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Highly Overrated But Still Good

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Good and atmospheric Italian horror film that also goes by the title of HORROR CASTLE (which I think is more appropriate). A man's wife is terrorized in a German castle by all sorts of unspeakable sights and goings-on, seemingly committed by a maniac or "ghost" in a hood. The revelation of who is responsible and why is quite interesting. Christopher Lee is on hand as a scarred henchman of sorts, though it's unfortunate that his voice is dubbed. What really clicked for me with this film was the style of the movie. This was a gorgeous-looking film, brilliantly lit and full of mood, utilizing scenic locales and awesome castle dungeons and hallways. Its fine direction by Antonio Margheriti really made me sit up and take notice more than anything else, and it's what really elevated the film. *** out of ****

Did this film ever suck!! It was a blind purchase & one I regret getting. The title of the film is based on an iron maiden type torture device which gouges out the eyes of it's victims via two large spike at eye level. However, the device isn't really used but only once through out the entire film for a grand total of one gruesome death (almosts don't count here). Virgin of Nuremberg is boring, has silly dialog, laughable musical score & a razor thin "plot" that made little to no sense. And all this "atmosphere" previous reviewers are raving about is over-hyped. Believe me there are literally dozens of good horror films with better "atmospheres". And to add insult to injury, the great Christopher Lee was under used. Only one gruesome death & a few non-eventful ones. I was expecting a almost sleazy, torture-filled, damn near exploitation horror flick. Instead I get something so bland horror wise, it could almost be shown to a group of elementary school children (probably put them to sleep). TVON was like a heavily watered down version of Mario Bava's much superior film, "Baron Blood." What a turkey! I sure hope Christopher Lee's "Whip & The Body" is better (it has to be).

Though I am fond of listening to jazz, I found the jazz score for this movie too intrusive and distracting. The problem manifested itself early in the movie when, during a break in the action, a very nice jazz melody rang out that, unfortunately, seemed to be totally inappropriate to the setting and mood being created by the visuals. Great movie music supports the mood or spirit of the action on the screen. It should not take over. There are exceptions, or course, such as the music from "O Brother, Where Art Thou" which essentially plays a lead role in that film. In my opinion, the film would benefit greatly from a re-score, or at least the provision of an alternate score. (Has anyone tried this kind of thing before? It would be well suited to the DVD format).

I collect horror dvds from the 60s and 70s. There are those that are classics because they are well made films artistically speaking. This is one of those films. Before I watched this film I had read that there was a jazz score that didn't seem to match the subject matter. At first, it did seem out of place, but once I got into the film I didn't even notice. The music actually plays a big part in building suspense.Christopher Lee plays a nice mystery man role. Has a bit of a "who done it" kind of story. Over all a good film, especially for fans of Gothic kind of horror or Hammer films.