Recently watched: Blood Ceremony (1973) aka Ceremonia sangrienta aka The Legend of Blood Castle. Tagline: “A Nightmare Tale of Depravity!”
This lush Spanish / Italian co-production features the following Gothic horror staples: vampires. Castles. A gypsy woman making ominous prophesies. Superstitious peasants. A procession of townspeople wielding torches through the forest at night (led by a naked boy on horseback). Tavern wenches. Nature, red in tooth and claw (we see falcons tearing apart their prey in grisly close-up). A coffin lined in sumptuous purple silk. Close-ups of knives and forks digging into blood-oozing raw steaks. Guttering black candles. Pentagrams. Candelabras. A cursed medallion. Heaving bosoms. Girls in sheer nightgowns. The sound of a rooster crowing on the soundtrack to indicate daybreak.
The narrative is loosely inspired by the legend of Hungary’s Countess Elizabeth Báthory (also the basis of Hammer’s more famous Countess Dracula (1971) starring Ingrid Pitt). But director Jorge Grau surprises by draining the action of sensationalism, opting for an art-y, deliberately slow and meditative pace, exquisitely composed shots and an emphasis on ceremonies, rituals and superstitions. (Blood Ceremony clearly boasted a decent budget: the costumes, locations and cinematography are spectacular). At the centre is the haughty Marqués and Marquesa. (Think of them as a gloomy, corrupt and dysfunctional Gomez and Morticia). Handsome bearded Karl Ziemmer (Espartaco Santoni) loves his murderous pet falcons and banging out a tune on the clavichord (sometimes with bloody hands). Countess Erzsebeth Bathory (Lucia Bosè) is his icily self-contained black-clad Lady Macbeth-like wife. Italian actress Bosè – with her alabaster complexion, raven hair and drained, anemic beauty – is particularly striking. Bosè, of course, made two notable films (Story of a Love Affair (1950) and The Lady without Camelias (1953)) with her then-lover, Michelangelo Antonioni early in her career. Interestingly, her presence, the lingering, austere pacing and the focus on rich peoples’ elegant ennui suggest a horror movie by Antonioni. Blood Ceremony is currently streaming on YouTube. Jump on it in case it gets deleted!
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