6 /10 1 Votes
Directed by Camillo Mastrocinque Music by Carlo Savina Director Camillo Mastrocinque | 5.9/10 IMDb Produced by Marco Mariani Initial release 1964 Music director Carlo Savina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Screenplay by Tonino Valerii
Ernesto Gastaldi Based on Carmilla
by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu Starring Christopher Lee
Adriana Ambesi
Pier Anna Quaglia
Friedrich Klauss Written by Tonino Valerii, Ernesto Gastaldi Cinematography Giuseppe Aquari, Julio Ortas Cast Christopher Lee, Adriana Ambesi, Ursula Davis, Carla Calò, José Villasante Similar The Satanic Rites of D, An Angel for Satan, Castle of the Living Dead, The Virgin of Nuremberg, Blood and Roses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Terror in the Crypt (Italian: La cripta e l’incubo) is a 1964 Italian-Spanish horror film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. The film is based on Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
Contents
Production
Terror in the Crypt is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novel Carmilla. It is the third adaptation of the novel, following Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr and Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses.
According to Tonino Valerii, the films script was written in three days while Ernesto Gastaldi states it was written in 24 hours. Gastaldi stated that he lied to a producer that they had a script ready, and then returned home to pen the script to return to the producer with the following day. The original title of the script was entitled La maledizione dei Karnstein (lit.: The Curse of the Karnsteins).
The film was originally going to be directed by Antonio Margheriti. Due to other commitments, the film was given to Camillo Mastrocinque to direct. Mastrocinque was more prominently known for his comedy films and was suggested by the agent Liliana Biancini in order to help find the director new work. Tonino Valerii was also the assistant director on set and claimed he personally shot several scenes of the film.
Release
Terror in the Crypt was released in Italy on May 27, 1964 where it was distributed by MEC. It grossed a total of 69.541 million Italian lire. Terror in the Crypt was released straight to television in the United States by AIP-TV. It was released theatrically in the United Kingdom as Crypt of Horror.
The film was released on DVD in 2012 by Retromedia/Image in the United States where it retains the title Crypt of the Vampire while the credits in the film refer to it as Terror in the Crypt.
Reception
In a contemporary review, the Monthly Film Bulletin described the film as "occasionally quite atmospheric" and having an "effective climax". The review concluded that the rest of the film was "slow and static, indifferently acted and directed, and poorly dubbed."