Rating: 
Summary: Good Ghost Story
Review: The restoration of this movie was fantastic, vivid colors and a crisp picture. Although somewhat horrific, I think i would call this more of a mystery than a horror picture. Im reminded of the Hammer films, but the subdued colors and use of shadows are one hundred percent Bava. Not as scary as Black Sunday (what movie is?) but in its own way a pretty good movie, worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the title fool you. It's not what you're thinking.
Review: The writing in this film establishes an excellent mood and atmosphere that's well sustained throughout despite other potential literary shortcomings depending on the individual tastes of the viewer. Lee as usual is delighfully eerie and menacing. The sound, color and clarity are excellent. The ending was disappointing for some reason that I cannot quite articulate, but overall a worthy addition to my growing dvd gothic collection.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the title fool you. It's not what you're thinking.
Review: The writing in this film establishes good mood and atmosphere that's well sustained for the most part despite other potential literary shortcomings. Lee as usual is delighfully eerie and menacing. The sound, color and clarity are fine. The ending was disappointing for some reason that I cannot quite articulate, but if you're into Classic Lee/Hammmer production then it's at least worth one sitting.
Rating: 
Summary: Brooding and Erotic, Chris Lee's Best Performance!
Review: There are darn few films that really scare me. In fact, I can only think of three, and all of them come from the early 60's. The Haunting (the original, not the remake), the Innocents, and, of course, Whip and the Body, the subject of this review.These three films mix ghostly goings on with psychopathology and erotic obsession in a way that is not only dramatically valid but PLAUSABLE - hence their continued ability to unnerve and disturb, even after multiple viewings. All three films succeed in creating and, what is more difficult, sustaining a mood that is dark and eerie, a mood which lingers long after the last fade-out. The Haunting and The Innocents are both filmed in marrow-chilling black and white, but Whip and the Body is lush and succulent as an overripe and poisonous fruit in TECHNICOLOR. Bava's films are incredibly lovely to look at, but nowhere moreso than here. For Whip and the Body,he chose a pallete of sombre hues which wouldn't be out of place in a nightmare. At the same time we are responding viscerally to the horror, we are paradoxically aware of the great beauty which underlies it and supports it. Formal beauty in a horror film is a rare commodity. One finds it in some of the Universal horror classics of the 30's, in some of Hitchcock's works, and in the films of Mario Bava. Christopher Lee has said that this is one of his favorite films -- it's easy to see why. It contains what may be his best performance, understated and chillingly effective. He becomes a romantic, doomed figure - not unlike Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He manages to mix menace with romance in exactly the right proportions. His costar, Miss Lavi, is not only a beauty in the classic mold (she reminds me a lot of Barbara Steele)but a very effective actress as well, adroitly portraying some very difficult passages with ease and grace. She is unforgettable. Watch With: Theatre of Death; Blood and Black Lace; Blood and Roses; Black Sabbath (1960- Bava), Flesh for Frankenstein, The Haunting (original vers.), The Innocents.
Rating:
Summary: Brooding and Erotic, Chris Lee's Best Performance!
Review: There are darn few films that really scare me. In fact, I can only think of three, and all of them come from the early 60's. The Haunting (the original, not the remake), the Innocents, and, of course, Whip and the Body, the subject of this review. These three films mix ghostly goings on with psychopathology and erotic obsession in a way that is not only dramatically valid but PLAUSABLE - hence their continued ability to unnerve and disturb, even after multiple viewings. All three films succeed in creating and, what is more difficult, sustaining a mood that is dark and eerie, a mood which lingers long after the last fade-out. The Haunting and The Innocents are both filmed in marrow-chilling black and white, but Whip and the Body is lush and succulent as an overripe and poisonous fruit in TECHNICOLOR. Bava's films are incredibly lovely to look at, but nowhere moreso than here. For Whip and the Body,he chose a pallete of sombre hues which wouldn't be out of place in a nightmare. At the same time we are responding viscerally to the horror, we are paradoxically aware of the great beauty which underlies it and supports it. Formal beauty in a horror film is a rare commodity. One finds it in some of the Universal horror classics of the 30's, in some of Hitchcock's works, and in the films of Mario Bava. Christopher Lee has said that this is one of his favorite films -- it's easy to see why. It contains what may be his best performance, understated and chillingly effective. He becomes a romantic, doomed figure - not unlike Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. He manages to mix menace with romance in exactly the right proportions. His costar, Miss Lavi, is not only a beauty in the classic mold (she reminds me a lot of Barbara Steele)but a very effective actress as well, adroitly portraying some very difficult passages with ease and grace. She is unforgettable. Watch With: Theatre of Death; Blood and Black Lace; Blood and Roses; Black Sabbath (1960- Bava), Flesh for Frankenstein, The Haunting (original vers.), The Innocents.
Rating:
Summary: Bava at his best
Review: They certainly don't make pictures like this anymore. This is an unique combination of ghost story and SM-romance, capturing the sensibility of the gothic novel, unmatched by any other cinematic attempt that I'm aware of. Christopher Lee is the mystical brother who returns to the family mansion, where everybody despices him, making him responsible for the suicide of a servant girl - the knife is kept in a showcase as a holy relic. He is soon found murdered and the movie becomes a kind of whodunit, since everybody would have perfectly adequate reasons to get rid of him (the lumbering servant even looks like Peter Lorre). Soon he comes back from the grave to haunt his sister-in-laws bedchamber, whipping her and ordering her to join him in the beyond. Daliah Lavi has the same kind of fragile, pale beauty as Barbara Steele (who was initially offered the part), which makes her well suited for this kind of aesthetic. This is how one could imagine what Poe's Ligeia would look like.
This is really not to be missed by any lover of the gothic genre and the restored DVD looks quite good.
Rating:
Summary: THE WHIP AND THE BODY
Review: This film is great like all other christopher lee films they are all terrific with his films especially this one he keeps you guessing what move he will do next i recommend all his films for the old days to the new films ones so watch them and you will agree with me this actor has strived to get well known and it has paid, well done to him in his new film "lord of the rings" and his cast etc.
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