‘Satan is coming!’
The Devil’s Wedding Night is a 1973 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Luigi Batzella (Nude for Satan; The Beast in Heat) from a screenplay written by Walter Bigari (as Walter Brandi, the fanged protagonist of The Playgirls and the Vampire). The movie stars Rosalba Neri (Lady Frankenstein) and Mark Damon (Black Sabbath; House of Usher). American-born producer Ralph Zucker also made Bloody Pit of Horror and Terror-Creatures from the Grave.
Aristide Massaccesi [aka Joe D’Amato] was the cinematographer.
The Devil’s Wedding Night will be reissued on Blu-ray on January 12th 2021 via Code Red in association with Kino Lorber.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Special Features:
Remastered US version of the film
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Includes Katarina’s Bucket List Theater with hostess Katarina Leigh Water
Trailers
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Region-free
Plot:
The 1800s: scholarly Karl Schiller believes he’s found the ring of the Nibelungen, which holds great power. It’s at Castle Dracula. His twin, Franz, a gambler, asks if vampires frighten Karl; Karl shows him an Egyptian amulet, which may protect him. Franz takes the amulet and sets out ahead of his brother, arriving at the castle first. There he finds a countess who invites him to dine.
Later that night, Karl arrives. Coincidently, it’s the Night of the Virgin Moon, a night that falls every fifty years and draws five virgins from the surrounding village to the castle not be heard from again. Can Karl protect his brother, find the ring, and rescue the virgins?
Reviews:
“If you’re looking to get your Rosalba Neri and Italian Gothic Horror fix, you really can’t do wrong with The Devil’s Wedding Night. It took years for me to come back to it, but it is worth rewatching and should be considered a cult classic.” At the Mansion of Madness
“It’s no overlooked masterpiece of gothic horror; with its fits of pure silliness, but Damon doesn’t look down at the material, Neri is gorgeous (especially nude), and Joe D’Amato’s atmospheric cinematography is often stunning.” Basement of Ghoulish Decadence
“It’s at least more entertaining than the boredom of Jean Rollin’s (yet his cinematography is superior) near dialog-free vampires, and bereft of the bungling found in any number of Jess Franco pap. If you’re a fan of Hammer’s Gothic output, or Oldeworld set Euro-horror shot on real locations, The Devil’s Wedding Night is an occasion you may wish to attend.” Cool @ass Cinema
“Unlike films of this type made for today’s video market, it also takes its horror elements rather seriously and manages to have some fun along the way. It’s hard to dislike any movie in which one of the male leads seduces a peasant girl out of her knickers by slyly reminding her that Count Dracula is only interested in the blood of virgins. Though hardly a classic, it’s not bad…” Bloody Disgusting
“Stealing the show, as usual, is the supremely sexy Rosalba Neri of Amuck! and Lady Frankenstein. Her over-the-top performance combined with her propensity for nude scenes makes Neri’s presence a boon for this flick. There’s also Lara, the Contessa’s servant (and lesbian lover), who is played to perfection with a dichotomously somnambulistic and bug-eyed craziness by Brazilian actress Esmeralda Barros.'” Doomed Moviethon
‘It’s formulaic, to be sure, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable particularly when it’s shot as well as it is here thanks to some slick cinematography from the late, great Joe D’Amato. The castle makes for a great and macabre set, the women are all lit quite seductively and while there isn’t as much atmosphere as, say, Castle of Blood or Black Sunday there are still some very memorable visuals and sets.’ DVD Talk
“With a climax featuring decapitations galore and an ending that’s fashionably downbeat Il plenilunio score, in its best moments, as a cheerfully absurd and lusciously upholstered tour de force.” Jonathan Rigby, Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema, Signum Books, 2016
Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
” …in an almost psychedelic crescendo, the sight of De Vries’ ruby ring and a red wine dissolve into an abstract tunnel-like vision à la 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is one of those priceless moments that make Italian Gothics of the period poles apart from the their Anglo-Saxon counterparts.” Roberto Curti, Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957 – 1969, McFarland, 2017
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca
“Rosalba Neri doesn’t get to have as much fun as she does in Lady Frankenstein but she still turns in a watchable performance. Mark Damon, who plays twins Karl and Franz, does so with equal commitment on both sides and in doing so pays tribute to Barbara Steele who played duo roles in Black Sunday, in which he also stars. They really do seem like two different people even though still playing with the good twin / bad twin cliché.” Sinful Celluloid
“While he’s certainly not cut from the same cloth as Mario Bava, Batzella manages to create an eerily erotic gothic atmosphere, highlighted by a fog-bound scene of undead women gathering for a blood orgy, and — especially — scenes of Rosalba Neri bathed in blood and rising naked from her crypt.” Tomb of the Headless Werewolf
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Cast and characters:
Mark Damon … Franz Schiller / Karl Schiller
Rosalba Neri … La Contessa Dolingen de Vries (as Sara Bay)
Esmeralda Barros … Lara – Zombie
Enza Sbordone … Tanya – Innkeeper’s Daughter (as Francesca Romana Davila)
Xiro Papas … The Vampire Monster (as Ciro Papas)
Gengher Gatti … The Mysterious Man (as Alexander Getty)
Carlo Gentili … The Innkeeper (as Mort Baxter)
Giorgio Dolfin … First Villager at Inn (as George Dolfin)
Stefano Oppedisano … Second Villager at Inn (as Stephen Hopper)
Cristina Perrier … Virgin (uncredited)
Filming locations:
Piccolomini Castle, Balsorano, Italy
Original Italian title:
Il plenilunio delle vergini “Full Moon of the Virgins”
DVD release:
After a number of pan-and-scan releases that were typical of the redundant VHS format, the film was finally released widescreen on DVD by Shout Factory in September 2006 with optional comments by Elvira although the print used has obvious wear.
Film Facts:
A more risque Italian ‘cineromanzi’ magazine was issued to tie in with the film’s release.
The film was retitled The Devil’s Crypt for its 1975 US re-release by Dimension Pictures.
Watch full free film on YouTube
MOVIES & MANIA provides previews, our own film reviews and ratings, plus links to other online reviews from a wide variety of trusted sources in one handy web location. This is a genuinely independent website and we rely solely on the minor income generated by internet ads to pay for web costs and cover yet more movies. Please support us by not blocking ads. Thank you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a very tiny amount from any qualifying purchases.