Web of the Spider

I REALLY like Klaus Kinski. He made some wonderful movies like Aguirre: Wrath of God, Fitzgaraldo, Android and Nosferatu...so I buy anything with him in it.

I bought Web of the Spider because of Klaus. Well, you can forget about that. I peered into the darkness of the opening scenes and tried with some difficulty to tell if I was looking at K.K. or not.

At the end of the movie there was more of the same, and most of it could have been left out...plotwise.

I was a little let down, but I stuck with it, and was surprised at the quality of this little gem! It's atmospheric and moody and well done.

I enjoyed my first viewing of it tonight, and I'm looking forward to watching it again.

Director Antonio Margheriti remakes his own 'Castle of Blood' (1964), this time in colour. Anthony Franciosa accepts a bet to spend the night in a haunted castle. Not believing in ghosts, he thinks it'll be easy money. But as the night goes on he's forced to witness replays of events long past, and face dangers in the present that are only too real.

Franciosa's convincing, enjoyable performance stays just the right side of 'over the top'. The rest of the French, Italian, and German cast (unknowns to me) are good (the two female leads, Michele Mercier and Karin Field, are gorgeous). And there's a framing sequence, featuring Klaus Kinski as Edgar Allan Poe! The story's a good one, the effects aren't bad for the time, and the Castle location and sets are fantastically atmospheric. In fact the whole thing has a really strong 'Dark Shadows' vibe (in a good way!). Some of the voice dubbing is rough (for some reason they even dubbed American star Franciosa!) and once or twice the editing doesn't quite match up, but it's pretty gripping.

I haven't seen the original (something I hope to put right soon), so I can't say how the two versions compare; but this one gets 7/10.

Some people really suck at negotiating business deals. "In the Grip of the Spider" revolves on a guy who accepts a bet to spend the night in a secluded and reputedly haunted castle and if he survives the ordeal, he receives the astonishing, stupendous and exhilarating reward of … 10 pounds! Ten pounds?!? Even in the 19th century this probably wasn't even enough to pay the coachman to drive you back to civilization! At least the eccentric Vincent Price offered his guests $10.000 to spend one night in his house on haunted hill; now there's a guy you can do business with! "In the Grip of the Spider" is an accomplishment of the hugely underrated Italian director Antonio Margheriti (better known under his international alias Anthony M. Dawson) and apparently a remake of his very own Gothic horror classic "Castle of Blood" starring Barbara Steele. By doing this Margheriti was far ahead of his time, as it's extremely popular among directors nowadays to remake their own earlier movies. Unfortunately I haven't seen "Castle of Blood" (or at least not yet), so I can't compare, but reliable sources tell me this early 70's version can't hold a candle to the original. This may be so, but I still wouldn't call "In the Grip of the Spider" a bad film – especially not if you're a sucker for Gothic atmospheres. Admittedly the storyline is a little flimsy and unspectacular, but the film nevertheless has several things going for it, like the presence of Klaus Kinski (depicting no less than Edgar Allen Poe), lovely luscious ladies and a downright sardonic finale. The American journalist Alan Foster is desperate to get an interview from the notorious novelist Edgar Allen Poe, but he gets more than he bargained for when Poe and his friend challenge him to spend the night at Blackwood castle. Convinced that ghosts and vampires don't exist, Foster accepts and remains alone in the dark and ominous castle. Things start out great for him, as the lucky bastard even has sex with the perplexing beauty who appears out of nowhere. Several more suspicious individuals make their appearance and, through flashback, Alan gradually learns they're all ghosts trapped inside the castle for all eternity. "In the Grip of the Spider" is slightly overlong (110min) and a lot of footage easily could have been cut. There's a lot of ballroom dancing and painting observing going on, which is quite unnecessary and in fact only undermines the atmosphere of Gothic morbidity. The scenes where random characters dwell through the castle's catacombs and stumble upon ancient tombs are irrelevant to the plot at well, but at least they fit the Gothic concept. The rare moments when Kinski appears on screen are sublime – even though he doesn't even remotely resemble the real Edgar Allan Poe – since there is no other actor more suitable to play a neurotic and lightly inflammable genius than him. Michèle Mercier (as Elizabeth) and Karin Field (as Julia) are both extremely beautiful and sexy starlets, but I'm sort of convinced that Barbara Steele was even better than the two of them combined in the original. I guess I'll have to track that one down as soon as possible. Overall this is a flawed but interesting film, recommend to fans of vintage Italian Goth-horror.

