TERROR IN THE CRYPT (1963)
Article #654 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 12-29-2002
Posting date: 5-28-2003

A witch/vampire lays a curse upon the Karnstein family upon her execution.

If there’s one thing this movie has a lot of, it’s atmosphere. It also has a lot of foreshadowing. What it doesn’t have is an interesting storyline, a sense of pace (every scene feels like the one before, and it never builds to any satisfying pitch), or characters that serve any purpose beyond being mere plot devices. This is why this one puts me to sleep; it’s really hard to care whether the Count’s daughter is the reincarnation of the witch when she doesn’t have enough dimension to make her interesting in and of herself. The only time the movie roused me out the torpor it put me in was during a scene where it is discovered why the bells are ringing, and the following scene involving a severed hand. Other than that, there’s very little of interest here, despite the presence of Christopher Lee. This is not the place to start with Italian horror movies.