★ 7 / 10
**_A macabre dance at Blackwood Castle in England
Wuchak
**_A macabre dance at Blackwood Castle in England on All Hallows' Eve_** In the late 1840s, an American writer (Anthony Franciosa) meets Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus…
**_A macabre dance at Blackwood Castle in England on All Hallows' Eve_**
In the late 1840s, an American writer (Anthony Franciosa) meets Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) on his visit to London and questions the authenticity of his tales. He is thus challenged to spend the night in Blackwood castle, which is reportedly haunted and no one has yet fulfilled the bet and come back alive.
“Web of the Spider” (1971) was called “In the Spider’s Tight Grip” in Italian (translated) and is a remake of the director’s 1964 B&W film “Castle of Blood,” aka “Dance Macabre.” It was erroneously advertised as based on Poe’s “Night of the Living Dead,” but no such story exists (although he has a poem called “Spirits of the Dead”). Scriptwriters Bruno Corbucci (Sergio’s brother) and Giovanni Grimaldi drew from Poe's literary traditions rather than from a particular text.
Franciosa is seriously reminiscent of William Shatner in this particular production, although he was actually older by 2.5 years, not to mention four inches taller. On the feminine side of things, redhead Michèle Mercier is stunning. She was 32 during shooting in March, 1971, but looked older (her character was only 26, but I guess it works out since she’s actually dead). Brunette Irina Maleeva is also lovely while Karin Field is worth a mention, but the latter’s character, Julia, is a turn-off.
I prefer this to “Castle of Blood” simply because it’s in color, not to mention the presence of Michèle Mercier and Irina Maleeva. I also favor Franciosa as the protagonist. There’s an exquisiteness to the proceedings, particularly the pre-Victorian Age costumes and dance sequences, mixed with the creepy ghostly element and the castle setting. I also valued the insights on spectral happenings.
I saw the English version, which runs about 90-93 minutes and is better than the 85-minute German rendition, but I’d love to see one of the fuller Italian versions, which run like 15-18 minutes longer. Needless to say, we’re being shortchanged by the butchered English print!
It was shot at Castello Massimo, which is 37 miles northeast of Rome, and at Dino De Laurentiis’ Italian studio.
GRADE: B
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★ 6 / 10
Suspenseful terror movie revolving around the house haunted plot with plenty of ghosts and eerie appearances
ma-cortes
An remake with similar events to a former film titled Castle of Blood or Danse Macabre . While interviewing the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe and in an attempt…
An remake with similar events to a former film titled Castle of Blood or Danse Macabre . While interviewing the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe and in an attempt to convince him , journalist Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa in previous version played by Georges Riviere) that his horror stories are not pure fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) challenges the journalist to spend a night in Lord Thomas Blackwood's (Enrico Osterman) mansion. As they take a bet , so that he can spend one night at a tenebrous and haunted house , resulting to be a challenge from which no one has ever returned. Alan's evening starts out uneventfully, until Alan discovers that he is not alone. Sharing the house with him is Elisabeth Blackwood (Michèle Mercier), sister of Lord Blackwell and the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen, along with Elisabeth's lover Julia (Karin Field), a strange man with dark purports named Herbert (Raf Baldassarre), one Dr Carmus (Peter Carsten) who writes books about metaphysical medicine, and an entire ballroom full of dancers.
Nice horror film concerned the classic plot about a hanted house with plenty of preternatural beings , creepy murders and ghastly events. Set at a ghastly castle where happens scabrous and horrifying events . There appear to him vengeful spectres and bloodsuckers roaming here and there, such as : a murderer , a doctor expert on mathaphysical , mysterious and bautiful women , all of them resulting in fateful consequences. In spite of a few escenarios in the uninhabited, spiderweb-invested castle and its medium budget the picture is pretty well, thanks to the adequate filmmaking , stunning cinematography taking great use of lights and shades as well as camera positioning to complement appropriate horror set pieces. Acceptable starring , an obstinate journalist well incarnated by Anthony Franciosa . Reamining cast are pretty good , such as : Michèle Mercier , Klaus Kinski , Peter Carsten , Karin Field , Raf Baldassarre and Silvano Tranquilli who also played the 1964 version .
It contains an evocative and colrful cinematography in black and white by Guglielmo Mancori , Sandro Mancori and Silvano Spagnoli . Displaying a thrilling and frightening musical score by Riz Ortalani who also composed the former film . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Antonio Margheriti or Anthony M. Dawson . Antonio Margheritti was a good craftsman expert on horror and exploitation films. A prestigious filmmaker of Spaghetti Westerns, terror , adventures Peplum and anything else . Notorious Antonio directed with skill and aplomb from 1956 to his death in 2002. He made all kinds of genres , some of them splendidly directed and others mediocre or failures. As he realized wartime movies, such as : The Last Hunter , Tornado, Codename Wild Geese , Der Commander , Command Leopard . Sci-Fi : War of Planets , Planet of the Prowl , Criminal of the Galaxy , Yor the Hunter from the future , Treasure Planet .Spaghetti Western : Joko, Dynamite Joe , The Stranger and the Gunfighter , Take a Hard Ride , Ghosts go West , Joe implacable God Said to Cain. And Terror : Virgin of Nuremberg , Cannibal Apocalypse , Alien From Deep , Flesh for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, among others. Rating 6.5/10. Better than average. The picture will appeal to Italian Gothic aficionados.
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english subtitle?