVD I have this on has a bunch of scenes that are in French with no subtitles which seems like a stupid way to release a movie.
Shown on TV in America under the title CASTLE OF TERROR.

Played in the U.K. on this blood & dinosaurs double-bill!(PREHISTORIC VALLEY was known in the U.S. as VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS.):

          

NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1965)

 For a movie made in 1965 this one has a surprising couple of scenes of torture. It's basically the tale of a mad doctor named Stephen Arrowsmith (which sorta sounds like it could also be a terrible cover band name) who catches his wife cheating on him so he tortures(red-hot poker to the chest and acid-to-the body) and murders them. He also does this to inherit her money and to keep his old maid (who he's also in a relationship with) looking young with some fresh blood, so there's a lot of things going on here. It gets into some familiar rising from the dead ghost territory and Barbara Steele plays two roles of identical-looking, except for their hair, step-sisters(which seems like a very strange thing?). While it certainly has a few slower haunted house scenes and never seems quite as stylish as Mario Bava's similar films I think the presence of Steele and all the crazy-shit going on helps elevate this from other 60's ghost flicks. Also Ennio Morricone does his usual amazing job with the goth soundtrack music. AKA THE FACELESS MONSTER, LOVERS BEYOND THE TOMB, NIGHT OF THE DOOMED and ORGASMO(which sounds like some kinda porno)

TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (1965)

Originally shown in the U.S. on a double bill with director Massimo Pupillo's other/better Goth picture BLOODY PIT OF HORROR, this is probably my least favorite Barbara Steele movie(actually SHE-BEAST is even worse!).  It starts off so slowly that it seems like a chore just getting through the dull opening scenes.  I don't feel that director Pupillo has quite the ability or style of a Mario Bava or even a Riccardo Freda.  He builds some nice atmosphere but the overall pacing of the film just seems off and Steele isn't really used enough.  Some zombies, as well as severed zombie hands, come alive towards the end but they aren't shown all that much.  Worth watching only if you want to see Steele taking a nice sponge bath in a typical Gothic castle.

THE MASK OF THE DEMON (1960)

Probably better known under its BLACK SUNDAY alternate title, this old time Italian horror/witchcraft tale is notable for the amazingly attractive presence of its anime eyed star Miss Barbara Steele. Also notable for having some great shots by horror master director Mario Bava. Besides these things it is a pretty ordinary 60's Italian flick with people being punished for being witches(which includes getting a heavy metal "Mask Of Satan" hammered onto their faces in addition to the more typical burnings at the stake) and then coming back seeking revenge for being executed. Last time I saw this was at the beginning of an all-night horror marathon which, I must say, made for a pretty slow start to the evening. Director Riccardo Freda made a few similar 60's Italian horror flicks around this same time also which are worth checking out if you dig this one.

Also known as THE MASK OF SATAN: