Warning SPOILERS!!! When people are asked to name their favorite Italian gothic horror movie, this film is mentioned the most and I can't disagree. This is what gothic horror is all about: dark shadows, unexpected deaths and an atmosphere of terror that permeates every frame. It is so thick, you can cut it with a knife.At the end of the 15th Century, we see priest Von Klage (Umberto Raho, as "Robert Rains"; THE EERIE MIDNIGHT HORROR SHOW - 1974) and two guards enter a castle prison and escort Adele Karnstein, who is accused of being a witch, to her trial. While the entire village is watching the trial, Adele's daughter Helen (Barbara Steele; THE GHOST - 1963) sneaks into the castle to talk to Count Humbolt (Giuliano Raffaelli, as "Jean Rafferty"; BLOOD AND BLACK LACE - 1964) to plead for her mother's life. Helen is also being sought as a witch by Von Klage and the Count's son Kurt (George Ardisson; DON'T LOOK IN THE ATTIC - 1982), but they don't know what she looks like because Adele kept her away from the village her entire life. The Count tells Helen there is very little he can do and, even if he could, he wouldn't, because Adele is also accused of murdering his brother, Franz. Helen tells him that her mother is not a witch and she can prove someone in the castle murdered his brother. Rather than delaying Adele's trial, the Count puts the moves on Helen, raping her. Adele's younger daughter, Lisabeth, is at the trial and watches as her mother is found guilty of being a witch and is immediately put to death, not by being burned at the stake, but by being put in a maze made of entwined twigs and branches, which is set on fire, burning all around her. Before she burns to death, Adele grabs the huge wooden cross in the middle of the maze and curses the Humbolt family line for all eternity. Helen tries to escape from the Count, but he grabs her outside and throws her to her death down a steep waterfall, saying, "Now our secret is safe."Lisabeth is then taken care of by the kindly Grumalda (Laura Nucci, as "Laureen Nuyen"; THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW - 1978), who tells Lisabeth that she has collected her mother's ashes and Helen's body and buried them in a "secret place" that only the two of them know about and she can go to that place to pray to her mother and sister any time she wants. Years pass and Lisabeth is now a beautiful grown woman (Halina Zalewska; SNOW DEVILS - 1967). Kurt has a romantic interest in her that the Count doesn't approve of. We find out at this time that Kurt is the one who murdered Franz so his father could rule the land. When the Count hears this, he is livid (he didn't know) and tries to choke the life out of Kurt, but fails. Lisabeth sees the Count go to Franz's tomb and begs Franz's skeleton for forgiveness, saying he put an innocent woman to death under the guise of witchcraft. The Count is horrified to see his brother's skeleton move, taking it as a sign that his brother is coming back to life and runs away, not knowing that the skeleton moved because of rats inside of Franz's tattered clothing.Kurt forces Lisabeth to marry him, but the only way he can make love to her is by force ("You had my body, but not my soul!"). He doesn't know that she heard the Count confess to Franz. Lisabeth forms a plan of vengeance against the Humbolts and it's a doozy. The Black Plague strikes the village and no one in the castle is allowed to venture outside, just as no one from the outside is allowed to enter the castle grounds. The Count becomes stricken with the Plague and Lisabeth sneaks outside to the secret place, where she begs her mother and sister to get even with the Humbolts. A tremendous thunderstorm follows, soaking the secret place and raising the dead. The Count dies and Kurt then becomes ruler, but even stranger is the sudden appearance of Mary, who looks exactly like Helen (both played by Steele). Mary tells Kurt she has no idea who she is or how she got there and Kurt doesn't recognize her because he never met Helen. At the Count's funeral, his body is carried through the church by Von Klage's hooded minions, where Kurt hits on Mary, knowing full well that adultery is punishable by death. Mary spurns his advances, but Grumalda sees it happen. She tells Lisabeth what she saw and she then tells Kurt that if he lays a finger on Mary, he will regret it. Kurt doesn't take kindly to threats and then he rapes Mary (like father, like son), which Lisabeth witnesses. She is tempted to stab Kurt in the back with a dagger but stops herself, knowing that his actual death will be far more painful. Von Klage has a man ride out on horseback to deliver a message to a far-away village telling them about the Plague, giving him a container of wine for his travels. At dinner a few days later, Grumalda announces that the messenger has been found dead in the woods, the apparent victim of a poisoning. The news upsets both Lisabeth and Von Klage, who leave the table. Kurt then tells Mary that it was he who poisoned the messenger and he plans on doing the same thing to Lisabeth so he and Mary can become legally married. Kurt doses Lisabeth's nightly drink with a drug to knock her out, which she drinks. Kurt and Mary go to see if his plan worked, but they are scared away by a huge shadow that passes by Lisabeth's bedroom window. A short time later, they return to Lisabeth's bedroom, where Mary pokes Lisabeth with a needle to make sure she is out cold. Kurt carries Lisabeth to the family mausoleum, where he places her body in an empty tomb and seals the heavy stone lid with wax, so no air can get inside, killing Lisabeth. Von Klage comes into the mausoleum and Kurt and Mary hide, watching Von Klage lock the mausoleum gate behind