Put this piece of advice in your memory banks – if you ever get invited to perform at a location called The Castle of the Living Dead, it might be best to decline the offer. A 1964 low budget horror film co-written and directed by first timer Warren Kiefer, it has stood the test of time thanks to two memorable performers and its real life Italian castle setting.
The story of a traveling acting troupe, all is not right. . . for leader Bruno (Jacques Stany) has drawn the ire of harlequin performer Dart – who desperately wants his money up front. Taking umbrage with everything he does, a fight ensues, with bystander and former military officer Eric (Philippe Leroy) thankfully stepping in to stop the close to deadly tussle. With Eric deciding to take over the role of the harlequin. . . though not before Dart casts a deadly threat at Bruno and the troupe, this ominous departure does not sit well with the other members, ingenue Laura (Gaia Germani) and adventurous little person Nick (Antonio De Martino).
Invited to the above mentioned castle by a toothy servant of a Count, Sandro (Mirko Valentin) – for more money than they’ve ever been offered before, they promptly jump at the chance. On the road, they soon recognize some unusual and alarming anomalies – a deafening silence, no animals (other than a petrified raven), and a soothsaying old witch (Donald Sutherland – in his first movie role) spouting ominous riddled predictions.
Eventually reaching the castle in the late evening (filmed at the striking Odescalchi Castle in Italy), they meet their would be benefactor, Count Drago (Christopher Lee), a tall, dark and gruesome man with a scientific mind. One of the first taxidermists – driven by utter perfection, he is attempting to master the skill of capturing the reality of any living thing in an instant (with a special formula that he is working on).
After tragedy befalls the troupe during their performance for the Count, the elusive Dart is spotted gazing in Laura’s window. With the cops making their bi-weekly check on the Count, goofus Sgt. Paul (Sutherland again) and his men are on the case – but that might not be a good thing. Will the troupe be able to escape this ever more dangerous scenario? Could the Count, and the dark shadows beneath his eyes, be a red herring? Might Dart be the poison in this equation?
Despite its copious flaws (some amateurish visual storytelling, while it doesn’t help that the continuity girl did not record the dialogue of the movie on paper. . . meaning Lee and other cast members had to try to remember their lines while dubbing the film), there is still enough here for this to have survived the years, gaining the status of cult classic. Lee, always a treat, is at his sinister best here. . . and Valentin, as his faithful servant, is sadistically fun. Then there’s Sutherland, clearly having a ball. With the meaty role of an ugly tongue-twisting revengeful witch, a most confident, if utterly incompetent officer, and even a third part as an Old Man, it is an unbelievably memorable screen debut. . . and a portent of things to come. In fact, Sutherland became such good friends with Warren Kiefer that he named his son after him. The actors that form the troupe are also solid, with the wily and heroic Nick being more than memorable.
With touches of House of Wax, the taxidermy of Psycho, and perhaps even a hint of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, The Castle of the Living Dead is B movie entertainment (though it might be a bit short on scares) with an intriguing premise. So, prod yourself into seeing this hidden gem of a B movie, it’s statuesque.