Search - The Faceless Monster on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1965 DVD Release: 02/25/2003 Format: DVD - Black and White Edition: Special Collection SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: Retromedia Entertainment Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Horror, Creature Film See Also: Nightmare Castle, Horror Classics: Nightmare Castle, Nightmare Castle [Collector's Edition], Nightmare Castle, Nightmare Castle

Known in U.S. distribution as Nightmare Castle, this eerie Gothic thriller offers two Barbara Steeles for the price of one. Steele first portrays the wife of a deranged scientist (Paul Muller) whose latest experiments involve electro-stimulation of human blood. When the mad doctor discovers his wife is having an affair, he tortures, disfigures and kills her alongside her lover, then removes and preserves the hearts of the victims, using their blood to restore youth and beauty to his own lover. When the madman discovers that his late wife left all her wealth to her mentally unstable sister (Steele again, a blonde this time), he quickly sets about courting and marrying the poor girl, then proceeds to drive her completely mad in order to inherit her fortune. It may be an easier task than he predicted -- too easy for comfort, in fact -- since the honeymoon is attended by the spectral presence of the murdered lovers who have risen from their own ashes to avenge their deaths. This film's pervasive feeling of impending doom is aided by shadowy, low-contrast cinematography and a robust score from Ennio Morricone, and features a riveting performance from Steele, whose large eyes pierce the screen with dangerous beauty. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The 1965 black-and-white Italian horror film The Faceless Monster comes to DVD from Retromedia with a standard full-frame transfer and Dolby Digital mono sound. The only special feature is a Barbara Steele gallery. This movie was also released on DVD from Madacy with the title Nightmare Castle. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide