Mill of the Stone Women

Mill of the Stone Women otherwise known as Drops of Blood is a creepy little horror that looks fantastic for a movie barely out of the 50's.

It tells the story of a young man who is set to work on a macabre waxwork laden carousel. He becomes bewitched by the mysterious daughter of the owner, but nothing is quite as it seems.

Italian made the film looks incredibly ahead of its time. Sure the acting is offensively overdone, the score is forgettable and the external sfx of the windmill are laughable but the concept itself and delivery is really quite impressive.

Italy dominated horror throughout the 60's and 70's, this early title is a demonstration of why. Yes it's flawed (Badly in places) but it's an interesting little title regardless with a brilliant dark finale.

The Good:

Looks great

Solid ideas

The Bad:

Gratuitous overacting

Could have been constructed a tad better

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

She totally got a head of herself!

Waxworks were a common subject matter in the 50-60's, we need a revival!

This is a nice, creepy film, reminding me of a cross between "ReAnimator" (without the humor), "House of Wax" and the "Twice Told Tales" episode with Vincent Price as the father of an untouchable daughter.

A young man staying at an old windmill-turned-wax museum is seduced by the strange and beautiful young daughter of the man who runs the mill, himself an eccentric old scientist. (is there any other kind?) But he, his daughter, and the family doctor who cares for and loves her, are all hiding a terrible secret...and there's a reason why the wax statues of famous villainous women all look so lifelike! When the pretty, innocent girl from the nearby village, (whom our hero has fallen in love with, despite the best efforts of Creepy Girl) goes mysteriously missing, it's off to the mill to learn the terrible truth!

This is a dreamy, sometimes slow-moving, but never disappointing film which features a great "acid trip" sequence and the surprising nudity of several buxom young hotties. Should not be missed by fans of the colorful Italian, Hammer- esque genre. Wonderfully atmospheric and genuinely creepy. Great stuff!

Most people who write about the 1960 French-Italian coproduction "Mill of the Stone Women" can't seem to resist comparing it, and quite rightly, to "House of Wax" (1953) and "Eyes Without a Face" (1959); I guess I've just done so myself! But "Mill" has a lot more to offer than just a mashup of those two great pictures. In it, handsome Pierre Brice plays Hans van Harnim, a writer in what appears to be late 19th century Holland, who goes to the windmill home of one Prof. Wahl to do a story on his unusual abode and the professor/sculptor's carousel collection of grotesque female statues. What follows, for van Harnim, is quite the nightmarish experience, as he discovers the secrets of both this statuary and Wahl's mysterious daughter, Elfy. While not nearly as classic or seminal as two other horror films that premiered that year--Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" and Uncle Alfie's "Psycho" (then again, how many pictures are?)--"Mill" still manages to provide some shudders. The film begins quite eerily, and its unusual backdrop, that of the misty canal district in Holland's countryside, is a unique one for a horror film. An hallucinatory freakout sequence that transpires roughly halfway in is truly disorienting, before the picture turns to more conventional, albeit still quite fun, mad-scientist fare. The film also gives us handsome sets, nicely muted colors, interesting direction by Giorgio Ferroni, and perhaps the most inspired use of a creepy windmill since Uncle Alfie's "Foreign Correspondent" (1940). And almost stealing the show, in her role as Elfy, is Scilla Gabel, a gorgeous actress with Sophia Loren-type looks and the otherworldly air of the young Barbara Steele. In all, a very fine horror outing, nicely presented on this DVD from the good folks at Mondo Macabro, and with loads of fine extras, to boot.

Though I'm not quite as enamored with the film as others here, there is still much to enjoy in this sorely neglected tale of a young man researching a creepy old windmill's lurid "carousel" and his love for the owner's mysterious daughter.

Made at the same time as Bava's "Black Sunday", Ferroni's "Mill" relies on and succeeds at it's goal for the same reasons- Atmosphere in abundance and true artistic flair. Every inch of the windmill is ominous and each room (and there are many) has its own distinct feel, lighting, and color palette. With this strong foundation in place, the movie builds in the details, including a wild hallucination scene, the actual workings of the carousel, a daughter who appeared very dead but is soon quite fine, and many others.

Despite being a visual feast, well acted, and having a solid (if not overly original) plot line, the movie still suffers from a sizable problem- Pacing. As a die-hard fan of '60's horror, I have no beef with a deliberate build-up, but in this case it goes a bit overboard. There are a fair share of scenes that are filled with stretches of unnecessary dialog and lots of wandering around the mill with no real reason to be found at the end. Tighter editing would have helped immensely.

Flaws and all, "Mill Of The Stone Women" is a classy film that needs to be seen. Had I watched it just once, I have little doubt my rating would have been higher. Give it a one-time viewing and absorb it for maximum effect.

Based on a Flemish short story by Pieter Van Weigen, Mill of the Stone Women is an excellent slice of Eurocult Gothic horror. The film is along the same lines as films by Mario Bava; most notably Black Sunday and Kill Baby Kill, and just like the aforementioned masterpieces; bathes in its own atmosphere and most of the horror is drawn from that. Horror is a genre that people often mistake for not having many ideas, but films like this prove otherwise. Here, we have a story that couldn't be further away from the 'norm' in horror, and on a technical level, Mill of the Stone Women is both inventive and influential. The macabre plot follows a young journalist named Hans who travels to Holland to write an article on the mysterious sculptor, who lives in a mill, that the locals have nicknamed "The Mill of the Stone Women". While there, he meets the Professor's beautiful daughter; but she's damaged goods, as she suffers from a sinister malady that means she has to remain within the mill. Is there something yet more morbid to this intriguing set up...?

The mill at the centre of the piece makes for an excellent location for this story to take place in. Old castles are a more common location for Gothic horror, so the fact that this one takes place in a mill again differentiates it from the norm, and is yet another example of the imagination behind the story. The colour scheme is largely quite drab, and to be honest, I'd have preferred either more striking colours or a black and white picture...as the in-between doesn't look good in my opinion. That's pretty much the only thing I don't like about this film in regards to the style, however. The plot moves slowly, but this means that the film has time to both build up it's plot and wallow in the atmosphere. One of the trademarks of Italian horror is a muddled plot and things that don't completely make sense; and this film adheres to that. There are several threads within the plot, and a number of them are left unexplained by the conclusion...which is a shame. Still, the final conclusion is fitting and at least it doesn't suffer from bad dubbing! Recommended.