While the Arrow Films GOTHIC FANTASTICO boxset does contain 4 Italian tales of terror, the title is somewhat misleading as only two of the films are truly Gothic. Of the two that aren’t Gothic, one (THE THIRD EYE) is a ripoff of Hitchcock’s PSYCHO while the other (THE WITCH) takes place in a modern setting. In my opinion, Gothic is not just the tone of a movie, but more. It requires a pre-20th century setting with a hero, a heroine, and a villain. It will be lit atmospherically, set in a castle or mansion filled with props appropriate to the period, and feature slightly larger than life performances from the evildoers. Just like the literary genre from which Gothic cinema takes its name.
Both LADY MORGAN’S VENGEANCE and THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER clearly fall into the Gothic category, most notably the latter. Of the two, BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER (its original 1964 Italian title was HORROR) is the clear winner in this category. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, it has a gloomy castle and grounds, and a heroine that wanders the nighttime landscape in a daze (and a diaphanous nightgown). There’s a crazy lord of the manor, a sinister female servant, a mysterious hooded figure in black and a premature burial. I like to consider MONSTER as faux Poe with a touch of the Bronte sisters thrown in for good measure.
Emilie Blackford, after spending several years abroad, returns to her ancestral home along with her best friend Alice and Alice’s brother John. Emilie has come back to celebrate her upcoming 21st birthday when she officially will come of age. Upon her arrival, Emilie discovers that her father was badly burned in a fire and has gone insane. The estate is now run by her older brother Roderic who is aided by a housekeeper and a doctor who knows more than he’s telling. The father escapes, and soon after Emilie begins walking in her sleep and visiting the family crypt in a ruined monastery. Alice, who has fallen in love with Roderic, and John, who has fallen in love with Emilie, try to uncover just what exactly is going on. Which is a whole lot, actually.
This was the only Italian Gothic movie director Alberto De Martino made and more’s the pity as BM is the purest Gothic of all the movies made during this genre’s Golden Age which ran between 1957-1967. The B& W photography is wonderfully atmospheric, the sets, costumes, and furnishings are correct, the miniature work is top notch, and the ruined monastery is a real location. The cast of European no names work together nicely as an ensemble and make this film a highly successful one and done. While the setting is Scotland in the original Italian version (HORROR), for some reason it’s Brittany in the English dubbed one (MONSTER) and the family name is changed from Blackford to de Blancheville.
The Capsule Critic 