The Blancheville Monster is a 1963 Italian/Spanish horror film directed by Alberto De Martino [as Martin Herbert] (Formula for a Murder; Blood Link; Holocaust 2000; The Antichrist) from a screenplay written by Bruno Corbucci, Sergio Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi, allegedly based loosely upon an (uncredited) story by Edgar Allan Poe. Produced by Alberto Aguilera. Also released as Horror
The movie stars Helga Liné (Horror Express, The Dracula Saga, The Loreley’s Grasp), Gérard Tichy (Pieces), Leo Anchóriz and Ombretta Colli.
The original version is set in Scotland; however, the US version chose to transpose the events to Brittany, France.
Plot:
1884: Emily Blackford returns to her ancestral home after finishing school to find that her brother has sacked the entire staff and all the new servants act suspiciously. Her father – whom she had believed to be killed in a fire – is discovered to be alive but ‘horribly disfigured’ and has been driven insane. The family keep him locked up in the tower.
It transpires that there is a curse on the Blackford line, and their father believes that the curse can only be broken if Emily is killed before her 21st birthday…
“Horror is rather lugubriously paced and could have profited from at least ten minutes of 90 minutes being shaved off. Gratifyingly, however, De Martino lays the atmosphere on thick…” Jonathan Rigby, Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema
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“The Blancheville Monster does not have much to offer other than De Martino’s competent direction, atmospheric set-pieces (including the ruined monastery that would be featured in the 1970s Spanish horror films) and Alejandro Ulloa’s atmospheric lighting […] the horrific moments, so to speak, are also quite awkward with a grotesque looking monster and naive shock cuts underlined by Carlo Franci’s melodramatic score…” Roberto Curti, Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957 – 1969 book
DVD release:
On November 19, 2013, the film was released in the US by Retromedia as a 50th Anniversary DVD in 1:66:1 widescreen and in high definition.
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Trailer:
Cast and characters (US version):
Gérard Tichy … Rodéric De Blancheville
Leo Anchóriz … Doctor LaRouche
Ombretta Colli … Emilie De Blancheville (as Joan Hills)
Helga Liné … Miss Eleonore, the Housekeeper
Irán Eory … Alice Taylor
Vanni Materassi … John Taylor (as Richard Davis)
Paco Morán … Alistair, the Butler (as Frank Moran)
Emilia Wolkowicz … Cook (as Emily Wolkowicz)
Harry Winter … Gamekeeper
Filming locations:
San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Madrid, Spain
Technical specs:
1 hour 30 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1
#TheBlanchevilleMonster #trailer
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