30 Days of Unseen Horror
Day 11
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Count Frederic Regula has been sentance to be drawn and quartered in the town square in front of anyone willing to show up to the ghastly event. His crime is the murder of 12 virgin from which he hopes to gain immortality but he is caught before he can get to the 13th victim where his ritual can begin. The count vows to return and take revenge on the daughter of his 13th victim and the son of the man that sentanced him to death.
I was just look through YouTube the other night and this popped up bit of German horror with Christopher Lee how could I not save that for a later date and that date was last night.
First thing to note is that Christopher Lee isn't in much of the film he appears at the start as the count and after his death he doesn't show up again for quite sometime and while his name added to the film may peak people's interest the film didn't suffer for not having him in the majority of it.
The whole trial and execution at the begining is fantastic it's creepy and brutal with an iron mask with the spikes on the inside placed upon the counts face while he is pulled apart by horses and a hooded executioner who doesn't love a hooded executioner it's always is a sinister look.
When Roger Mont Elise shows up in the village looking for where the counts castle is we are treated to a beautiful religious parade led by a man carrying a cross on his back the parade is full of statues and banners with a striking colour pallet while I'm not a religious man I have always loved religious art buildings and statues so these things are always a welcomed addition to a film.
When Roger finally gets directions to the castle he finds a couple of companions willing to accompany him on his trip all along the way we get some beautiful scenery and creepy imagery the forest is dark and thick with fog but in the trees there are body parts and people hanging from the branches then suddenly in the clearing we get a red into orange sky while the dark images of the carriage barrels across the horizon superb.
When we finally get to the castle the beauty keeps on coming art adorns the walls that almost looks like it's lit by a black light the way it jumps off the wall at you the whole film is one of the the most visually pleasing films I have seen in a while not something I was expecting going in.
Maybe some people may find the film slow but this is definitely an atmosphere film setting the mood before the final show down. I did laugh at how much time was spent on the journey to the castle but I didn't get bored at all there was plenty to look at and if things start to drag there is always Karin Dor to look at and oh god is she beautiful here.
Visually beautiful and a great atmosphere makes this one a great time.