Right after Mario Bava, the late Antonio Margheriti was arguably the second-greatest Italian Gothic Horror director, his doubtlessly most ingenious work being the 1964 masterpiece "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle of Blood") starring the one and only Barbara Steele. "Danza Macabra" easily ranks among the most brilliant and fascinating Gothic Horror films ever made, and I was therefore sceptical about this "Nella stretta morsa del ragno" aka. "In the Grip of the Spider" (1971), a remake which Margheriti made of his own film only seven years later. While "In the Grip of the Spider" does in no way equal (or even come close to) the greatness of "Danza Macabra", however, it is nonetheless an atmospheric, creepy and highly entertaining film that every fellow fan of Italian Gothic Horror should enjoy.

The storyline is more or less the same as in "Danza Macabra": When interviewing Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski), a journalist Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa) makes a bet with a sinister count. Foster has to spend a night alone in the count's eerie, presumably haunted mansion. When the first after his arrival is the beautiful Elisabeth Blackwood (Michèle Mercier), Foster does not foresee the horrors that he is about to experience... Anthony Franciosa is always great, most fellow Italian Horror fans will agree that he had his greatest moment in Dario Argento's "Tenebre" (1982); and who would not love a film that begins with the credits: "Klaus Kinski as Edgar Allan Poe"? Michèle Mercier is a beauty, but she is no Barbara Steele. Barbara Steele is my all-time favorite actress and her mere appearance is such an enrichment to all the great Gothic gems she has starred in that a remake with someone else in her role is most likely to disappoint. She is dearly missed in this one, even though Miss Mercier is in no way bad. "Danza Macabra" is one of the most atmospheric and eerily beautiful Horror films ever made. "In the Grip of the Spider" can not compete with the wonderful mood of the original, even though the film is nicely filmed in cool, eerie settings. It really is a blast to see Klaus Kinski play Edgar Allan Poe, however. While the film mostly keeps the storyline of "Danza Macabra", Margheriti added a long opening sequence which consists mainly of Kinski wandering through eerie tombs in search of a grave. Before seeing this, I expected it to be more exploitative than "Danza Macabra", but the film is actually quite low on sleaze and violence. Overall, "In the Grip of the Spider" is nowhere near as brilliant as "Danza Macabra", but it is definitely still atmospheric, creepy and vastly enjoyable Gothic Horror. My fellow Italian Horror buffs can definitely give this a try, but should make sure to see "Danza Macabra" first.

THE WEB OF THE SPIDER (1972) is director Antonio Margheriti's color remake of his 1964 DANZA MACABRA (CASTLE OF BLOOD) which, along with Mario Bava's LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO (BLACK SUNDAY) is considered one of the twin pillars of Italian Gothic Cinema. This genre flourished between 1957-1972 making SPIDER one of the last examples of Italian Gothic Cinema to be made before this style would be eclipsed by the Giallo genre which consisted of contemporary crime stories that, thanks to the abandonment of censorship standards, included gratuitous nudity and graphic, misogynistic violence. DANZA was not a success at the box office so Margheriti decided to redo it in color. This time it was a success, but the director later dismissed SPIDER saying that the addition of color had robbed the story of its atmosphere.

Set in the mid-19th century so that Edgar Allan Poe could be included as a character, the story concerns skeptical reporter Alan Foster who accepts a wager that he cannot spend one night alone in a nearby haunted castle. Dropped off by Poe and the castle's owner, he unexpectedly encounters a number of people inside this castle, including a beautiful woman he falls in love with. He later discovers she and the others who inhabit the castle are dead and must relive their deaths on this one night of the year, November 2nd, which is All Souls Day. He witnesses their various demises before realizing he is to be next, thus enabling the dead to prolong their unholy existence and return next November 2nd. Will he be able to escape the castle with his life intact and collect the bet? The ending is a surprise.

It's true that SPIDER lacks the overpowering atmosphere of the B&W original and also doesn't feature Italian Gothic icon Barbara Steele as did the first film. However it benefits from a bigger budget and better acting by the principal players. The reporter is played by American actor Anthony Franciosa who brings an earnest intensity to the role especially after discovering the castle's secret. Euro favorite Klaus Kinski is a suitably deranged Poe. Most IG fans may dismiss this version but I personally find SPIDER stylishly lit, well photographed, and as enjoyable as its predecessor, just in a different way. Like most European horror films SPIDER exists in several bad public domain copies so you've been warned. The original, uncut versions of both movies are now available on streaming services and on home video...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.