The genre that "strangler of Blackmoor castle" belongs to is called a krimi, just like many others of its type, this movie is a gothic murder mystery cross horror with some light comedy relief, that hails from Germany. Most of these movies were based from the writings of Edgar Wallace, as is this one. If you are a fan of the Italian giallo movies (e.g. Dario Argento's Deep red or Mario bava's blood & black lace) then you can definitely see that the krimis were a massive influence on that slightly later genre. Let me also say that this film is more than just a horror despite the title, think of something like a early hammer film crossed with a Hitchcock & you'll have the idea. The setting is a gothic mansion, lots of creepy atmosphere but the monster here is of the human variety. A hooded killer invades the estate & assaults the owner demanding the return of stolen diamonds. To prove he means business, he leaves them the corpse of their grounds keeper, strangled then left with the letter M carved into his forehead. Scotland yard are called in & thus begins a cat & mouse game with buried secrets coming to light as the bodies pile up. The plot twists & turns its way to a final confrontation where all is revealed. But its not all doom & gloom as here & there we are treated to some light comedy relief (witty but not stupid)from the mixed bag of characters, similar to the sort that was even in the old universals. The plot is clever but not overly complex, so you don't have to be a die hard Agatha Christie fan or some such to enjoy it. All in all, everything is a nice balance. If you do like this type of film, why not also try others of the genre such as "the phantom of Soho" or "monster of London city" (which even stars the great Christopher Lee). I would personally give this five stars all round, it was ninety mins well spent. I would recommend it as a great introduction to the krimi genre.
Review of The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle
