Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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

Christopher Lee plays one of his most scary characters here as Kurt, the black sheep of a family living in one of those numerous scary castles you get in Italy. He's been banished for some time, but the family are still suffering from his antics.At the request of his father, Lee's brother has now married his old love Navenka, even though he's really in love with his cousin Ida Galli. Even the servants seem to have suffered, with the old maid cursing Lee's name as he seems to have caused her daughter's suicide. She even keeps the dagger her daughter used to kill herself in a jar.As you would expect, Lee returns from his exile to everyone's horror, and it looks as if he's out to get revenge on the family that hate him until someone sticks a knife through his throat. Death of course is a kind of mild hindrance in a Gothic horror, so shortly afterwards Lee's ghost starts appearing everywhere...so far so normal, right?It would be your standard Gothic horror if Lee didn't like whipping the crap out of his old girlfriend Daliah Lavi. When he returns he manages to get her down on the beach, and even though she protests, Lee states in his loud Shakespearean voice "Yeah, ya like that, dontcha bitch?" which gives this film a weird S&M flavour way ahead of the pervy excess of Jess Franco. This being a Mario Bava film the cinematography is probably better than any film of it's time, with every frame looking like some demented oil painting. This just adds to the atmosphere, however, as does Lee's huge, hunky, evil frame.Bava always found some angle to make his films stand out from others and although I wouldn't put this among my personal favourites of his films, it's another example of him being way ahead of his time, and a true master of Italian cinema. I would have gone mental at all those muddy footprints everywhere. There's only so much Shake N Vac can do.

Mario Bava once again creates a poetic, moving film; a Gothic chiller with plenty of atmosphere (the use of shadows here to evoke fear figures predominantly, even more than in Bava's other work) and with a romantic, tragic love story at its centre. THE WHIP AND THE FLESH highlights Bava at his most sensual, as he focuses the film on a masochistic relationship, something which was not taken lightly when the film was first released.The film is deliberately ambiguous, and offers us no explanations. It's never made clear whether Kurt has indeed come back as a ghost, or whether he is just a figment of a disturbed imagination; but in any case, the fact is that love is far stronger than death. The film has the usual Bava trappings; a remote castle, full of empty rooms full of shadows, characters who are not heroic but indeed flawed, a heavy feeling of nostalgia, and of course supernatural occurrences, and a character who may or may not be dead.Good performances are given by all of the cast members, especially Lavi as the tormented Nevenka, who hates herself for enjoying the whippings that Kurt gives her. Pigozzi registers as a limping manservant, while Gustavo De Nardo paints a sorrowful picture of an old man with only his memories left to keep him company. Christopher Lee's performance makes a strong impression on the film, indeed he is the key figure in the proceedings. Lee has said that this was one of his favourite films, and he gives one of his best performances here, despite the fact that he was dubbed by an American actor. Lee's Kurt is a noble man, distinguished in appearance, and very dignified; yet at the same time he's totally depraved, delighting in the pain of others. It's this dual role which makes Lee all the more interesting. The doomed romance between Kurt and Nevenka is touching, despite the masochistic basis for the relationship; you get the feeling that the pair really are deeply in love with each other.Of course, Bava couldn't make a film without it being controversial, and the sadistic scenes (of whipping) are a typical trademark of his; powerful, yet important, it's not just violence for violence's sake. There are plenty of shocks, faces appearing in windows and ghostly green hands reaching out of the dark, as well as creepy scenes, such as the muddy footprints of a ghost appearing on a wooden floor. The film reaches an eventual climax of Gothic melodrama, and Bava does a good job of weaving the two plot strands of a murder mystery and a supernatural shocker into one satisfying concoction. THE WHIP AND THE FLESH is a woefully underrated film, and remains powerful, moving, and perhaps one of the most striking horror films ever made, one of the few to actually reach out and touch your heart, and not with revulsion, instead with mixed feelings of love and hatred; in fact, you're torn between the genuine love between Kurt and Nevenka and the hatred of the sadistic activities that Kurt enjoys. Added to this one of the most romantic and moving scores ever composed, and you have one cracker of a film.

