The Castle of the Living Dead

At first sight, this looks remarkably humdrum, but it's a bit better than that. Christopher Lee's outwardly benign "Count Drago" invites a travelling troupe of performers to stay and perform at his castle. Before long, things start going drastically wrong for them. All humankind is reflected in this film - we have a witch, a dwarf, a deaf mute and lots of creatures that look like the product of the taxidermist's art - but are they really? It's eerily told, very much in the Hammer mould, this story - with quite a bit of suspense as we gradually get to the truth. Keep an eye out for Donald Sutherland as the policeman with a little added extra.

Beware if a creepy man says, Stay with Daddy forever

In areas north of Rome, 1815, a traveling troupe is offered a lucrative gig at the colossal castle of the strange Count Drago (Christopher Lee). Horror ensues.

An Italian/French production, The Castle of the Living Dead (1964) is similar to Roger Cormans Poe-inspired flicks, such as The Terror from the previous year and the contemporaneous The Tomb of Ligeia, not to mention Lees work with Hammer. Although unfortunately shot in B&W, the first half is great whereas the second half tends to bog down at the castle. Nevertheless, if you have a penchant for those other movies, youll appreciate this one. Underneath the mayhem is a welcome warm heart.

This was Donald Sutherlands fi...