Being a Barbara Steele AND Italian Gothic horror fanatic, "Terror-Creatures from the Grave" has been standing on my must-see list for many years, and I also owned a bootleg copy on DVD, but it was literally unwatchable with picture quality as poor and diseased as the plague carriers the film revolves on. Now that I've finally watched a restored version, I still can't say I'm wildly enthusiast about the film even though it features everything that I usually seek for in horror cinema. Perhaps it's because I saw so many other Gothic horrors in between the time I first purchased and eventually watched "Terror Creatures from the Grave" or perhaps it's simply because the story never truly shifts into gear despite all its potential strong points. During the opening credits, and even proudly on the DVD-cover already, the movie claims to be inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Well, that's easy marketing! The script isn't an adaptation of one of his stories, but because Poe wrote about the Black Plague (undoubtedly the source is "The Masque of the Red Death") he gets mentioned as an inspiration and a much wider audience is attracted! Besides, who needs extra marketing when you've got the one and only Barbara Steele - at the peak of her popularity - starring in a bathtub sequence? The plot is chock-full of macabre elements and the atmosphere leaves plenty of space for ominous tension and supernatural strangeness that unfortunately never comes to the surface. Handsome young attorney Albert Kovac gets summoned to the estate of Professor Hauff for arranging his last will and testament, but upon his arrival Albert finds out that the good Prof has been dead for nearly a year. His beautiful second wife Cleo is skeptical and wary of Albert presence, but her equally attractive stepdaughter Corinne is delighted and even hopes for Albert to help solving the mystery surrounding her father's death. Albert finds out that the family mansion got built up from the remnants of an institution where 16th century plague carriers used to be locked away (that's just asking for trouble) and the Professor found a method to resurrect them from the death. With the first anniversary of the Professor's death approaching, several people who were close to him are dying in mysterious and gruesome ways. "Terror Creatures from the Grave" easily could have been a modest genre classic, what with its uncanny references towards the Black Plague and multiple eerie make-up effects, but the pacing is dreadfully slow and the script is far too talkative. Massimo Pupillo really should have studied the films of Mario Bava a little more carefully, and then he would have known that Italian Gothic horror primarily thrives on atmosphere, cinematography and better use of set pieces rather than on drivel. Mrs. Steele seems a lot less interested in her role here than, say, "Black Sunday" or "Castle of Blood", but even with a mediocre performance she still depicts an impressive wicked stepmother character.

This film immediately differs itself from the usual Gothic horror films by having a terrified man run away from a strange creature and get his head smashed to bits by a startled horse. Thus starts Terror Creatures From the Grave, a film that wouldn't be out of place being produced about fifteen years later.A lawyer is sent a letter from a client but the lawyer is out of town. His assistant opens the letter and finds a demand from a client called Doctor Hauff that the lawyer better high tail it over to his creepy mansion as soon as possible or else. With the lawyer out of town, his assistant decides to go instead.The lawyer heads to the mansion only to find Doctor Hauff's daughter, a freaked out maid, and the Hauff's wife (Barbara Steele, in full Bitch mode) who states that it would be a bit weird for her husband to send a letter out seeing he died after taking a drunken spill down a flight of steps almost a year ago. The lawyer is all like 'whatever' until he finds he can't leave as an owl has become trapped in the engine of his car (What?).Things aren't what they seem as the mansion has mute servant Luciano Pagozzi lurking about pulling faces, and there's a phonograph recording by Dr Hauff detailing how he's managed to contact the spirits of plague bearer who were infecting people on purpose with the plague (which explains all the mummified hands on display in the mansion's main hall).Also unnerving is the unexplained deaths of the witnesses who were there on the night Dr Hauff died, but did he die? And why are the plague-bearers coming back to life? And why aren't the villagers remotely surprised by any of this? This is probably the earliest example of the pure Italian horror that we would be receiving in the eighties courtesy of Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi. We have an almost non-sensical supernatural storyline that some character attempt to unravel which is really an excuse for some gory deaths. Eyeballs hang from eyesockets, guts protrude from stomachs, buboes burst and drip - in 1965! There are scenes from here that turn up in The Beyond (acid burning a corpse's face) and The Evil Dead (a character listening to a recording of someone contacting demons). It would be easy to say this was an influence on those films, but who knows really? Probably the creepiest, most violent Gothic Horror I've laid eyes on, Terror Creatures is a good starting point for anyone interested in this particular period in Italian Horror. Do note however that possibly the only version out there is blurry, glitch, and with bad sound. Also note however that this is the kind of Italian film where a mere TWO of the cast are left alive at the end.HOWEVER: There is a restored version on YouTube that I watched some of. It has an extended scene at the start with the lawyer receiving the letter, an extended, and creepier, journey to the mansion, an actual shot of the dead owl in the guy's engine (what?), omits the horse killing at the start. I'd like to see a remastered DVD that keeps the best elements of both versions. Thanks. ETC.I forgot about the pure water song! It goes - Pure Wa-

When a movie is badly dubbed into English with a horrible video and sound transfer and yet still manages to keep you interested, you know you are watching a good film. Barbara Steele stars in this Edgar Allen Poe tale revolving around a plague, revenge, witchcraft and zombies. Stylishly striking shots, creepy Gothic atmosphere, a quick moving, interesting story and some wonderfully gory special effects will keep you straining your eyes and ears while attempting to watch this goodie, which sadly, is only available via a horribly washed out, faded, garbled, splotchy print shoveled out by several discount/dollar DVDs - but its definitely worth the effort. Someone please remaster this classic. Of special interest to anyone who likes Hammer, Italo or Gothic Horror and Barbara Steele fans.

With a title like "Terror Creatures From the Grave", you would think the picture would be an exercise in campy horror and cheesy special effects. But you know, this was actually a pretty neat little creep fest, and for it's relatively compact run time of just under an hour and a half, the picture offers some of the best lines you'll ever come up with in a 'B' grade horror flick. For example:"Are you putting me in the torture room?" - Albert Kovac to Cleo Hauff"I've summoned them from their graves and now I'm among them." - the voice of Jeronimus Hauff"The corpse collectors always come when somebody's doomed." - the library clerk"The living I may fear, but certainly not the dead." - Kovac againTop all of that off with one of the most innovative suicide/hari kari scenes ever, and you've got a unique little excursion into dementia cinema that would be hard to top.I read with some interest the other reviews on this film by other posters, and I have to wonder why I'm in the minority on the following point. Most take it as a given that Jeronimus Hauff was actually dead, and came back from the beyond to take out his revenge on the five witnesses to his purported death a year earlier. But what about that scene when the servant Kurt laid the body of Hauff on the stone tablet, bewailing the loss of his master? Hmmm.