Castle of Blood

"The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!"

1964 1h 31m IT

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 130

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a cynical journalist accepts a wager that he won't survive the night in a haunted castle, it unlocks an odyssey of sexual torment, undead vengeance, and a dark seductress who surrenders the gravest of pleasures.

“The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!”

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Cast

Barbara Steele
Elisabeth Blackwood
Georges Rivière
Alan Foster
Margrete Robsahm
Julia Allert
Arturo Dominici
Dr. Carmus
Silvano Tranquilli
Edgar Allan Poe
Sylvia Sorrente
Elsi
Umberto Raho
Lord Thomas Blackwood
Giovanni Cianfriglia
Herbert the Gardener

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Antonio Margheriti
Writers: Giovanni Grimaldi, Bruno Corbucci, Edgar Allan Poe
Languages: Italian, English
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Antonio Margheriti, shot by Riccardo Pallottini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Riz Ortolani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Otello Colangeli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Barbara Steele and Georges Rivière and Margrete Robsahm carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Antonio Margheriti directs. Riccardo Pallottini behind the camera. Riz Ortolani scores. Otello Colangeli cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

162 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
3International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
4Directed by Antonio Margheriti, shot by Riccardo Pallottini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Riz Ortolani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Otello Colangeli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Barbara Steele and Georges Rivière and Margrete Robsahm carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!".
9IMDB entry: tt0057993 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Riccardo Pallottini
Original score: Riz Ortolani
Editing: Otello Colangeli
Production design: Ottavio Scotti
Makeup / hair: Sonny Arden
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Castle of Blood (1964)

Also by

Antonio Margheriti

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-11-10
★ 7/10
Though the English language dubbing here isn’t the best, the rest of this creepy horror film works really quite well. It all starts in a London inn where journalist “Alan” (Georges Rivière) sits down with Edgar Allan Poe (Silvano Tranquilli) and his friend “Lord Blackwood” (Umberto Raho). As their chat proceeds, the peer bets the sceptical “Alan” to spend Halloween at his remote castle. Confident that the £10 is already on the bag, he sets off - and no sooner is he through the door than he meets “Elizabeth” (Barbara Steele). There is a bit of instant karma between the pair, and a bit of a roll in the hay promptly ensues. Thing is, though, afterwards when he encounters the enigmatic “Dr. Cadmus (Arturo Domenici) and fellow residents “Julia” (Margrete Robsahm) and “Herbert” (Giovanni Cianfriglia) he begins to realise that it’s not whisky, but blood that is the source of all life and his role in the proceedings is now more akin to a tile in a lethal game of human dominoes for one night of the year. What chance he can escape from this perilous cycle? Set in a creepily candle-lit building replete with grand staircases, secret passages and creaking floorboards this uses some quite innovative visual effects to demonstrate the macabre goings on as the over-confident “Alan” begins to both fall in love and to realise that getting out is going to be an whole lot harder than was getting in. Steele is on good form too, and though perhaps their is a little too much dialogue it’s still a genuinely chilling story that does not end as you might have expected. I didn’t love the “Outer Limits” style soundtrack, but the half-naked, knife-wielding, bedroom invaders added a fairly unique twist to this mystery and it’s worth a watch on a dark night with the rain on the window pane.

Production companies