''Terror in the Crypt'' ( it, La cripta e l’incubo) is a 1964 Italian-Spanish horror film directed by

Camillo Mastrocinque Camillo Mastrocinque (11 May 1901 – 23 April 1969) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 60 films between 1937 and 1968, and is known to horror film fans for directing ''Terror in the Crypt'' (1964) starring ...

. The film is based on the 1872 novel ''

Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 26 years. First published as a Serial (literature), serial in ' ...

'' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Production

''Terror in the Crypt'' is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novel ''Carmilla''. It is the third adaptation of the novel, following

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

's ''

Vampyr ''Vampyr'' (german: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit=Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray) is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. Sheri ...

'' and

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...

's ''

Blood and Roses ''Blood and Roses'' (french: Et mourir de plaisir, lit=And die of pleasure) is a 1960 erotic horror film directed by Roger Vadim. It is based on the novella ''Carmilla'' (1872) by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, shifting the book's setting in 1 ...

''. According to

Tonino Valerii Tonino Valerii (20 May 1934 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Tonino (Antonio) Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'', before mo ...

, the script was written in three days, while

Ernesto Gastaldi Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular gen ...

stated that it was written in 24 hours. Gastaldi has also claimed that he lied to a producer that they had a script ready, and then returned home to pen the script to return to the producer with the following day. The original title of the script was entitled ''La maledizione dei Karnstein'' (lit.: "The Curse of the Karnsteins"). The film was originally going to be directed by

Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italians, Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different film ...

. Due to other commitments, the film was given to

to direct. Mastrocinque was more prominently known for his comedy films, and was suggested by agent Liliana Biancini in order to help find the director new work. Tonino Valerii was also the assistant director on set, and later claimed that he personally shot several scenes of the film.

Release

''Terror in the Crypt'' was released in Italy on 27 May 1964 where it was distributed by MEC. It grossed a total of 69.541 million

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

. ''Terror in the Crypt'' was released straight to television in the United States by

AIP-TV American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

as ''Crypt of the Vampire''. It was released theatrically in the United Kingdom as ''Crypt of Horror''. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in 2012 by Retromedia/Image in the United States where it retains the title ''Crypt of the Vampire'', while the credits in the film call it ''Terror in the Crypt''.Curti, Roberto (2015-04-02). ''Italian Gothic Horror Films: 1957-1969'' (Kindle location 3595). McFarland. Kindle edition.

Reception

In a contemporary review, an anonymous reviewer in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' described the film as "occasionally quite atmospheric" and having an "effective climax". The review concluded that the rest of the film was "slow and static, indifferently acted and directed, and poorly dubbed."

Notes

References

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External links