★ 4 / 10
**_Castle of the Filmmakers on LSD in the
Wuchak
**_Castle of the Filmmakers on LSD in the Wild Mid-60s_** Several upscale partyers in modern Saxony are forced to stay overnight at a creepy castle. Good thing…
**_Castle of the Filmmakers on LSD in the Wild Mid-60s_**
Several upscale partyers in modern Saxony are forced to stay overnight at a creepy castle. Good thing for the reclusive Earl (Howard Vernon) because he desperately desires to resurrect his recently dead daughter.
A West German production, “Castle of the Creeping Flesh” (1968), originally named “In the Castle of Bloody Lust” (translated), is castle horror by the director of the infamous "Mark of the Devil," which debuted two years later. It came in the tradition of earlier flicks like "The Terror" and "Bloody Pit of Horror"; these would influence future ones like “Devil's Nightmare,” “Baron Blood,” "Howling V: The Rebirth” and "Subspecies.” The best thing about all of them is the spooky castle ambiance, but this is easily the worst of the lot and could be classified as Eurotrash, literally.
The entire first act is compelling enough while the second act borrows bits from the Gothic horror of Dracula and Frankenstein. However, once the protagonists of questionable character are staying overnight at the castle, the story bogs down with witless close-up footage of open-heart surgery and tedious ambiguity, not to mention a lousy fake bear sequence. Even "The Devil's Wedding Night" seems coherent by comparison.
Janine Reynaud (Vera) and Elvira Berndorff (Elena) are attractive enough and, for those interested, shown semi-nude, but they lack the essentials to cull much interest; for me anyway. Meanwhile Michel Lemoine (Baron Brack) has interesting crazy eyes and the horseback riding in the heart of Europe is nice, but that’s about the extent of the highlights. As low-budget and quickly-made as Roger Corman’s "The Terror" was, it’s a masterpiece of cinematic art by comparison. Even "And Now the Screaming Starts" is superior (which, admittedly, has a good second half, the opposite of this one).
The movie runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, was shot in northeast Austria at Burg Kreuzenstein (the castle), Leobendorf, Lower Austria, Austria, and nearby Oberrohrbach, Korneuburg.
GRADE: C-
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★ 5 / 10
Witchfinder-General-666
The sleaze-loving Austrian director Adrian Hoven is probably best remembered for writing, producing and co-directing the notorious Exploitation gem "Hexen Bis…
The sleaze-loving Austrian director Adrian Hoven is probably best remembered for writing, producing and co-directing the notorious Exploitation gem "Hexen Bis Aufs Blut Gequält" aka. "Mark of the Devil" (1970) and its vastly inferior sequel "Hexen Geschändet Und Zu Tode Gequält" ("Mark of the Devil 2", 1973). This earlier Gothic Horror/Exploitation effort, "Im Schloss Der Blutigen Begierde" (aka. "Castle of Bloody Lust"/"Castle of the Creeping Flesh") does not share the notoriety of Hoven's Hexploitation films, but is enjoyable in a very different way. "Im Schloss Der Blutigen Begierde" must be one of the cheesiest, inept and unintentionally funny Trash-Horror films I have ever seen, and I am a very regular consumer of low-budget cult flicks.This very bizarre little flick starts at an orgiastic party hosted by the arrogant and malicious Baron Brack (Michel Lemoine). After taking a ride, fate then leads the Baron, as well as five of his guests including the sexy sisters Vera (Janine Reynaud) and Elena Lagarange (Elvira Berndorff) to the castle of the very sinister Count Saxon (cult-star Howard Vernon)...The film, which has an utterly confused and incomplete storyline, features some of the most inept and hilarious lines of dialogue. Howard Vernon's character, for example, shows guests around his castle and tells stories about his ancestry, only to proclaim thereafter that his beloved daughter "died half an hour ago". Other than Howard Vernon all acting performances are hilariously inept. Howard Vernon was a great cult-actor, who blessed many of the films (great and awful alike) of Spanish Exploitation deity Jess Franco; he had a great, incredibly sinister screen-presence. However, in this film he is hardly given anything to do but grimace and talk nonsense. Michel Lemoine has very weird eyes, but his performance is abysmal, as are all the others. Janine Reynaud (known for Jess Franco's earlier works) and Elvira Berndorff are very nice to look at, however, and they regularly have their breasts exposed. The cast also includes Vladimir Medar, who is best known in German-speaking countries for participating in many of the cheesy Karl May-adaptations.The film has somewhat of a pioneer-quality, as it is very sleazy and very gory for a pre-1970 film. We see breasts in every other scene, there are orgies and rapes, and some very graphic gore during surgery. On the side, the film features one of the most popular 60s Eurohorror themes, the 'mad scientist kills women in order to restore the life of one woman' story, which had formerly been the topic of such masterpieces as Georges Franju's "Les Yeux Sans Visage" ("Eyes Without a Face", 1960), Giorgio Ferroni's "Il Mulino Dalle Donne Di Pietro" ("Mill of the Stone Women", 1960) or Jess Franco's "Gritos En La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", 1962). Vernon's role here has some similarities to that of the eponymous Dr. Orloff in Franco's film, only that Franco's film was great, and this one is a hilariously inept mess. The setting and photography are actually quite nice, but the inept dialogue and ridiculous story destroy any chance of a creepy atmosphere or genuine scares. It gets somewhat eerie towards the end, but by then the foregoing ridiculousness is dominating the film's mood. The only comparable film I can think of is Massimo Pupillo's "Il Boia Scarlatto" ("The Crimson Executioner", 1965), which offered an equal amount of unintentional hilarity. Overall, "Im Schloss Der Blutigen Begierde" may be the most inept European Gothic Horror film I have ever seen, but it also is highly entertaining. Along with the Italian Giallo, European Gothic Horror films are probably the most stylish, elegant and fascinating sub-genre Horror has ever brought forth, and there are plenty of masterpieces to see in the field, especially films from Italy (e. g. everything by Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti, Riccardo Freda, etc.). If you want to see a good (but disturbing) film by Adrian Hoven, check out "Mark of the Devil". "Im Schloss Der Blutigen Begierde" is undeniably total crap. However, it's inept charm is irresistible for Cult-Horror fans with a sense of humor. This film is unintentionally hilarious from start to finish; it may be an awful excuse for a film, but I cannot remember when I was more entertained.
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★ 5 / 10
Beautifully Bad
thalassafischer
I'm giving this flick five stars instead of the mere two or three the writing and acting deserve due to the gorgeously Northern European gothic setting and…
I'm giving this flick five stars instead of the mere two or three the writing and acting deserve due to the gorgeously Northern European gothic setting and fairy tale like elements.I felt The Castle of the Creeping Flesh had a lot of potential in the first 15-20 minutes then it turned into some weird role playing game of rich people who hadn't got the memo two or three centuries had passed, with the sort of creepy mannequin displays used much more effectively in films like The House of Wax (1953) or Tourist Trap (1979).The execution of this skeezey sleaze fest is lacking to say the very very least. The brunette who keeps pursing her lips into an "oooh" face over and over would be considered a bad actress in a porno, let alone a movie that's actually supposed to be watched in its entirety.
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4.5/10
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And that poster is clickbait from pre-internet era LOL