Very rare Italian import release on the
Shendene & Moizzi "Demoni E Streghe" label in pristine
condition!Extremely rare, widescreen, original Italian import release of aka 'La Maldicion de los Karnstein/Terror in the Crypt/Crypt of Horror/The Karnstein Curse/The Crypt of the Vampire' the very, very obscure 1964 gothic, Italian horror/Witchcraft/vampire film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque and starring Christopher Lee.
Lonely Laura Karnstein [Audry Amber] is having nightmares in which she sees members of the Karnstein family being murdered. This time it is cousin Tilda. Concerned that his daughter is possessed by the Witch Scirra of Karnstein, who centuries ago cursed the Karnstein family, Count Ludwig Karnstein [Christopher Lee] hires Friedrich Klaus, a scholar of ancient and medieval history, to reconstruct Scirra's life and to search for a portrait of her. When a carriage breaks down outside the Karnstein castle and passenger Lyuba [Ursula Davis] becomes a houseguest, her company begins to cheer Laura and make her laugh again. In fact, Lyuba becomes the most important figure in Laura's life, more so than her father or her budding romance with Friedrich, so much that when Lyuba suggests she and Laura visit the ruins of the village of Karnstein, Laura actually agrees to go although she fears the place immensely.
Unfortunately, they find that a peddler has been hung from a bellpull and his right hand cut off. The hand is being used by the faithful housekeeper Rowena to pray to her master Satan. "Reveal to me the truth," she bequests. "Lead me to the murderer of the peddler." Hoping beyond hope that the murderer is NOT Laura, Rowena is murdered before she learns the truth. About this time, Friedrich runs across a picture of the long dead Scirra who strongly resembles Lyuba.
In the meantime, Lyuba persuades Laura to run away from the castle with her. As they escape toward the village, Count Karnstein and Friedrich search the cellars for Scirra's tomb. Instead, they find cousin Franz Karnstein, Tilda's father. He is also searching for the murderer of his daughter. Together, they locate Scirra's tomb and pry it open to find Lyuba lying there. They drive a stake through her body just as Laura is about to enter Lyuba's black carriage. Suddenly everything disappears, and Laura is left standing alone (and exonerated) beside the roadside.
An excellent film with plenty of spooky gothic atmosphere, decrepit scenery and creepy tombs along with ghosts, vampires and Witchcraft.
This original Italian version of the film is more complete than the TV versions under the title 'Terror in the Crypt'.Starring Christopher Lee as Count Ludwig Karnstein, Adriana Ambesi as Laura Karnstein, Ursula Davis as Lyuba, Jose Campos as Friedrich Klauss, Vera Valmont as Annette, A. Midlin as the Hunchback, Carla Calo, Nela Conjiu, Jose Villasante, John Karlsen and Angela Minervini.
An extremely obscure Italian horror/Witchcraft/vampire film!
This release is the only official video release of this film worldwide.
Also contains the original promotional booklet.
A
pristine condition item with excellent video quality and flawless playback!
PRODUCT TYPE: Italian VHS
VIDEO LABEL: Shendene & Moizzi
"Demoni E Streghe"
VIDEO FORMAT:
PALLANGUAGE: Italian
SUBTITLES: none
SCREEN RATIO: Widescreen (1.78)
RUNNING TIME: 81 minutes 33 seconds
(exact)
TAPE CONDITION: Excellent
COVER CONDITION: Excellent
NOTE:
This tape is in the PAL video format.
Make sure you are able to play the PAL video
format in your VCR before buying.
