Nightmare Castle (Gli Amanti d'oltretomba)(Lovers Beyond the Tomb)(The Faceless Monster) (1965)

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(1,356 ratings)

Known in U.S. distribution as Nightmare Castle, this eerie Gothic thriller offers two Barbara Steeles for the price of one. Steele first portrays the wife of a deranged scientist (Paul Muller) whose latest experiments involve electro-stimulation of human blood. When the mad doctor discovers his wife… More Known in U.S. distribution as Nightmare Castle, this eerie Gothic thriller offers two Barbara Steeles for the price of one. Steele first portrays the wife of a deranged scientist (Paul Muller) whose latest experiments involve electro-stimulation of human blood. When the mad doctor discovers his wife is having an affair, he tortures, disfigures and kills her alongside her lover, then removes and preserves the hearts of the victims, using their blood to restore youth and beauty to his own lover. When the madman discovers that his late wife left all her wealth to her mentally unstable sister (Steele again, a blonde this time), he quickly sets about courting and marrying the poor girl, then proceeds to drive her completely mad in order to inherit her fortune. It may be an easier task than he predicted -- too easy for comfort, in fact -- since the honeymoon is attended by the spectral presence of the murdered lovers who have risen from their own ashes to avenge their deaths. This film's pervasive feeling of impending doom is aided by shadowy, low-contrast cinematography and a robust score from Ennio Morricone, and features a riveting performance from Steele, whose large eyes pierce the screen with dangerous beauty. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Mario Caiano
Written By: Mario Caiano, Fabio De Agostini
Genres: Art House & International, Horror

In Theaters: Jul 5, 1965 Wide
On DVD: Mar 18, 2003

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

This film is from the Barbara Steele collection and also in the 1965 Italian Films collection. What is really cool about this picture is that Barbara Steele actually plays two different people. Pretty neat for 1965. Of course we have a mad doctor who is using the blood and heart of… More
This film is from the Barbara Steele collection and also in the 1965 Italian Films collection. What is really cool about this picture is that Barbara Steele actually plays two different people. Pretty neat for 1965. Of course we have a mad doctor who is using the blood and heart of his latest wife to inject and keep young his assistant. But in order to keep Hampton Castle he must marry the sister of his dead wife. Also kind of neat for some of the names in this movie Hampton Castle (Hampton's on Long Island), Dr Arrowsmith ( Group Aerosmith), and Dr Joyce (Dr Joyce Brothers of the 1970 time frame, Was there some meaning behind this, I doubt it but still I thought it was neat. When the ghost return at the end the special facial effects is enough to keep any child under 12 from sleeping. All in all a pretty neat 1965 Black and White Creature Feature type film. 3 1/2 stars
AJ V

Great movie, I love the story and characters, it's crazy and scary, it's both a mad scientist story and a ghost story. Plus, I loved how Steele plays sisters. I really liked this movie.
Stephen M

Nightmare Castle is a lame Italian Gothic horror movie which steals about 70% of its ideas from Mario Bava's Black Sunday (Barbara Steele in good and evil dual roles, plus the basic plot: a pair of lovers, violently put to death, take… More
Nightmare Castle is a lame Italian Gothic horror movie which steals about 70% of its ideas from Mario Bava's Black Sunday (Barbara Steele in good and evil dual roles, plus the basic plot: a pair of lovers, violently put to death, take supernatural revenge) and the rest from Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe cycle, The Pit and the Pendulum in particular (Steele, again, and the idea of a wicked couple plotting to drive somebody insane). The English language version I saw seemed to have been chopped about a bit, possibly due to print damage and/or censorship, and the dubbing was atrocious, including such amusingly awful lines as: "I have a slight headache. I think I'll feel better if I take off my hat." Nice photography, a so-so Morricone score; otherwise wretched.
Leo L

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