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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Unique Gothic Horror, 14 July 2001
8/10
Author: rundbauchdodo from Zürich, Switzerland

This film by Antonio Margheriti certainly tells one of the most unusual stories ever told in a Gothic horror movie. Margheriti directed it through and through Gothic - the old, creepy castle, thunderstorms, secret passage ways, skulls piled up, medieval torture devices and so forth - but the story takes place in the presence.

The Bavarian town of Nuremberg made headlines after World War II: The biggest process against Nazi leaders was held there. So it's no surprise that the motive for the happenings in the film "La Vergine di Norimberga" directly rely on Nazi war atrocities - and to combine Gothic horror with the darkest chapter of German history is undoubtedly unique (the German version, however, censored the whole Nazi subplot and made the killer's motive much simpler - avoid this version at all costs). This combination may sound odd, but it works in this film perfectly and gives it also a "no war ever again"-statement that I fully support (but if one watches how many wars are always going on in all different places on earth, one really wonders if mankind has learned of the past war atrocities including WWII).

Christopher Lee gives another supporting role to remember, and Riz Ortolani's score is bombastic, but fits the Gothic atmosphere of the picture. There are some surprisingly gory moments in the film (concerning it was made in 1963), but they never make the impression of being gratuitous or senseless. I highly recommend this film not only to fans of the genre. The U.S.-video print from "Panther Video" (long out of print, though) presents a surprisingly good looking picture quality with lush colors and clear sound that would also make a fine DVD release possible.

My rating: 8 out of 10 - look for this gem!

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
A dark, yet beautiful film, 22 June 2004
8/10
Author: ericdetrick2002 from Maryland

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.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
18th century Gothic novel goes to screen, 13 October 2005
6/10
Author: m_mckechneay from Austria

It's astonishing: this Italian B-movie is very close to 18th century Gothic novels like the classic "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole (1765). Like in Walpoles novel the plot centers around a young woman, freshly married to a count and castle-owner. Now, the count may or may not be the brute who bestially murders women at nightfall - in the film the solution of this riddle is saved for the final showdown, while in the book it becomes obvious pretty soon, that the count is a despot and sinner. The main part of the movie features the camera tiptoeing behind the fragile woman, who, genre-typically seems even more vulnerable (and visible for an enemy) in her thin, white, silky nightgown. Like Isabella, the lead in Walpoles book, she wanders around in an subterranean labyrinth of vaults and crypts, well aware of the fact that some dark creature is down there with her in the dark. Well: for today's taste this film with it's crude special effects of miniature castle-views and rubber-scars in Christopher Lee's face is more up for laughter than for a real scare. Still it has a special atmosphere ... Interesting trivia: The Italian Original version (called "La Vergine di Norimberga" - "The Nuremberg Vergin") implies some subplot about a former Nazi-officer who was caught plotting against Adolf Hitler. As a punishment his face was mutilated, making him look like the Phantom of the Opera. In the DVD-version that is distributed in Austria and Germany (and which follows the German dubbed movie-version from the 60s) this plot is completely altered, leaving out any Nazi-references, even changing the names of the "bad guys" from "Fritz", etc. in the original to British sounding names like "Fred", maybe trying to catch up with the German "Edgar Wallace" Brit-scare-boom of that time. Seems the Germans are afraid of what in other countries is referred to as German Angst ...

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Masterpiece, 11 September 2004
10/10
Author: miestorm from New York city

Virgin of Nuremberg, aka Horror castle is one of those sexy Italian horror movies that bring together all the elements needed to be one of my 10 favorite horror movies of all time. We start with a castle in Germany inhabited be a masked madman who was horribly tortured and disfigured by Hitlers crazed psycho doctors during world war II. He now has a lust for torturing beautiful women and Mary Hunter, played by the gorgeous Rosanna Podesta is on his list. Legendary Christopher Lee plays Eric, a scared man who knows what Monheir is capable of doing and protects him by discarding the gruesome corpses with the help of Marys husband, played be Georges Riviere. Monheir, known as, the executioner, is finally demasked by Mary and the living nightmare carries his fainted prize into his torture chamber. Black and white footage of Hitler and Naxi Germany as well as an operation of doctors removing the skin from a mans face add to the creepy edge of this movie. When this film first came out, most of these scenes were taken out, now, with the release of this classic on DVD, these scenes are reinstated, a worthy entree into any DVD collection.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
The Virgin of Nuremburg (1963) ***, 18 September 2007
7/10
Author: JoeKarlosi from U.S.A.

