Rating: 3.5/5
Hooptober 6.0 | 11/32 | film whose year ends in ‘6’ 5/6 | decades 5/6 | 1960s
CW // Mental Illness, Misogyny, Ageism, Blood, Sexual Assault, Physical Abuse, Murder
You must not love her. She is a witch and cursed, too.
Two rowers transport Roberto to a village with a villa. Alfred, also called Seargent, meets Roberto and helps with the luggage. Count Montebruno greets Roberto as he arrives at the villa. The Count confesses to Roberto his desire for the lake legend to be true, hoping Roberto would face a mishap on his trip there.
The Count shares with Roberto the drought they are experiencing, with the lake reaching its lowest level in two hundred years. As a result, the remnants of a tragedy nearly forgotten reemerged — a statue. Legend has it that the statue curses the island resident.
The Count hired Roberto, a sculptor and former resident of the island, to perform a restoration on the statue. He intends for the mansion to be ready for his niece, Harriet.
The butler, William, rushes in, informing The Count and Roberto that the two boatsmen who brought Roberto have died. Their boat mysteriously overturned, and they could not swim to safety. They were the ones who salvaged the statue.
As the days pass and Harriet arrives, mishaps and bizarre occurrences continue. As Roberto restores the statue, he cannot help but notice that Harriet and the statue bear a striking resemblance.
Don't you know? I adore violence.
I love the mood and lighting — it’s gothic but with an edge, giving it almost a noir quality. Everything feels tinged with danger, from the leading questions people ask to the literal dagger that serves as a bookmark. It’s a house of people playing with fire. We’re waiting to see which one goes up in flame first.
Barbara Steele does a tremendous job. Her character has an unusual tone and behavior shift that reminds me of Jenna Maroney. But it works for the weird vibes this movie has.
The film does not treat its deaths lightly — the village mourns and acts on them.
This is a good movie made great by Barbara Steele’s singular performance.