Castle of the Creeping Flesh (1968)

**_Castle of the Filmmakers on LSD in the Wild Mid-60s_**

Several upscale partyers in modern Saxony are forced to stay overnight at a creepy castle. Good thing for the reclusive Earl (Howard Vernon) because he desperately desires to resurrect his recently dead daughter.

A West German production, “Castle of the Creeping Flesh” (1968), originally named “In the Castle of Bloody Lust” (translated), is castle horror by the director of the infamous "Mark of the Devil," which debuted two years later. It came in the tradition of earlier flicks like "The Terror" and "Bloody Pit of Horror"; these would influence future ones like “Devil's Nightmare,” “Baron Blood,” "Howling V: The Rebirth” and "Subspecies.” The best thing about all of them is the spooky castle ambiance, but this is easily the worst of the lot and could be classified as Eurotrash, literally.

The entire first act is compelling enough while the second act borrows bits from the Gothic horror of Dracula and Frankenstein. However, once the protagonists of questionable character are staying overnight at the castle, the story bogs down with witless close-up footage of open-heart surgery and tedious ambiguity, not to mention a lousy fake bear sequence. Even "The Devil's Wedding Night" seems coherent by comparison.

Janine Reynaud (Vera) and Elvira Berndorff (Elena) are attractive enough and, for those interested, shown semi-nude, but they lack the essentials to cull much interest; for me anyway. Meanwhile Michel Lemoine (Baron Brack) has interesting crazy eyes and the horseback riding in the heart of Europe is nice, but that’s about the extent of the highlights. As low-budget and quickly-made as Roger Corman’s "The Terror" was, it’s a masterpiece of cinematic art by comparison. Even "And Now the Screaming Starts" is superior (which, admittedly, has a good second half, the opposite of this one).

The movie runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, was shot in northeast Austria at Burg Kreuzenstein (the castle), Leobendorf, Lower Austria, Austria, and nearby Oberrohrbach, Korneuburg.

GRADE: C-