Horror Castle (1963)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Horror Castle (1963) – A. Margheriti

Another atmospheric Gothic chiller from director Antonio Margheriti (see also Castle of Blood, 1964), here credited as Anthony Dawson.  Originally entitled “The Virgin of Nuremberg”, here we find married (not virginal) Rosanna Podesta moving to a spooky medieval castle in Germany with her husband whose ancestors lived there. The castle is also home to a museum full of ancient torture devices (‘natch) that were once wielded by ancient patriarch The Punisher.  There is a statue of him in a hooded masked outfit with barbaric mace. On her first night, Mary (Podesta) awakens to find her husband Max (Georges Riviere) missing – she wanders downstairs, through the lonely castle (full of shadows and bumps in the night) and into the museum. Following a trail of blood, she finds a dead woman inside the legendary iron maiden. Of course, no one believes her the next day.  Once we see someone roaming the halls dressed as the Punisher, we are led to suspect that anyone could be the killer, including husband Max, loyal (but disfigured) aide Erich (Christopher Lee), and possibly even the cryptic old housekeeper Martha (Laura Nucci).  Although much of the film is Podesta wandering the castle in her dressing gown, there are enough suspenseful events to hold your interest – and the unexpected twist at the end is worth the wait.  Beautifully gruesome.