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CHALLENGE THE DEVIL (1963, Anamorphic) Christopher Lee, George Ardisson, Bella Cortez, Lilli Parker. Most this is flashback. Six unruly kids break into a remote castle looking for kicks. The castle’s owner, an odd white-haired man (Lee), asks them to find a missing girl hiding in the castle. Little do they know that Lee is actually a Mephistopheles-like character in disguise. At this point the six set out on a search that takes them through the nightmarish corridors and staircases of the castle. They encounter massive spiders, ghosts, and a bizarre room containing a labyrinth of sheet glass and mirrors. Watch for the scene when two female ghosts appear behind cobweb-shrouded doorways. The orgiastic dance scene is also great fun. Perhaps Lee’s most unusual portrayal in a horror film. With English subs, from 35mm.
THE CURSED MANSION (1963, Anamorphic Widescreen) Annie Alberti, Adriano Micantoni, Marco Mariani, Flora Carosello, Antonio Boccaci. This is a good old monster in a castle tale. A couple of young babes wander into a supposedly haunted castle. No ghosts, but they are done in by a monster with a hideous face. There’s also a young girl haunted by dreams who’s a dead ringer for the mistress of the castle, now missing for 20 years. A reporter and a swami-type fellow (kind of like Nils Aster in Night Monster) try to sort it all out. No classic but still good fun. English subtitles, from 35mm.
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