Castle of the Living Dead is notable for a few reasons. It stars Christopher Lee, for one. He plays a creepy castle dweller who has created an embalming fluid that basically creates instant taxidermied animals - and PEOPLE. It also features Donald Sutherland in his first big film role (actually, three roles, as a soldier, a witch, and an old man). There's also some controversy over who actually directed it, though that's really the result of the need for some Italian pseudonyms, which were created for tax purposes. The director was Warren Kiefer, and yes, he's Kiefer Sutherland's namesake.
But this is a case where the cast and production are more interesting than the movie itself. Castle of the Living Dead was a slog for me, and I could barely finish it. I think in general I tend to have problems with these 1960's period piece horror movies. For instance, while some of Corman's Poe movies are absolutely beautiful, I think most of them are just deadly dull. Castle, set after the Napoleonic wars, has some lovely black-and-white photography, but it doesn't make up for the deadly pacing and bad dubbing. And despite a story rife with frozen corpses of various species, not enough horror. (Also, I think this movie may have been an influence for the character of Master Blaster in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome??)
Anyway, just not for me, but doesn't mean it won't work for you!
I watched Castle of the Living Dead on a Blu-ray from my library, but it's also available to stream on Tubi.
2 comments:
The trailer did a fantastic job making this film look like an action packed horror flick, nice work! The slow pace might be perfect for a half-watch, while I work on my Halloween costume.
I don't know. Maybe some day. But with time dwindling down for Halloween, not sure this week is the week for a slog.
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