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.

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
As Visually Beautiful as a movie can be, 27 January 2006
8/10
Author: José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) from Mexico

What truly makes the difference between "La Vergine di Norimberga" and the rest of the Italian horror movies of the 60s and 70s is the amazing visual composition that director Antonio Margheriti creates with the aid of his team. Music and visuals converge to create one of the most beautifully looking horror movies.

Based on a novel by Frank Bogart, the movie is about a woman, Mary (Rosanda Podestà), who has recently moved to his new husband's castle in Germany. The Gothic castle keeps many secrets and one night Mary watches a murdered woman inside of one of the many torture devices kept in the castle's museum. Her husband, Max Hunter (George Riviere), thinks it was a hallucination since there is no proof a murder took place in the castle, but she is convinced that the old family friend Erich (Christopher Lee), is responsible of the murder. The mysterious dark figure of "The Punisher" roams the castle, but is he a ghost? or something else? This movie mixes perfectly the suspense and the mystery, the jazzy score at first may seem odd, but it fits the movie very well, giving a bigger atmosphere of surrealism to the movie, very fitting to Mary's confused state of mind. The beautiful sets are like a canvas, with a palette predominantly red that gives the movie an elegant, yet dark look. It is a very unique look for a horror movie, and it works in an awesome way.

The acting is good for the most part, although the dubbing that Italian movies used to have is a bit bad. Particularly in the case of Christopher Lee, whose voice is quite different. Nevertheless, Podestà makes a great performance and while Lee is relegated to a supporting role, he also makes a good job. George Riviere's performance may not be the best, although It would be better to judge it with the original audio.

The score is haunting, and very appropriate. Oscar winner Riz Ortolani created a score that sets up the atmosphere of surrealism the film demands. In fact, if a flaw was to be found, was that at times it feels too much style over substance, as there are points of high visual beauty but little plot development.

The SFX are quite advanced for its age, mainly in the make-up department, as the movie delivers some gore making a bizarre contrast between the beauty of the setting and the gruesome violence of the villain. While this movie may seem outdated, it is an overlooked gem that is still very good.

This was the first horror movie by Antonio Margheriti, and it was without a doubt his best. A joy to watch, Italian Gothic horror at its best. 8/10

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8 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Well, the sets were pretty..., 7 May 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

The bulk of this film consists of pretty redheaded Rossana Podesta (as Mary Hunter) wandering around her huge house and the adjoining gardens in a frilly nightgown. Her new husband is mysteriously away most of the time, the head maid looks like Judith Anderson in "Rebecca" and Christopher Lee has a big scary scar on his face! Throw in some silly jazz music that doesn't fit the action and you have this film. The Virgin of the title is actually an Iron Maiden, inside of which our heroine finds a young girl impaled one night. The servants speak in irritating sentence fragments probably intended to be menacing, a Ted Knight lookalike wanders around in a hideous plaid dinner jacket and a girl gets her nose chewed off by a hungry rat in the films most interesting scene. Is the sadistic hooded killer who creeps around the castle at night Mary's new husband? Or is it the sinister looking Christopher Lee? Or is it...gasp!...someone else??? The truth comes with no build up of suspense, although the make-up effects used on the "living skull" are pretty cool, considering the time this film was made. But, with the exception of the lovely Gothic atmosphere and the rat scene, this film is pretty dull. I had to fast forward through at least 20 minutes of Mary just walking around to get to the good stuff...and there wasn't enough good stuff to make up for the overuse of the FF button. I give it a 4 out of 10.

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Could've been in the Poe series, 24 October 2008
Author: slayrrr666 (slayrrr666@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles, Ca

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Horror Castle" is a spectacularly done Italian Gothic horror entry.

**SPOILERS**

Living in a giant castle, Mary Hunter, (Rossana Podesta) is warned by her husband Max, (George Riviere) about the castle's past, which was home to a ruthless, bloodthirsty warlord. Trying to overcome the fear, especially after an encounter with a strange man she can't identify, she begins to suspect that the servant Erich, (Christopher Lee) is the cause, despite assurances he's safe. As he tends to business nearby, she is soon enthralled with the legend of the castle's past owner, and decides to investigate the story. Shortly thereafter, she begins to see a strange figure running around the castle's grounds, but can't seem to figure out their purpose or who it is. Using her own suspicions as well as whatever evidence she can muster from the investigations, she eventually discovers the truth about the figure and tries to stop it.

The Good News: This here is one of the best examples of the genre. One of the main things this gets right is the incredible suspense and on display. The opening is a fantastic example, with the flowing gown-clad woman following the agonized cries of a woman coming from somewhere within the castle leads her to discovers blood flowing into the collection bowl beneath the Virgin of Nuremberg, a fabled iron maiden torture chamber that is now a museum. Opening the spiked door, Mary is horrified to see the body of a freshly dead woman inside, the corpse's eyes have been gouged out, leaving ragged, bloody sockets. It's a fantastic scene, with the endless wandering through an enormous house during a raging thunderstorm, using only a candle for light until they stumble upon a rather shocking and horrific scene. This is really eerie, from the glimpses shown strewn around the house of various torture devices, some with the skeleton remains of victims still there all the way to the creepy and intense reaction to the eyeless corpse hidden in the statue. That goes hand-in-hand with the great sets in here, as every corner and crevice is filled with inky black shadows, pierced only by the glow of a flickering torch or flash of lightning. Thus the look of the film never approaches the surreal, instead remaining much more grounded in realism. This one handily avoids the pitfalls of others out there in the genre and makes marvelous use of the huge, sprawling castle set. Even the outside scenes have a nice feeling to them, as the spaciousness of the castle grounds mix well with the giant castle looming in the background. The later scenes in the crypt look cool, and a very tense stalking scene in the darkness is masterfully played out. The film also has a couple of really great shock gore scenes that are a lot more graphic than most others of the time. These are the discovery of a victim, her head covered with a cage inhabited by a very hungry rat which has gnawed away at her face, the initial discovery of the first victim and finally the killer himself unmasked, his face nothing more than a skull covered with the faintest suggestion of skin. These images are really quite out there for the time and make for some great moments. The sequences at the end with the torturer are just as good, being a little creepy with some graphic brutality stakes placed into the film to give it a little extra punch to what's going on. These here are what really make the film enjoyable.

The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot here that doesn't work. The fact that this one doesn't exactly have the best paced story is something to get over, as there's a couple of instances where the film doesn't really do much but consist of endless wandering around the castle grounds, and at times that's a little too much to take. It does have a creepy feel, but then there's points where it doesn't do anything other than to wish for a faster moving pace. There's also the needless insertion of a couple scenes where two doctors are apparently talking about what's going on, but their inclusion nor the object of their discussion is never given. At times, it feels like it's there to simply speed up the run-time, and otherwise have no need to do it. These here provide the film's only real flaws.

The Final Verdict: A fantastic Italian Gothic entry that has a lot going for it, this one is a really watchable film that will have a good feel to it. Highly recommended to Italian Gothic horror or 60s horror in general, while the not-so fans won't really get into this one.

Today's Rating-PG-13: Violence

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Another Great Gothic Tale From Margheriti, 20 June 2008
8/10
Author: Benjamin Gauss from Salzburg, Austria

"La Vergine Di Norimberga" (aka. "The Virgin Of Nuremberg"/"Terror Castle") is a wonderfully atmospheric, and delicately demented Gothic gem from genius director Antonio Margheriti, that should appeal to every fan of the uncanny. No true Horror fan or even cineaste in general could possibly deny that the late Margheriti had a great talent to create a Gothic atmosphere. Especially his 1964 masterpiece "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle Of Blood"), starring the incomparable Barbara Steele is pure Gothic brilliance and ranks among my personal favorites. While "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" does not quite reach the brilliance of "Castle Of Blood", in my opinion, this is yet another excellent Gothic Tale that no lover of Gothic- and Italian Horror can afford to miss. The film is terrifically set in a medieval castle full of terrible instruments of torture. Mary Hunter (Rosanna Podesta), whose husband Georges Rivière) is the owner of the castle since he has inherited it from his father, awakes one night hearing screams. The castle was once owned by a blood-thirsty judge, and, after four hundred years, the judge suddenly seems to be walking the castle again, craving for blood...

The film builds up a wonderfully creepy and yet often beautiful atmosphere from the first minute, the eerie castle-setting, ingenious camera-work and sublime score by the brilliant Riz Ortolani go in hand how it will only be experienced in Gothic tales from the good old days. For the year of its release, 1963, the film has an unusually high gore level, and an enormous nastiness. Horror icon Christopher Lee (as far as I am considered, one of the greatest actors ever) has a small, but great role. Lee is once again outstanding, and my only regret with "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is that he had not quite a lot of screen-time. The English aka. title, by the way, is not quite 100% accurate. "La Vergine Di Norimberga" does indeed translate as "The Virgin Of Nuremberg", however, it is also the synonym for a gruesome medieval torturing device - the iron maiden. Atmospheric, excellent and very, very creepy, "The Virgin Of Nuremberg" is a Horror experience that no real genre-lover could possibly afford to miss. Films like this one prove that Margheriti was Italy's second only to Mario Bava when it comes Gothic Horror. A must-see for every Italian Horror fan or lover of Gothic greatness.

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Could've been in the Poe series, 1 February 2008
10/10
Author: frid2k4 (frid2k4@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles, Ca

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Horror Castle" is a spectacularly done Italian Gothic horror entry.

**SPOILERS**

Living in a giant castle, Mary Hunter, (Rossana Podesta) is warned by her husband Max, (George Riviere) about the castle's past, which was home to a ruthless, bloodthirsty warlord. Trying to overcome the fear, especially after an encounter with a strange man she can't identify, she begins to suspect that the servant Erich, (Christopher Lee) is the cause, despite assurances he's safe. As he tends to business nearby, she is soon enthralled with the legend of the castle's past owner, and decides to investigate the story. Shortly thereafter, she begins to see a strange figure running around the castle's grounds, but can't seem to figure out their purpose or who it is. Using her own suspicions as well as whatever evidence she can muster from the investigations, she eventually discovers the truth about the figure and tries to stop it.

The Good News: This here is one of the best examples of the genre. One of the main things this gets right is the incredible suspense and on display. The opening is a fantastic example, with the flowing gown-clad woman following the agonized cries of a woman coming from somewhere within the castle leads her to discovers blood flowing into the collection bowl beneath the Virgin of Nuremberg, a fabled iron maiden torture chamber that is now a museum. Opening the spiked door, Mary is horrified to see the body of a freshly dead woman inside, the corpse's eyes have been gouged out, leaving ragged, bloody sockets. It's a fantastic scene, with the endless wandering through an enormous house during a raging thunderstorm, using only a candle for light until they stumble upon a rather shocking and horrific scene. This is really eerie, from the glimpses shown strewn around the house of various torture devices, some with the skeleton remains of victims still there all the way to the creepy and intense reaction to the eyeless corpse hidden in the statue. That goes hand-in-hand with the great sets in here, as every corner and crevice is filled with inky black shadows, pierced only by the glow of a flickering torch or flash of lightning. Thus the look of the film never approaches the surreal, instead remaining much more grounded in realism. This one handily avoids the pitfalls of others out there in the genre and makes marvelous use of the huge, sprawling castle set. Even the outside scenes have a nice feeling to them, as the spaciousness of the castle grounds mix well with the giant castle looming in the background. The later scenes in the crypt look cool, and a very tense stalking scene in the darkness is masterfully played out. The film also has a couple of really great shock gore scenes that are a lot more graphic than most others of the time. These are the discovery of a victim, her head covered with a cage inhabited by a very hungry rat which has gnawed away at her face, the initial discovery of the first victim and finally the killer himself unmasked, his face nothing more than a skull covered with the faintest suggestion of skin. These images are really quite out there for the time and make for some great moments. The sequences at the end with the torturer are just as good, being a little creepy with some graphic brutality stakes placed into the film to give it a little extra punch to what's going on. These here are what really make the film enjoyable.

The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot here that doesn't work. The fact that this one doesn't exactly have the best paced story is something to get over, as there's a couple of instances where the film doesn't really do much but consist of endless wandering around the castle grounds, and at times that's a little too much to take. It does have a creepy feel, but then there's points where it doesn't do anything other than to wish for a faster moving pace. There's also the needless insertion of a couple scenes where two doctors are apparently talking about what's going on, but their inclusion nor the object of their discussion is never given. At times, it feels like it's there to simply speed up the run-time, and otherwise have no need to do it. These here provide the film's only real flaws.

The Final Verdict: A fantastic Italian Gothic entry that has a lot going for it, this one is a really watchable film that will have a good feel to it. Highly recommended to Italian Gothic horror or 60s horror in general, while the not-so fans won't really get into this one.

Today's Rating-PG-13: Violence

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