Just perfect...

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

a woman is being put to trial for being accused of being a witch,, a man who has some other interests, makes sure she dies, the eldest daughter get's tricked to her death,, now it's the younger daughter's turn to take vengeance for her mother. our villain has his eyes on a younger girl, so he sees her and starts to neglect his wife,, the younger girl and him decide that they wanna do away with his wife so they concoct a plan to get rid of her,, this wasn't a bad movie,, it had interesting twists, and turns, but I found it hard to watch in spots as the movie seems to drag on , and not move the plot forward. it almost seemed like two different movies.

There were many excellent Italian Gothic horror films in the 1960's. The Long Hair Of Death is a perfect exemplification of what made them so. The always creepy black and white photography shines through the beat-up copies of this 60+ year old film, which sadly are the only kind available. Every scene is literally a work of art. Psychologically terrifying art. Barbara Steele, with those creepily beautiful eyes (those eyes!!!) leads an equally excellent cast of medieval meanies who do some genuinely pretty nasty stuff. Of special note is Laura Nucci, playing the icy black-haired sinister housemaid of this nightmare castle. Watch this one to reaffirm your love of Italian Gothic horror.

Perhaps director Antonio Margheriti's answer to Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH features a witch destroyed for the death of Count Humboldt's brother, framed for the murder by the real killer, Kurt Humboldt(George Ardisson)vying for a power of position in the kingdom. The witch vows revenge, cursing the Humboldts and calling on her daughter, Helen(Barbara Steele)to wreak vengeance on them. Having failed at her attempt to dissuade Count Humboldt of passing sentence on her innocent mother, Helen is then pushed off a cliff, into a rushing river, by him. Poor Elizabeth Karnstein(Halina Zalewska), as a child, had to watch her mother burn alive, and attend the funeral of her sister, Helen. As an adult, life hasn't improved much as Elizabeth has followed the commands of Count Humboldt, often fighting off the sexual advances of Kurt, who proclaims his intended desire to have her regardless of the young woman's disgust towards him. Under marriage, Elizabeth endures Kurt's control over her body, awaiting possible revenge down the road..it comes in the form of Mary(Barbara Steele). Helen's body awakens as the rains fall bringing hope to a village riddled with the black plague, and her corpse rises in the form of Mary, interrupting a church sermon, causing an already guilt-stricken Count Humboldt to collapse in a state of shock, his death providing Kurt with the throne. Kurt becomes enamored and infatuated with Mary, lustfully desiring her, soon plotting to kill Elizabeth. Mary, at first hesitant, soon joins Kurt in his scheme to poison her, suffocating her within a closed crypt. Thoroughly pleased with their "success", Kurt awakens the next morning in horror as the maidservant, Grumalda(Laura Nucci)exits her room after having a conversation with Elizabeth! How could this be?! The rest of the film shows Kurt's progressive state of unease as others mention seeing and talking with a wife that's supposed to be dead.Admittedly, Margheriti's film takes it's time developing the plot, but I truly enjoyed the Gothic trappings of the massive castle and the secret walls which seem to exist throughout, leading to rooms as an exit from the burial chamber. Steele is featured in quite a grand style, Margheriti allowing her to seduce Kurt with her feminine wiles(..she is positively beautiful in this movie, and enchanting)and embellish in his torment at the end as a spirit whose finally seeing her enemy squirm. Ardisson, as the conniving, lecherous, egotistical, back-stabbing, underhanded Kurt Humboldt is a perfectly loathsome creature easy to root against, with the ending providing a feeling of satisfaction that justice was served. I wonder if those behind THE WICKER MAN saw the ending to this movie. I would definitely warn those with little tolerance for characters moving throughout a castle at great length, because this film follows them almost from one complete place to another. I had a feeling that Margheriti wanted to establish the importance of a medieval palace and how the characters move throughout, displaying the ability to cleverly hide adultery and fornication, while also showing how one could concoct a scheme to successfully murder someone without getting caught. And, to be honest, I think Margheriti simply enjoyed shooting within the castle, hoping to engage the viewer in the atmosphere within the walls. Above all, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH is still a revenge story through and through, with the director building his story, bit by bit, allowing Kurt to follow his rotten father(..who at least felt sorrow and guilt for actions he committed)to his own tragedy, just as the witch he put to death promised.

I've just recently discovered the Italian horror film. This one is pretty decent. I could have been much improved with a little effort at editing. Everything is set up nicely for revenge. You have the evil of witch burning as an innocent victim is set afire. She curses the people who put her there and we all know she'll be back. Nasty stuff begins to happen in the dukedom as the plague begins to decimate the population. The bad guys prosper pretty well, isolated from the rest of the rabble, but then a young woman (Barbaba Steele) returns. To keep her quiet, the patriarch of the castle pushed her off a cliff. She comes back to help her sister who has been forced into an ugly marriage with the young master. There are a series of efforts to kill this woman and things come to a satisfactory ending for the audience. The problem is the pacing. It drags on and on. There are these meandering trips through the castle, seemingly going nowhere. The whole effort to cover up a murder seems so convoluted. Let's just say there are simpler ways to go about these things, especially when you wield a lot of power. Still, I mostly liked it. Visually it is interesting and the acting is quite good.