Barbara Steele is my all-time favorite actress, and I also have utmost respect for director Michael Reeves for his directing the brilliant 1968 horror classic "Witchfinder General" with the matchless Vincent Price, my favorite actor of all-time, in the lead. Reeves' "La Sorella Di Satana" aka. "The She-Beast", however, was quite disappointing. Steele's performance partially saved the movie, of course, but she had far too little screen time and therefore she couldn't save the entire film. One aspect, which is both annoying and kind of funny about this film is the fact that it is a typical product of the cold war. In one scene, for example, a hammer is dropped and falls on a sickle, forming the communist symbol.
In 17th century Romania, a murderous witch is captured and brutally lynched by local villagers. 300 years later English newlyweds Veronica (Barbara Steele) and Philip (Ian Ogilvy) are spending their honeymoon in Romania, near the lake where the witch was executed. When having a tea, the couple get to know the elderly Count Van Helsing, a descendant of the famous Van Helsing family, and learn that the haunted lake is still a dangerous place...
I am a huge fan of Barbara Steele and of horror in general, and "The She-Beast" is certainly the weakest film with Steele I have seen so far. However, the movie is in some parts unintentionally funny, and even though it is not very suspenseful, a film featuring Barbara Steele is never a complete waste of time. Ian Ogilvy's performance is not too convincing in this one, fortunately he did a way better job starring in "Witchfinder General" two years later, a film for which I will always respect director Michael Reeves, who was certainly a promising and great talent for the Horror genre, a talent which was sadly wasted by his early death in 1969. "The She-Beast", however is certainly not Reeve's highlight, but a rather dull movie, which can be fun to watch at times, but doesn't deliver the suspense or eeriness a horror flick should. It is certainly no must-see, but if you want to watch it anyway I recommend to watch a few other films with the great Barbara Steele (such as "The Pit And The Pendulum", "Black Sunday", or "Castle of Blood") as well as Michael Reeves' "Witchfinder General" first. All things considered, "The She-Beast" is a bit disappointing, but watchable (if only for Steele), and worth the time if your're a fan. 5/10
