Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969

My first introduction to the Gothic Horror genre was Director Roger Corman's 'THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM'-1961 . Home grown on the Universal monster movies televised in the early sixties , this eight year old was disappointed that Vincent Price was the closest thing to a monster that I would find here. My mind, however, was changed forever when I gazed on the beautiful visage of actress Barbara Steele as the Gothic Horror film planted its seed in me . Eight years later, I saw Director Mario Bava's 'BLACK SUNDAY' aka ''LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO'-1960 for the first time and here was my favorite actress playing a dual role against the most beautiful horrific images I had ever seen. The Italian Gothic Horror film has stayed with me to this day and now , author Roberto Curti has compiled an excellent tome on this vastly neglected genre. Mr.Curti has selected over 40 plus titles , some of which have never been discussed before from the years 1957 to 1969. The three kings of the genre ( Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda, and Antonio Margheriti) are well represented but it's wonderful to see Director's Camillo Marstrocinque, Roberto Mauri, and Giorgio Ferroni getting their due. Each film is represented in year order with full cast, credits , synopsis and interviews with the filmmakers and technicians. Mr. Curti, who also gave us the incredible 'ITALIAN CRIME FILMOGRAPHY' book a few years back , scribes in a user friendly manner never over indulging or playing favorites on the films. The book has a wonderful introduction by Ernesto Gastaldi who not only wrote screenplays for some of the Gothic films presented here but the Giallo genre as well. Rare photos, lobby cards and fotobustas round out the mix ( no color ones unfortunately but who can quibble) and an impeccable introduction chapter on what constitutes a Gothic Horror film and explaining how the Italians peppered Westerns and Sword and Sandal films with slight Gothic touches when needed. It was a joy to read through coverage of such films as the rare vampire tale Director Renato Polselli's 'THE VAMPIRE OF THE OPERA' aka 'IL MOSTRO DELL' OPERA'-1964 , Director Alberto De Martino's 'THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER' aka ' HORROR'-1963 and Director Brunello Rondi's underrated 'RUN,PSYCHO,RUN' aka 'PIU TARDI, CLAIRE...PIU TARDI'- 1968. One of my favorite reviews is for Director Stefano Vanzina's guilty pleasure 'UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE' aka 'TEMPI DURI PER I VAMPIRI-1959. Archivists should try to find and release this film in its Technicolor Techniscope glory and its great to see actor Sir Christopher Lee playing his vampire straight against the comedy. Having seen this film on a small Black and White TV set back in the Sixties, it brought back many memories. The review encompasses the tone of the Italian Gothic at that period predating the classics to come and satirizing a genre which just begun to foliate. When you read it, you'll see what I mean. Mr. Curti has given fans and scholars alike another welcome addition to the Horror film genre library as this book comes highly recommended from a now sixty year old fan who still breaks out in a cold sweat when Barbara Steele over powers her leading man delivering that icy cold purring laugh amidst the cobwebs and the candle light of her exquisite photoplays. This fast paced modern world of cinema may have left these genres in the dust but it's books like these that give them eternal life. Ancora, Signor Curti, Bravissimo!!

Being a fan of the black and white Italian gothic films such as CASTLE OF BLOOD, Bava's BLACK SUNDAY or the Italian vampire films such as SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES, and the other major films in this sub-genre, this book is a valuable reference. It has intelligent entries for over 40 films from the era. Many I had never come across but have since found and enjoyed. The importance of the book is that it is well written in English from a respected Italian expert on the genre. The author has done his homework and gives information on the directors and actors but he even has found information on the production of most of these very obscure little gems. Most of these were not shot on soundstages but at various existing Villas in Italy. I learned so much about these films from this book that the films are now even more enjoyable with all this background at my fingertips. I do have to nitpick one little thing. There is no table of contents as to what films are included and the index of titles in the back does not give the page numbers (only year of release) so it's hard to find entries. I made my own index so it wasn't all that much of a problem. The one star post below is inexplicable to me unless the writing, which can get a bit brainy at times, was over that poster's head.

Great writing, great insights, creatively expressed. Super detailed, all the information you could possibly want if you are a Cinema lover and particularly if you love Italian Cinema from this golden age. Recommended!

Good and informative book on italian horror

I like it because it was informative containing many relevant details and other relevant information convincingly written by an expert and revealing for the lovers of this genre.

Very hard to find info on these older Italian films, this book was full of background info and the history of how this genre took shape in Italy

Italian Gothic films are given much less attention than the more popular Western and Giallo genres. This book is a great reference by including film by film synopsis with commentary. I look forward to finding some of the more obscure films discussed.

Pretentious, muddy review of an otherwise worthy subject for genre enthusiasts. The titles discussed represent the golden age of Italian horror films, but the author's approach is heavy handed and very difficult to read. It's a shame really because the films were geared toward the average moviegoer, while this book appears to be written for a college professor, and probably a particularly bright one at that. I was very tempted to share a short example of the text to better demonstrate my point, but I decided it would be better to be kind instead.

A lot of details in the well-written essays. Only wish there were more titles to be analyzed.

Great book ,details all the major italian gothic films of the 60s.

Excellent