SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER On Blu-ray From Severin

 

This is one of the films included in Severin's DANZA MACABRA: THE ITALIAN GOTHIC COLLECTION box set. The disc case uses the title SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER, while the print of the film used on this Blu-ray is titled THE KILLERS OF THE CASTLE OF BLOOD. Jonathan Rigby's book EURO GOTHIC calls this movie IVANNA, while the original Italian title is IL CASTELLO DALLE PORTE DI FUOCO. Got all that?? This is a 1970 Italian-Spanish co-production that pulls a few twists on the familiar Italian Gothic elements. 

The story, set somewhere in Europe in the 19th Century, concerns Ivanna (Erna Schurer), a biochemist who arrives at the castle of a Baron Dalmar (Carlos Quiney). The Baron needs scientific help in order to try and restore his brother, who supposedly was killed in a laboratory accident. While Ivanna tries to find out more about the mysterious Baron and what really happened to his brother, a series of gruesome murders are being perpetrated, with the victims being beautiful young women from the local village. The main suspect is the Baron--and even Ivanna believes in his guilt as well. But she and the Baron have fallen for each other, so she hopes she can "cure" him....but the real menace has been hiding in the shadows all along. 

SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER has plenty of the expected tropes of a Euro horror--lush colorful art direction, shifty secretive characters, and bizarre plotting. It also has a JANE EYRE type of situation, with a attractive (though hardly innocent) young woman arriving at a forbidding estate and dealing with a devilishly handsome aristocrat who is harboring a number of secrets. What makes this movie stand out is the character of Ivanna. She's more than just a nightgown-wearing, candelabra-clutching girl in distress. She's a scientist herself, and she has enough strength to not even be affected by the fact that the creepy fellow who gives her a ride to the castle at the beginning of the story tries to sexually assault her when they arrive. 

Ivanna also pursues a relationship with the Baron, despite the fact that she thinks he's a murderer and might even be a werewolf! (Talk about trying to change a bad boy....) Ivanna's strong-willed attitude is unusual for an Italian Gothic damsel in distress, and Erna Schurer brings a lot of spirit to the role. 

Carlos Quiney is well-cast as the brooding Baron (he almost has a young Vincent Price vibe to him), but most film geeks will figure out who the killer is long before the climax. (The ending, by the way, is a fiery one, recalling some of the Corman/Poe and Hammer Gothics.) 

SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER (or whatever you want to call it) was directed and co-written by Spaniard Jose Luis Merino. He brings plenty of atmosphere to the story, with several notable shot compositions. He also uses the zoom-in very frequently, so much that one might think Jess Franco had something to do with this. Another reason Franco comes to mind when watching this film is the nudity in it--all three of the main female characters disrobe at some point. The killer's motive for his crimes is rather kinky as well. 

Severin's presentation of this film was taken from a 16mm source (there's one of those "We had to use the best elements we could get" disclaimers on the disc before the movie starts). It's actually much better looking than I expected, especially color-wise (it is shown in 1:85 widescreen). It isn't very sharp, and the overall quality isn't on the same level as other recent Italian Gothic Blu-rays, but it is the uncut version of the film. This is a Region A disc. 

The extras include a brand-new audio commentary with Robert Monell and Rodney Barnett. Monell spends long periods going off on various tangents, while Barnett tries to bring the talk back to the actual movie. 

There's also an excellent discussion of the film by Stephen Thrower, which lasts about 40 minutes. Thrower gives a far more thorough and informative analysis of the movie and its cast & crew than the audio commentary does. 

A new interview with Erna Schurer is here as well. She appears bemused that anyone would want to discuss the film at all, but she seems to enjoy the talk. Her main memory about the shoot is that members of the cast and crew would regularly participate in a seance. She also says that Roger Corman visited the set (his New World Pictures distributed an edited version of the film in the U.S.), and she wasn't bothered by her nude scenes. There's also a French trailer for the film. 

This Blu-ray has an Italian audio track with English subtitles and an English dub track (which isn't all that bad as these things go). 

SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER was totally new to me, and I thought it was a well-done Italian Gothic. I wouldn't rate it among the best of that genre--at 98 minutes, it goes on a bit too long, and the who-done-it aspects of the story are easy to decipher. It is a great introduction to Erna Schurer, and it's to Severin's credit that they gave the uncut version of this film a proper Blu-ray release.