The Castle of the Living Dead (1964)

At first sight, this looks remarkably humdrum, but it's a bit better than that. Christopher Lee's outwardly benign "Count Drago" invites a travelling troupe of performers to stay and perform at his castle. Before long, things start going drastically wrong for them. All humankind is reflected in this film - we have a witch, a dwarf, a deaf mute and lots of creatures that look like the product of the taxidermist's art - but are they really? It's eerily told, very much in the Hammer mould, this story - with quite a bit of suspense as we gradually get to the truth. Keep an eye out for Donald Sutherland as the policeman with a little added extra.

Beware if a creepy man says, “Stay with Daddy forever”

In areas north of Rome, 1815, a traveling troupe is offered a lucrative gig at the colossal castle of the strange Count Drago (Christopher Lee). Horror ensues.

An Italian/French production, “The Castle of the Living Dead” (1964) is similar to Roger Corman’s Poe-inspired flicks, such as “The Terror” from the previous year and the contemporaneous “The Tomb of Ligeia,” not to mention Lee’s work with Hammer. Although unfortunately shot in B&W, the first half is great whereas the second half tends to bog down at the castle. Nevertheless, if you have a penchant for those other movies, you’ll appreciate this one. Underneath the mayhem is a welcome warm heart.

This was Donald Sutherland’s first credited performance in cinema (not counting TV movies). Interestingly, he plays multiple roles (one is obvious, but I’ll leave it to you to figure out the other two).

Michael Reeves is credited as assistant director, but it’s rumored he directed all the sequences at the Gardens of Bomarzo (the place with the statues), and possibly more. He also contributed to the script, which was finished when he signed on, specifically the addition of the dwarf. If you’re not familiar with Reeves, he went on to helm “Witchfinder General,” aka “The Conqueror Worm,” four years later, just before his accidental death at the age of 25 from a barbiturate overdose.

It runs 1 hours, 30 minutes, and was shot at Odescalchi Castle, which is an hour’s drive northwest of Rome, as well as the Gardens of Bomarzo, which is a 70 minutes drive north of the castle.

GRADE: B