The suicide of a jilted fiancé holds a scar over the House of Menliff as the black sheep who left her returns, Kurt(Christopher Lee, who is simply outstanding in his limited presence..even dubbed he holds you under his ominous spell)wanting to reclaim his heritage, but receiving scorn from his ailing father(Gustavo De Nardo). His real lover, and sadomasochistic partner, Nevenka(the luscious, ravishing Daliah Lavi)has married his brother Christian(Tony Kendall)who Kurt has always hated. Christian is the caring, straight-as-an-arrow son..the direct opposite of Kurt who seems to cast a malignant shadow over his family. Kurt and Nevenka carry on their passion in a scene where he slashes her with a horse whip and we see that she likes it very much. There's a history of this as we can see. She claims to hate him, but he's perhaps merely a male mirror image of her own ugly side she tries to hold imprisoned in herself. Someone kills Kurt with a dagger..the very dagger that was used by the love he left to stab herself with. This death will haunt the rest of the characters as Kurt reappears to Nevenka setting off a growing madness in her as no one else seems to see his presence, but her. When the patriarch, Count Menliff is killed by the same dagger in the same fashion as Kurt, the idea that Kurt's ghost has returned becomes a looming, frightening possibility. Among the other melodramas, Christian is actually in love with servant girl Katia(Ida Galli), maid Giorgia's(Harriet Medin, the mother of the female suicide that Kurt left to suffer)daughter. Losat(Luciano Pigozzi)is the manservant spooked by the terrifying circumstances emerging after Kurt's demise is often walking the grounds and family mausoleum expecting to find specters. We also call into question whether Kurt's ghost is real or simply imagined by a grieve-stricken(..and guilt-stricken)Nevenka harboring a secret love for the murdered aristocrat and now coming face to face with the inequities she's kept buried inside.Fantastic Gothic masterpiece from one of our treasured Horror directors..the lush color photography is jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring. Every frame of this film looks like it was lifted from one painting or another. Superb uses of red and green, especially when Lee's "ghost" appears to Nevenka. Sure, the whipping S&M aspect adds a naughty flavor to the proceedings, but it's the way Bava brings this castle setting to life with his camera and artistic eye that makes this such a pleasure to behold. I loved how Bava returns to the muddy boots and the prints they leave behind without showing who is treading the floors with them. I think this is Bava's finest film. I hope in time(..and I believe it already is starting to gain an official..and rightfully deserved..following)this film will be mentioned more and more as a classic horror film to be seen. It really is a Gothic horror fan's wet dream. Great atmospheric trappings are benefited by a grand, sweeping score. If there ever was a director who painted a canvas using the cinematic form as his paint brush, it was Bava. And, the way he shoots faces as the characters seek out Kurt in the darkened rooms of the castle at night. Or, the way Bava lights the family crypt as others dare step inside to possibly find Kurt's ghost within. See how Bava uses a tree vine whipping in an open window reminding Nevenka of her sordid past with Kurt. Not only does Bava use color, but symbolism describing the passionate, yet violent, nature between Kurt and Nevenka. Lavi's captivating beauty is wonderfully shot, often in her room, engulfed in darkness, the wind roaring, her frightened eyes constantly veering right & left..she's completely at the mercy of Kurt's presence. I feel Bava establishes the fact that, even though Kurt's dead, his hold over this family is long-lasting, especially Nevenka, who keeps pronouncing her hatred for him even though she's in denial of her true feelings. Perhaps Kurt's *spirit* did truly live and breathe, even if it didn't exactly manifest in our realm, he certainly was real to those still living within the confines of the castle. This is truly a masterpiece.

This is a very good early film with Christopher Lee who portrays in this film a very evil man who loves to cause troubles an simply enjoys giving one particular young pretty woman a whipping on her back after tearing off her blouse. This whipping goes on and on and then they manage to make love right after she is almost beaten to death. This woman who is getting all the beatings is a newly wed to another man however, she did know Christopher Lee from her past and liked his rough and horrible way of making love. This is a very good Christopher Lee classic where he is not really the star of the film, but manages to take complete control of almost every situation right to the bitter ending. The beatings get boring after awhile and it is really too drawn out, but lets remember it was 1963 and there really was no sexy scenes at all, only BEATINGS!