TERROR IN THE CRYPT is a fine addition to the Italian gothic cycle that suffers nothing from being cliched and overly familiar. Guest star Christopher Lee - who dubs himself in AIP's English version - plays Count Karnstein, a man who resides in a forbidding old ancestral home and lives in fear of an ancient curse coming true. He employs a historian to find out the veracity of said curse, and the pot boils from there. This is basically a collection of gothic tropes and imagery, played out one after another. There are shadows, empty rooms, spectral events, bats, mysterious characters, a hunchback, a beggar, a murder, a Hand of Glory, familial secrets, a murky crypt, a coffin, vampirism, witch burning a la BLACK SUNDAY, black magic, and more cobwebs than you can throw a candlestick at. It's a lot of fun to see Lee playing a human character for once during this part of his career and the supporting cast are well picked too. Sit back and just soak up the atmosphere.

Terror In The Crypt' happily boasts two gloriously-breasted starlets, and the looming, venerable presence of Christopher Lee, whose sepulchral-toned, Count Ludwig adds much verisimilitude to the overtly familiar Karnstein family misfortunes. 'Terror In The Crypt' is a noirish Gothic melodrama, with prolific scrivener, Ernesto Gastaldi doing yet another riff on, Sheridan le Fanu's 'Camilla'. While the film has an admittedly lugubrious pace, this actually sits quite happily against the musty, high contrast, cobwebbed theatrics. Whereas, Jesus Franco will have even less plot, a surfeit of orgiastic flesh and interminable half-hour zooms; DP's, Guiseppe Aquari & Julio Ortas have clearly taken care over the breathtaking compositions; with their effective use of chiaroscuro lighting, and some impressive, yet wonderfully subtle tracking shots. The masters are equally atmospheric, allowing one a splendid gander at all the finely honed Gothic baroque, Camillo Mastrocinque has so meticulously generated. I was also most impressed by, Carlo Savina's spare, eerie, piano-led score, placing the viewer dead centre within all these macabre machinations. To the uninitiated this all might seem a tad ponderous, but to those of us who appreciate a ripping yarn; where buxom, kohl-eyed lovelies cower beneath their vampiric violators, and bloody maleficence creeps beyond the boundaries of death, 'Terror In The Crypt' is a timeless classic deserving of a little more kudos than it currently generates.

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".

Crypt of Horror appears to be one of those films from the early 60s that has been cut, re-cut, and released under almost a dozen titles. To me, it's a shame that this movie has been treated this way over the years because I found it to be a fairly effective Euro-Gothic treat. The plot deals with Count Karnstein and his fear that his daughter may be the reincarnation of a relative put to death decades earlier for being a witch. Regardless of whether the daughter is a witch or not, members of the Karnstein family are dying rather cruel deaths. The Count must discover the truth to the witch's curse and put a stop to the deaths before the Karnstein family looses another member.If you are into Gothic horror, there's plenty here to enjoy. Crypt of Horror exudes that Gothic atmosphere and plays a bit like cross between Black Sunday and Castle of Blood. (No, I'm not saying it's as good as either of these films.) I described it to a friend as the best Barbara Steele movie that Barbara Steele never made. A wonderfully creepy castle with miles of secret passages, dreams of dead relatives that become reality, women in flowing white gowns wandering through the night, rituals designed to raise the dead, and a hint of lesbianism are the highlights of the movie. Add to that the presence of Christopher Lee (even if he has very little to do) and you've got the basics of a good movie.But given my rating (6/10), it's obvious I had some problems with Crypt of Horror. Whether it's the result of editing, poor dubbing, or an incoherent script, there are problems with the plot. There are far too many things that happen that make little sense or seem to have no bearing on anything else going on. Take the housekeeper and her continued attempts to bring the spirit of the dead witch back to life. Sure, the witch is pivotal to the plot, but why is she trying to summon the witch? What is her motivation? At least in my copy of the movie, it's never explained. There are other examples of where the plot gets muddled, but you get the idea.