| Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dick Randall |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Mario Mancini [1] |
| Edited by | Enzo Micarelli [1] |
| Music by | Marcello Gigante [1] |
Production company | Classic Film International [1] |
| Distributed by | Nettunia Film |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes [1] |
| Country | Italy [1] |
| Box office | ₤51.004 million |
Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (Italian : Terror! Il castello delle donne maledette) is a 1974 Italian horror film.
A Neanderthal man is lynched by villagers and Count Frankenstein brings the monster back to life. Trying to avoid detection from the authorities and the locals, his creation escapes and wreaks havoc.
Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti stated that production details of the film were "shady if not contradictory". [2] These include the identity of the director of the film. [2] Among the different hypotheses of who directed the film included Spanish actor Ramiro Olvieros and producer Oscar Brazzi, cinematographer Mario Mancini, producer Dick Randall and screenwriter William Rose. [2] The Italian copyright agency SIAE certified that director Robert H. Oliver was a pseudonym of Mancini. [2] Actor Gordon Mitchell contradicts this, saying that the director was Robert Oliver, while the actress Simone Blondell recalled only that the director "spoke English, he wasn't Italian" [2] Among the crew, assistant director Gianlorenzo Battaglia denied Mancini directed the film, stating that "the American director left the film because of disagreements with the producer, and so Mario finished it on his own. I'm not 100% sure though!" [2]
The film was shot in late 1972 and finished in early 1973. [3]
Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks was distributed theatrically in Italy by Nettunia Film on 19 February 1974. [2] It grossed a total of 51,005,000 Italian lire on its domestic release. [2] The film was released in the United States on Aquarius Releasing and Box-Office International Pictures in January 1975. [2]
The film was released in the United States under various titles including Terror Castle, The House of Freaks, The Monsters of Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks. [2] It was released in the United Kingdom as Frankenstein's Castle. [2] Curti described the film as having a minor cult status in the United States when it aired on Elvira's Movie Macabre in the 1980s. [3]
In a retrospective look on the film, Curti described it as "One of the trashiest horror movies produced in Italy in the 1970s". [2] Louis Paul wrote a negative review of the film in his book Italian Horror Film Directors, opining that the film was "little more than low-budget horror at its worst". [4]
Mario Bava was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, as well as the destructive capacity of human nature. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Italian genre cinema and one of the most influential auteurs of the horror film genre, he is popularly referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre".
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I Vampiri is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
Nightmare Castle is a 1965 Italian horror film directed by Mario Caiano. The film stars Paul Muller, Helga Liné and Barbara Steele in a dual role.
Bloody Pit of Horror is a 1965 gothic horror film. The film, set in Italy, was directed by Domenico Massimo Pupillo and stars Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi, Luisa Baratto and Rita Klein. It tells the story of a group of women modeling for a photo shoot at a castle, whose owner takes on the identity of the Crimson Executioner, bent on their deaths.
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Lover of the Monster is a 1974 gothic horror film directed by Sergio Garrone and starring Klaus Kinski.
Frankenstein '80 is a 1972 Italian film directed by Mario Mancini.
Fracchia contro Dracula is a 1985 Italian horror comedy film directed by Neri Parenti.
The Long Hair of Death is a 1964 Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti. It stars British actress Barbara Steele in the roles of Helen Rochefort and Mary, Italian actor George Ardisson as Kurt Humboldt, and Polish actress Halina Zalewska in a dual role as Adele Karnstein and her daughter Lisabeth. It is set in a 15th-century feudal castle, and the nearby village.
Frankenstein all'italiana – Prendimi, straziami, che brucio de passion! is an 1975 Italian comedy horror film, directed by Armando Crispino.
The Blancheville Monster, released in the UK and Italy as Horror, is a 1963 horror film directed by Alberto de Martino. The film's script by Gianni Grimaldi and Bruno Corbucci is promoted as being based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, but actually only borrows elements from the short stories "The Fall of the House of Usher", "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" and "Some Words with a Mummy". Long after its release, director Alberto de Martino described his film as "a little film of no importance".
Terror in the Crypt is a 1964 Italian-Spanish horror film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. The film is based on the 1872 novel Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
The Vampire of the Opera is a 1964 Italian horror film co-written and directed by Renato Polselli and starring Marco Mariani and Giuseppe Addobbati.
The history of horror films was described by author Siegbert Solomon Prawer as difficult to read as a linear historical path, with the genre changing throughout the decades, based on the state of cinema, audience tastes and contemporary world events.
