The Virgin of Nuremberg

Rating:
Summary: LITTLE SEEN EURO-SHOCKER LOOKS GOOD....
Review: AKA "Horror Castle", this rarely seen German-Italian horror film has been handled well and is a find for collectors. Dubbed in English and directed by Antonio Margheriti ("Castle of Blood"), it concerns a new bride (Rosana Podesta) discovering the eyeless corpse of a woman inside an ancient iron maiden (the "Virgin") in her husband's ancestral castle on the Rhine. Told by everyone it was just a nightmare, she suspects something more and sure enough discovers Christopher Lee (as Erik), a war disfigured handyman, acting suspiciously around some antique surgical instruments. Later, the sinister housekeeper balefully informs her that an infamous ancestor, "the Punisher", is back and bent on torturing and killing "shameless women". There is a mysterious costumed and hooded figure running around the castle and Podesta witnesses him placing a rat cage (with a very hungry and large rat) over a screaming woman's face. Meanwhile her husband is acting suspicious and a strange American who may be an FBI agent is lurking around the estate. It won't be long before Podesta is next on the killer's torture list. Nicely done in color and a very good print, "Virgin" is a lurid and creepy shocker with a couple of truly grisly scenes...the rat cage sequence being one of them. Podesta runs around in negligees discovering torture equipment, skulls and other goodies. The soundtrack features a Euro-jazz score with the scary music rising to crescendos at every twist and turn. It's no work of art, but a pretty good chiller with some good photography and atmospheric interiors (and exteriors) of the castle. I thought it could've used some more ghoulishness and less running around but as it is it isn't bad and worth checking out. Euro-horror lovers should like it.

Rating:
Summary: LITTLE SEEN EURO-SHOCKER LOOKS GOOD....
Review: AKA "Horror Castle", this rarely seen German-Italian horror film has been handled well and is a find for collectors. Dubbed in English and directed by Antonio Margheriti ("Castle of Blood"), it concerns a new bride (Rosana Podesta) discovering the eyeless corpse of a woman inside an ancient iron maiden (the "Virgin") in her husband's ancestral castle on the Rhine. Told by everyone it was just a nightmare, she suspects something more and sure enough discovers Christopher Lee (as Erik), a war disfigured handyman, acting suspiciously around some antique surgical instruments. Later, the sinister housekeeper balefully informs her that an infamous ancestor, "the Punisher", is back and bent on torturing and killing "shameless women". There is a mysterious costumed and hooded figure running around the castle and Podesta witnesses him placing a rat cage (with a very hungry and large rat) over a screaming woman's face. Meanwhile her husband is acting suspicious and a strange American who may be an FBI agent is lurking around the estate. It won't be long before Podesta is next on the killer's torture list. Nicely done in color and a very good print, "Virgin" is a lurid and creepy shocker with a couple of truly grisly scenes...the rat cage sequence being one of them. Podesta runs around in negligees discovering torture equipment, skulls and other goodies. The soundtrack features a Euro-jazz score with the scary music rising to crescendos at every twist and turn. It's no work of art, but a pretty good chiller with some good photography and atmospheric interiors (and exteriors) of the castle. I thought it could've used some more ghoulishness and less running around but as it is it isn't bad and worth checking out. Euro-horror lovers should like it.

Rating:
Summary: OK but not great Euro thriller
Review: I bought this movie because I once saw part of it on TV about 25 years ago and remembered it. The part I saw was where the psycho killer grabs a good looking woman and drags her down to the dungeon of the castle where he ties her into a chair and places a cage over her head and then releases a rat which eats part of her nose while she screams in agony and terror. I also liked Rosanna Podesta in Helen of Troy and, of course, Christopher Lee is always a plus. Unfortunately, that was just about the only really good scene like that in the movie. This is a very stylishly made Euro production with great atmosphere, etc. but that's about it. It is supposed to be a castle in Germany but it is obviously sunny Italy or someplace similar in the Mediterranean. The virgin is, of course, the nickname for the infamous torture device that you lock a victim inside which closes with spkes that penetrate the body. Someone is using the device to murder people. Who can it be? Rosanna is a young foreign-born wife who is brought to the castle by her husband. Can it be him? Or is it his trusty employee Christopher Lee? The movie almost has a kind of gothic feel to it as the young woman ponders how much is really happening? Is it really a dream? Am I imagining all this because of the spooky new surroundings, etc? Everybody always keeps telling her that everything is all right. Well, you get it. Christopher Lee is largely wasted as all he really ever does is pose and look spooky and grunt a few lines here and there. The ending is pretty run of the mill and they even manage to blame it all on Hitler and the Nazis. I was kind of disappointed. It needed more torture scenes like the rat scene.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking fright fest
Review: This is an excellent print of a good 60's Italian horror film. Previously hard to find on VHS, this fine presentation does the movie justice. The story concerns a mysterious torturer in a European castle. The acting is just fair, but it is sincere, and Christopher Lee is always a plus. Colors and make-up are very good, with just enough action to keep one interested. However, be forwarned that although this was released in the 60's, there are a couple of scenes that are particularly violent. The Nazi subtext fits the story well. Not a great movie by any means, but by today's horror movie standards, it's "Citizen Cane". Also known as "Horror Castle".