Barbara Steele: Queen Of Horror (Nightmare Castle (1965)/Castle Of Blood (1964)/Terror Creatures From Beyond The Grave (1965)/Severin Films Triple Feature Blu-ray Set)

Picture: B Sound: B Extras: B+ Films: B/B-/B+

Known best for Mario Bava's Black Sunday, Barbara Steele is one of Italian horror's most beautiful and talented stars and undoubtedly an icon. Severin Films has done a fantastic job restoring these three rare motion pictures from their original film negatives and re-mastered them for Blu-ray as well as in-depth extras to accompany. The films featured here are Nightmare Castle where Steele plays a double role, Castle of Blood, and Terror Creatures From Beyond the Grave.

In Nightmare Castle (1965), a sadistic count tortures and murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, then removes their hearts from their bodies. Years later, the count remarries and the new wife experiences nightmares and hauntings. The ghosts of the slain return to exact their bloody revenge, until their hearts are destroyed. Directed by Mario Caiano.

In Castle of Blood (1964), a writer accepts a bet that he cannot spend the night alone in a haunted castle on All Soul's Eve. Once night falls at the castle, several who had been murdered therein return to life, reliving their deaths and seeking to kill the writer for his blood in a vain attempt to stay alive beyond that one night. Barbara Steele, as one of the living dead, tries to aid his escape from the castle. Directed by Sergio Corbucci.

In Terror Creatures From Beyond The Grave (1965), an attorney arrives at a castle to settle the estate of its recently deceased owner. The owner's wife and daughter reveal that he was someone who was able to summon the souls of ancient plague victims and, in fact, his spirit was roaming the castle at that very moment. Soon occupants of the castle begin to die off in gruesome, violent ways. The film features film noir-esque voice over and incredible performances. Directed by Massimo Pupillo.

The black and white presentations of these films are in 1080p high definition with 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratios and a English PCM 2.0 Mono audio tracks. Some moments in the films are met with grain and film emulsions, which I love because I think it adds to the experience of watching them. One downfall is for Castle of Blood and Terror Creatures there aren't chapter markers so if you wanted to pick up on a different scene, you’re stuck fast forwarding. The films themselves should have three separate menus instead of one, but I'm getting a little nit-picky.

Extras include an Audio Commentary with Barbara Steele and Horror Historian David Del Valle, Barbara Steele in Conversation, Black, White and Red, Nightmare Castle US and UK Trailers, Terror-Creatures Deleted Scenes, Vengeance From Beyond - a Terror Creatures documentary, A Dance of Ghosts which is a new featurette for Castle of Blood and Trailers for Blood and Creatures. A lot of great extras here that are a must watch for classic horror fans!

This disc ends up being an excellent release that surpassed my expectations. I hadn't seen these three films and loved them all and in addition these great extra features make this a great and welcome addition to my horror library.

- James Harland Lockhart V

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