Crypt of the Vampire

Christopher Lee is struggling with the usual dilemmas facing a single parent. His daughter is acting up and getting all goth on him, dreaming she's a vampire that's killing distant relatives, indulging in strange ceremonies with the housekeeper, listening to Cannibal Corpse, all that sort of stuff. Lee's also having a bit of an affair with his maid, who resents Lee's daughter as she sees her as an obstacle regarding getting hitched to Lee.

It's the usual modern day problems, but set in a huge brooding castle next to a ruined village of course. Lee hires a guy to find out what his ancient ancestor looks like to prove to his daughter that she's not her reincarnation, and the guy immediately gets a thing for Lee's daughter. That's a pity, however, as she's kind of taken with a young, mysterious girl who's staying at the castle for a few days while her carriage is getting fixed at the local Kwik Fit, in yet another Italian Goth Horror where suspected vampirism increases your chances of a homosexual experience. Usually of a Sapphic nature.

I quite enjoyed this one, which is your usual Gothic horror with some really grotesque imagery thrown in for good measure, including the housekeeper using a severed hand as a candle holder, a giallo-style killing, and the reveal of why the church bell keeps ringing in the ruined village is a doozy! There's a bit of a mystery about the whole thing too as the young guy keeps digging, trying to find the image of Christopher Lee's ancestor, and who can't like a film that has a hunchbacked soothsayer in it?

The lesbian isn't played up too much of course considering the year this was made, but it ticks all the Gothic Horror boxes for me. I think I've seen them all now, but who knows what waiting out there?

A Christopher Lee flick I'd never even heard of, much less seen. The cult film legend is not the titular bloodsucker in this Spanish-Italian co-production, however. Here the vampire's identity is supposed to be something of a mystery, although if you're at all familiar with Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla", from which the script was adapted, you'll have everything figured out long before the characters do.

Director Camillo Mastrocinque piles on the classical Gothic themes and motifs like there's no tomorrow: vampirism, witchcraft, ancient family curses, heaving bosoms straining against diaphanous pregnoirs, creepy castle corridors and crypts by candlelight — that sort of thing. Facilitating this omnipresent atmosphere is some excellent black-and-white cinematography expressly modeled in the style of visual maestro Mario Bava (BLACK Sunday). Adriana Ambesi (FANGS OF THE LIVIND DEAD) and Ursula Davis (SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS) provide the eye candy; the story's lesbian angle is handled quite demurely but is unmistakably present, not merely hinted at yet always kept implicit. While the absence of shocks and skin, not to mention the leisurely pace, may well dissuade the casual fright film viewer the Gothic horror fan will be in his or her element. And you can never go wrong casting Lee as the aloof, aristocratic type.

Makes for an interesting double feature with Hammer's THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970), which is also inspired by "Carmilla".

If there is one thing that even the most low-budget of Spaghetti horrors excel in, it has got to be atmosphere. That is one thing that Terror in the Crypt does extremely well. It exudes a flair of picturesque horror and mystique enhanced all the more by its superb cinematography and eerie score.

Apart from it's great atmosphere, the film is very well crafted and entertaining. I would put it in the vein of other great EuroGoth gems like Terror Creatures From the Grave and The Blancheville Monster. Plus, the immortal Christopher Lee adds plenty to the picture as he always tends to do. But, like many of the other fans of this picture, I would have loved to have seen Lee chew the scenery with genre queen Barbara Steele as this is the type of film that was right up her alley.

Like so many other Gothic efforts, the story revolves around a generations-old family curse. Christopher Lee's character is a Count who fears that a witch's curse is starting to come to fruition as members of his extended family are dying one by one. A great cast of characters makes this story even more interesting. There's Laura, the Count's daughter and prime suspect in carrying out the witch's hex during her nightmare-wrought sleep. There is Laura's sultry friend Lyuba (I must note that the two starlets have great chemistry together and always look like they are on the verge of releasing years of bottled up sexual frustration on each other). A wise old crone who tries to help Laura decipher her nightmares. And there is a young historian who is brought in to try and find out as much of the family's dark history as he can in an effort to thwart the curse.

Terror in the Crypt (recently released as Crypt of the Vampire) is definitely worth the time and money for any fan of EuroGoth films or even just for those wanting to get a glimpse at Christopher Lee's Italian ventures.

Terror in the Crypt certainly seems like a great film on paper - it's stemmed from the classic novel "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu and the screenplay is by none other than Ernesto Gastaldi; the man responsible for a number of great Giallo films in the seventies. Adding to the writing credits is the fact that the film stars the great Christopher Lee; but unfortunately the pacing is far too slow and the film is more 'Castle of the Living Dead' than 'Black Sunday'. Anyone that has seen one of the numerous films based on the La Fanu novel will probably know what this film will be about. Count Karnstein comes to believe that his daughter Laura has become possessed by the spirit of the dead ancestor Carmilla and sends for a doctor to help her. However, this does not stop the daughter from being influenced by Carmilla. The film does well on the atmosphere front and director Camillo Mastrocinque delivers a great setting for the film to take place in with a lavish Gothic castle. However, there's just not enough going on to keep the film interesting for the duration and unfortunately despite the positives; the film is not very easy to follow for this reason. Perhaps fans of Gothic horror will find something to like here; but while I consider myself just that, unfortunately I didn't.

The film is known by a few titles 'La cripta e l'incubo' (original title)'Crypt of Horror' aka 'Terror in the Crypt' aka 'Crypt of the Vampire' - no matter the title, it's a pretty good Gothic vampire and witch film. I enjoyed the film anyway.

It's basically about a girl who is having nightmares and taken ill. Her father calls in a doctor for help and a historian to find out more about the family history - to see if he can find what the family curse is and help put an end to it.

This is a film that if you enjoy the clichés like: family curses, vampires, witches, worshiping devils, evil spirits, nightmares, castles, cellars, graveyards and crypts all rolled into a fun Gothic film experience then you might like this particular movie.

7.5/10