him and placing the key in a hole in the wall, trapping the pair inside. Neither Kurt or Mary can reach the key, so they try to find another way out, discovering a secret passageway that leads directly to Lisabeth's bedroom. A few hours later, they use the secret passageway to retrieve Lisabeth's dead body (Mary puts a lit candle next to Lisabeth's nose to make sure she is dead) and then place her body in her bed, making it look like she died in her sleep. The next morning, the pair expect the bad news, but Grumalda appears and announces Lisabeth has awoken and she's "very hungry". Kurt can't believe his ears and runs to Lisabeth's bedroom, but she is not there. Mary tells him that Grumalda is probably lying, but it doesn't explain the many people who tell Kurt that they have just seen or talked to Lisabeth (but Kurt never sees her).Kurt believes there is a conspiracy against him, but it is much worse than that, as Kurt wakes up in his bed with Lisabeth on top of him. He screams and she disappears, but how can he explain the long strands of Lisabeth's hair that he finds in one of his hands? The Karnstein curse comes true, as Kurt is driven mad by the unexplainable events that surround him, resulting in the Black Plague vanishing and Kurt exposing his evil self in front of a group of important dignitaries. A drunk Kurt then confronts Lisabeth in the same castle cell that her mother was confined in before she was burned to death. It turns out Mary is the spectre of Helen and Lisabeth is very much alive, both there to make sure Kurt doesn't escape his fate. No matter where Kurt runs, Helen's ghost is there, turning him into a blithering, incoherent fool who becomes trapped inside an idol that is to be burned in a ceremony to celebrate the ending of the Plague (like a miniature version of THE WICKER MAN - 1973). Everyone applauds while the idol burns, only Lisabeth, Helen and Grumalda knowing that the Plague is not the only thing leaving the village. A fitting end to an evil despot.This is one of the best films in its genre, thanks to director Antonio Margheriti's (HORROR CASTLE - 1963; CASTLE OF BLOOD - 1964; KILLER FISH - 1979), using his frequent pseudonym "Anthony Dawson", tight direction and Evirust's (actually Carlo Rustichelli; KILL, BABY...KILL! - 1966) creepy music score, in which loud bell chimes are used to good effect. What can be said about Barbara Steele that hasn't been said many times before? She is a classic beauty with eyes that hypnotize, so much so, you'll be looking into her eyes and forgetting about her acting abilities, which is a shame because she's an excellent actress who puts her heart, soul and, yes, her eyes into every role she plays. Italian gothic horror wouldn't be the same without her. As a matter of fact, everyone here is excellent, especially George Ardisson as Kurt, who gives his character just enough nastiness for you to appreciate his demise. The screenplay, by "Robert Bohr" (Tonino Valerii; director/screenwriter of the giallo MY DEAR KILLER - 1972), hits all the right notes and everything is resolved when the film ends. It doesn't get any better than this, folks!Filmed as I LUNGHI CAPELLI DELLA MORTE (A literal translation of the review title), this film never obtained a U.S. theatrical release, which is a shame because it would have frightened many people back in the '60s, as it does today. Like most Italian gothic horror films, this one, too, fell into the Public Domain (PD), where it received many VHS releases, mostly from gray market sellers (Something Weird Video, Sinister Cinema, etc.). It was also released on many PD DVD labels using a fullscreen print, including Alpha Video (their print is in widescreen, but beat-up), East West Entertainment and Synergy Archives, but the disc you want is the Blu-Ray/DVD offered by Raro Video, which is in anamorphic widescreen and looks exceptional. The black & white photography, by "Richard Thierry" (Riccardo Pallottini; LADY FRANKENSTEIN - 1979), leaps off the screen and grabs you by the throat, never letting go until the satisfying ending. As with most Raro releases, the film is offered in its original Italian language with English subtitles (my preferred way of watching foreign films) or English dubbed and contains some interesting extras, including both English and Italian trailers, as well as an interview with Margheriti's son, Edoardo (Antonio passed away at the end of 2002), who regales us with stories about working in various capacities on his father's films. Antonio hated the sight of blood, which is why he filmed most of his gothic horror films in black & white (It also explains why his bloodless mid-'60s sci-fi films, such as WILD, WILD PLANET - 1965 and the previously mentioned SNOW DEVILS - 1967, had very colorful set decorations.). Edoardo goes on to state that when the Italian film industry turned to making gore-soaked films, including his father's CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE (1980), Antonio was inconsolable until he took a trip to America and saw an advance screening of Spielberg's RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981). He came back to Italy a changed man and began churning out harmless fantasy adventure films, such as HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA (1982), ARK OF THE SUN GOD (1983) and JUNGLE RAIDERS (1985), all made for very little money but were hits for him (he and his father also did all the miniature model work in those films, which was Antonio's favorite thing to do, besides directing). Another informative disc from Raro. I always learn something new from every one of their releases. Also starring "John Carey" (Nello Pazzafini; MAD DOG - 1977) and Jeffrey Darcey as the Messenger. Not Rated.