This is a lousy film--whether or not it stars 60s cult movie favorite Barbara Steele or not. If you want to see a good movie done by Ms. Steele, see "Black Sunday" and not this confusing mess of a film.
I think the biggest problem with this movie is that the plot and continuity of the characters was totally irrelevant to the writers. Instead, it seemed that every so often they tossed scary scenes into the film and made no effort to integrate them into the plot or have the characters' actions make sense. The randomness of the scares and the randomness of the behaviors of the actors just betrayed bad writing. Now as for the gross scenes, they really weren't THAT bad (especially by today's standards) but they just seemed like a cheap attempt to scare the audience. Hearts get ripped out and stuck inside statues (why?), ghosts become alive at the end and go on killing sprees (why?) and the bodies of the first wife and her lover are cremated and an empty coffin is buried (again, why?). None of these behaviors have been set up or explained in any way. The worst example was probably the sociopathic husband--one minute he seemed to love and genuinely care for his new wife and the next he's draining out her blood to give to his lady friend (whose character never really is explained or hashed out). The bottom line is that people reacted in the film instead of had a chance to act--making them seem cardboard and like people working in a carnival spook house.
So if you think that random scares, cheesy special effects and a totally convoluted plot make for a great film, give this one a try. But as for me, these factors plus sloppy dubbing (instead of subtitles) make this one eminently worth skipping.
I think the biggest problem with this movie is that the plot and continuity of the characters was totally irrelevant to the writers. Instead, it seemed that every so often they tossed scary scenes into the film and made no effort to integrate them into the plot or have the characters' actions make sense. The randomness of the scares and the randomness of the behaviors of the actors just betrayed bad writing. Now as for the gross scenes, they really weren't THAT bad (especially by today's standards) but they just seemed like a cheap attempt to scare the audience. Hearts get ripped out and stuck inside statues (why?), ghosts become alive at the end and go on killing sprees (why?) and the bodies of the first wife and her lover are cremated and an empty coffin is buried (again, why?). None of these behaviors have been set up or explained in any way. The worst example was probably the sociopathic husband--one minute he seemed to love and genuinely care for his new wife and the next he's draining out her blood to give to his lady friend (whose character never really is explained or hashed out). The bottom line is that people reacted in the film instead of had a chance to act--making them seem cardboard and like people working in a carnival spook house.
So if you think that random scares, cheesy special effects and a totally convoluted plot make for a great film, give this one a try. But as for me, these factors plus sloppy dubbing (instead of subtitles) make this one eminently worth skipping.