So that's a pretty good title. The actual film isn't as goofy as the title makes it sound though. It's a mostly seriously told story of revenge... from beyond the grave! Terror-Creatures is not an outstanding film - it's a little sloppy at times and feels a bit hastily put together. (And hastily dubbed.) But considering the source (Pure Terror Budget Set) I have to look at it as a nice surprise.
Terror-Creatures mostly takes place on an estate in a small town at an undetermined (for me) time. Telephones are considered new technology, for what it's worth. 1930's, maybe? If you can figure out when "getting an owl stuck in the engine" (?) was a common car problem, maybe you can figure it out. Anyways, it's about Albert, a lawyer who gets a letter from Count Hauff to help him get his will in order. When Albert arrives at Hauff's estate, he is welcomed by the Count's daughter Corrine and his wife Cleo (Barbara Steele)... and they inform him that the Count has been dead for nearly a year to the day. The letter clearly had the Count's seal on it... so what gives?
It turns out that the Count was not very well liked amongst the townsfolk - he creeped people out with his occult dabblings. And it may not have been idle gossip, as Albert hears phonograph recordings of the Count where he claims to have made contact with the dead. Plus, the fact that he actively sought out an estate that was a known graveyard for plague victims just rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, I guess. Anyways, now that the year anniversary of his death is near, many members of the community fear he will return to seek revenge. Never mind that his official cause of death was "falling down the stairs." And incidentally, the five people who signed a document attesting that his death was an accident are turning up dead one by one. Albert must figure out what's going on before even more people die.
Terror-Creatures mostly works because of it's set-up and location. While the villa where most of the action takes place has a decent gothic atmosphere, the historical background of the castle gives a creepy sheen to things. Not only is the villa an old hospital/graveyard for plague victims - it is especially known as the burial ground of people who were executed for *intentionally* spreading the plague. Since Count Hauff was a weird guy, he actually has several of their mummified hands on display - hopefully no longer infected. The idea of someone intentionally spreading the plague is new to me, and is a disturbing enough concept to give the film a little more of an edge than I was expecting.
You also get some good ghost/zombie creeping and some surprisingly gory effects (considering it's 1965). It's never made entirely clear just how these baddies operate, but the mystery kind of adds to their effectiveness. Granted, there isn't a of screen time for these ghouls, but what you get pretty much works. Plus, their victims get some pretty grotesque plague makeup. While Terror-Creatures is never super-tense, there's enough of an eerie atmosphere to make up for some sloppy pacing and storytelling. The film does sort of drag at times - it's never offensively bad, but it is occasionally boring. And there are a couple of times where Corrine just freaks out, claiming to have seen her dad. You're supposed to question it, but it's pretty obvious that there's nothing there. It's supposed to be a misdirect, but it just doesn't work.
The acting is just fine. Mirella Maravidi plays Corrine just a bit too spastically, but is a servicable damsel in distress for Albert to rescue. And, you get the nice bonus of Barbara Steele as the Count's widow Cleo. She isn't around a ton either, but she's always nice to see. I've seen her in enough films by now to know she comes with some baggage - since she's not a victim here, she's likely to be a shady character. So it's fun to see her live up to (or contradict) that popular conception.
But the presentation of Terror-Creatures is the worst yet that I've come across on the Pure Terror Budget set. There are obvious jumps where you miss entire lines of dialogue, and even times where the film straight up slows down (and the soundtrack sounds like you're stopping a record). I've learned not to expect a high quality picture from Mill Creek, but this is pretty bad even by their sketchy standards.
Ultimately, Terror-Creatures from the Grave is a pretty okay film. The overall concept (resurrected plague zombies) works pretty well, and there's a little old-timey gore that is a pleasant surprise. It's not a must see, and it takes itself considerably more seriously than you may expect. But it you're into the Italian horror films of the era, it's a pleasant diversion.
I would more or less recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment