The Castle of the Living Dead
- Year: 1964
- Country of origin: Italy, France
- Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
- Director: Warren Kiefer, Luciano Ricci
- Length: 90 min
He lured beautiful women to his evil castle and induced them into a state of living death until infinity!
Film Synopsis
The Castle of the Living Dead (1964) follows a troupe of traveling entertainers who accept an invitation to perform at the remote castle of Count Drago. Inside, they discover his obsession with preserving beauty and life through grotesque experiments that transform victims into statues. This gothic Italian horror blends eerie atmosphere, surreal imagery, and macabre science in a tale of art, mortality, and entrapment.
Critical Perspective
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By yoking together such disparate influences as Ligeia, Psycho, House of Wax, The Seventh Seal and The Most Dangerous Game, [Warren Kiefer] had created one of the most engaging and imaginative of all Italian horror pictures.
Jonathan Rigby, Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema (Signum Books, 2016) -
Despite being set in a typical Gothic mansion, Castle of the Living Dead is sunny and airy, unlike its contemporaries. The fact that the film’s unlikely savant is a dwarf gives it a fairylike quality that is especially evident in the scenes set in Bomarzo, easily the most memorable ones: the game of hide-and-seek between Pic and the gigantic Hans underlines [Warren] Kiefer’s taste for the grotesque and his playful approach to the genre.
Roberto Curti, Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969 (McFarland, 2015) -
Castle of the Living Dead could very well be called Castle of Wax, for it’s really a variation on the old House of Wax/Mystery of the Wax Museum story. But while its main theme may be the same, the movie’s sensibilities are something else entirely, given its European flavor and macabre humor. … Despite its recycled theme, this Castle stands as one of the better Continental horror films of the 1960s.
Mark Clark and Bryan Senn, Sixties Shockers: A Critical Filmography of Horror Cinema, 1960-1969 (McFarland, 2011)
The Castle of the Living Dead Blu-ray & DVD editions
See which disc extras are included across selected editions.
| Disc Extras | Severin BD-ALL/US 2021 | Screenbound BD-B/UK 2022 | Odeon DVD-0 PAL/UK/OOP 2012 | Artus DVD-2 PAL/FR 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger | ||||
| Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson | ||||
| The Evil Castle - With Film Historian Alain Petit | ||||
| Horror !!! - Vintage Documentary with Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Roger Corman and Roy Ashton | ||||
| The Young General: Reflections on Michael Reeves | ||||
| The Castle of the Mystery Man - Roberto Curti on Director/Writer Warren Kiefer | ||||
| “Cinescope: Christopher Lee” - Vintage TV Interview with Actor Christopher Lee | ||||
| David Del Valle Interviews Christopher Lee | ||||
| From the Castle to the Academy - Interview with Producer Paul Maslansky | ||||
| The Man Behind the Mask: Christopher Lee Remembers Boris Karloff | ||||
| Monsters & Vampires: The Film Books of Alan Frank - Interview with Author Alan Frank | ||||
| Interview Outtakes with Actor Christopher Lee | ||||
| Q&A with Actor Christopher Lee at University College Dublin | ||||
| Vintage Interview with Actor Christopher Lee | ||||
| “O Sole Mio / It’s Now or Never” Music Video - With Actor Christopher Lee and Singer Gary Curtis; With Optional Commentary by Gary Curtis | ||||
| “She’ll Fall For Me” Music Video - With Actor Christopher Lee and Singer Gary Curtis; With Optional Commentary by Gary Curtis | ||||
| Stills Gallery | ||||
| Theatrical Trailer |
Edition and Packaging Notes
- Severin’s Blu-ray includes a soundtrack CD. It is included in “The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection” box set with Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), Challenge the Devil (1963), Crypt of the Vampire (1964), The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) and Theatre Macabre (1971-1972); and contains a 100-page booklet with writing by Jonathan Rigby (“Christopher Lee: The Continental Connection”).
- Screenbound’s Blu-ray is included in “The Films of Michael Reeves” box set with The Sorcerers (1967) and Witchfinder General (1968).
- Odeon’s DVD includes a booklet with writing by Benjamin Halligan.
~ Found an error or know of another edition? Submit a correction or release update. ~
Collector’s guide
Compare presentation quality and explore notable disc extras across selected editions.
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Horror !!! (1964, 16:29) -
The Castle of the Mystery Man (13:26) -
“Cinescope: Christopher Lee” (1976, 54:38) -
David Del Valle Interviews Christopher Lee (2021/1985, 27:16) -
From the Castle to the Academy (51:58) -
The Man Behind the Mask: Christopher Lee Remembers Boris Karloff (1991, 35:05) -
Monsters & Vampires: The Film Books of Alan Frank (18:11) -
Interview Outtakes with Actor Christopher Lee (2001, 19:16) -
Q&A with Actor Christopher Lee at University College Dublin (2011, 18:19) -
Vintage Interview with Actor Christopher Lee (1975, 16:23)
| Editions | |
|---|---|
| Extras | Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger Severin BD |
| Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson Severin BD | |
| Horror !!! - Vintage Documentary with Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Roger Corman and Roy Ashton Severin BD | |
| The Young General: Reflections on Michael Reeves Screenbound BD | |
| The Castle of the Mystery Man - Roberto Curti on Director/Writer Warren Kiefer Severin BD | |
| “Cinescope: Christopher Lee” - Vintage TV Interview with Actor Christopher Lee Severin BD | |
| David Del Valle Interviews Christopher Lee Severin BD | |
| From the Castle to the Academy - Interview with Producer Paul Maslansky Severin BD | |
| The Man Behind the Mask: Christopher Lee Remembers Boris Karloff Severin BD | |
| Monsters & Vampires: The Film Books of Alan Frank - Interview with Author Alan Frank Severin BD | |
| Interview Outtakes with Actor Christopher Lee Severin BD | |
| Q&A with Actor Christopher Lee at University College Dublin Severin BD | |
| Vintage Interview with Actor Christopher Lee Severin BD | |
| “O Sole Mio / It’s Now or Never” Music Video - With Actor Christopher Lee and Singer Gary Curtis; With Optional Commentary by Gary Curtis Severin BD | |
| “She’ll Fall For Me” Music Video - With Actor Christopher Lee and Singer Gary Curtis; With Optional Commentary by Gary Curtis Severin BD | |
| Stills Gallery Artus DVD | |
| Theatrical Trailer Screenbound BD |
Notes
- “The Young General: Reflections on Michael Reeves” is also available on Wicked Vision’s Blu-ray of Witchfinder General (1968).