Touches You

A Masterpiece!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Handsome, big, strong Lex Barker – my favourite Tarzan, for what it's worth – hadn't played Edgar Rice Burrough's tree-swinging hero for ten years, but he is still every inch the hero here. Not perhaps the most personable actor, he has a magnetic presence that dominates the screen (as a personal aside, I'm a big fan of comic artist Mike Ploog, who drew many horror strips for Marvel in the 1970s – Barker is like one of Ploog's drawn heroes come to life). The same may be said for Christopher Lee as the evil Count Regula, whom we first meet facing the prospect of being publicly quartered for his crimes. Karin Dor plays Baroness Lilian von Brabant, damsel in distress with the heaving bosom, who takes an instant liking to Barker's Roger Monte Elise.There are rumours, 35 years after his gruesome death, in which Regula still somehow lives. The search for him, with burning torches, through the impressively Gothic and labyrinthine passageways of the castle threaten to become a little tedious. Hand in hand with the Countess, Elise stoically isn't put off by gory entrails or threatening voices. It is here any tedium ends, with a wealth of pits, scorpions, snakes, leering faces and the like looming out of the shadows and the rank, dripping tunnels."The blood is the life," says Regula (echoes of Dracula) to those who have witnessed his resurrection, who are in fact ancestors of those who had him put to death. It is here at last Poe's 'Pit and the Pendulum', which had been credited as inspiration for this, makes a spectacular appearance, as Elise is tortured in a bid to fill Brabant with enough fear so that her blood may allow Regula eternal life … or something like that.Director Harald Reinl and composer Peter Thomas conspire to produce something highly enjoyable, very colourful, Gothic and dripping with wonderful horror atmosphere. Great fun.

I remember the first time I caught this flick on late night TV. I'm watching a man being executed. Years have passed, enter Leading Man Lex Barker who travels the European Countryside. Then a brief glimpse from a window and I was hypnotized for the remainder of the movie. I was captivated,enthralled and downright smitten with our leading lady Karin Dor. Dor plays a descendant of the prosecutor who sent Count Regula (played By Christopher Lee) to his death, For reasons we don't even know. Continuing onward Lex Barker and a impostor (MAN OF THE CLOTH)played by Carl Lange complete with side arm take a faithful carriage ride to Count Regula's Castle driven by an apprehensive coachman. Traffic was heavy on that country side road that day as another carriage passes them by with Dor AKA Lilian Von Brabant and blonde lady servant Babette inside. Trouble ensues and marauders ransack their carriage.The two lovely ladies are startled as there thrown to the ground. The suspects ride off in the distance as Rev and Lex arrive and help the shaken women into their carriage. Pleasantry are exchanged and you get to see and appreciate the loveliness of Karin.The afternoon turns to twilight as dead bodies appear. The devastation around the coachman is to much and he dies from the stress. Enter Pater caretaker for the castle and count Regula's right hand man. He steals the cab as Lex and Carl watch in disbelief as the two travel on foot a short distance to the Castle to rescue to the abducted ladies. The structure is downright gloomy filled with self opening doors and endless corridors/descending bars of steel as the two stroll inside. Piano music is heard as the two men are drawn towards the sound as they meet up with Man servant Pater. He directs them to the gorgeous Lilian playing a melody on a baby grand donning a lavender Hooped dress. She is under the influence in sort of a trance as she fans her way around the room, Foul play is in order as Babette tips off our guests as the drinks being served are filled with acid. Pater just drinks his acid glass vintage without a burp. The trance wears off and Lilian comes back to reality. The rest of the movie you just watch Karin sashay around the worn torn castle filled with snakes, vultures, scorpions, trapped doors and a moving wooden plank. An anomaly of extreme as blood and guts filled the hallways of this weathered old edifice as our Froline dashes along in lavender and lace. I would have loved to see some outtakes of her skirt blowing over her head but they didn't save those things in those days. In the end goodness prevails and evil fails. Was this movie scary? Of course not! I rated this movie a five just for gazing into her beautiful face. Now it's off to German Class 101 Karin meine liebe,Ihre so schon.

This "Castle of the Walking Dead" contains – hands down – one of THE creepiest sequences I've ever seen. A carriage with four people inside is on its way to a sinister castle with a dark past when suddenly the driver notices they're going through a woods where there's a dead body hanging from nearly every three! The sight of and atmosphere during this particular sequences is truly horrific. In fact, the entire film somewhat relies on powerful isolated sequences of the macabre, as the story itself is quite familiar and routine Gothic stuff. "Castle of the Walking Dead" is another loose adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's legendary tale "The Pit and the Pendulum"; which also already existed in a version directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. The film gives top-billing to veteran actor Christopher Lee, but apart from the intro sequence and the exquisite finale, his role isn't too extended. Lee plays the malicious and murderous Count Regula, who gets quartered for the all the vicious crimes he committed, but of course not before placing a curse on the judge who pronounced the death sentence and the last female victim who managed to escape and get him arrested. 35 years later, their unaware relatives are lured to the castle where the score shall be settled once and for all. I'm a big fan of Gothic horror and, generally speaking, rather forgiving when there are shortcomings. That's why I'm still very fond of "Castle of the Walking Dead" even though it definitely could have been even better. Many isolated sequences are terrific, but the wholesome is a bit incoherent. Once the almighty Christopher Lee is resurrected again, the quality level of the film rises again. His character is masterfully malevolent (another evil count consuming the blood of virgins to gain eternal life) and this great actor's natural horror charisma already delivers half of the powerful impact. The scene with the giant pendulum remains a brilliant highlight, regardless of how many times you've seen this before in other films. The titular castle is like a theme park full of wondrously sinister Gothic attractions. It even has vultures patiently waiting outside of the pendulum room!

Does anybody remember that some of the best Wild West and Indians films were made in Germany in the 60s, inspired by novels of Karl May? The director of these series was Harald Reinl, and here we have a try of his in another genre, which was to become very popular and mainstream in the coming decades. Inspired by a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this film is visibly aged, with some very conventional dialogs and avoidance of any explicit violence on screen. Yet it succeeds to suggest much of the atmosphere that in later movies of the genre required a lot of ketchup by using a strong visual language and very elaborated and sometimes sophisticated settings. Watch the scenes in the castle of count Regula and remember that they were filmed more than ten years before H.R.Giger borrowed his talent for the start of the Alien series. See the exquisite use of light and colors in the scene where the coach approaches the castle and you get some of the best use of color processing in the pre-computerized film era. All these make the film interesting to watch despite of its aging and not so original story line.