Count Ludwig Kirstein’s (Christopher Lee) daughter Laura (Audrey Amber) has been having nightmares. In them she sees different family members murdered. Her dreams seem to come true. The latest family member is her cousin Tilde. The Count sends for Friedrich Klauss (Jose Campos). Klauss is a well known expert on medieval history. He asks the scholar to find out everything he can on an ancient relative Scirra including what he thinks she may have looked like. Scirra had been condemned as a witch. Before she died she put a curse on the Karnstein family.
Laura’s nurse, Rowena (Nela Conjiu) performs a ceremony to determine why Laura is having nightmares and to free her of them. It doesn’t turn out well. During the ceremony Laura is temporarily possessed by Scirra. As Friedrich researches Scirra’s life he begins to fall in love with Laura. Ludwig, on the other hand is worried his daughter may be the reincarnation of the executed witch.
A carriage accident happens out front. A woman (Carla Calo) and her daughter Lyuba (Ursula Davis) are uninjured but the woman says her daughter has been ill and should have stayed at home. The woman says she needs to continue on and is looking for lodgings for her daughter until she returns. Laura offers to have Lyuba stay at the castle until the mother returns. The mother accepts the offer and continues on her trip. With Lyuba in the castle Laura’s spirits begin to lift and Lyuba becomes the most important person in Laura’s life.
One night, however, Laura dreams that she killed Lyuba. When Ludwig and Friedrich check on her Lyuba is alive and sleeping, but there are two puncture wounds on her neck. Friedrich continues to try to find out the history of Scirra. He knows that there was a portrait of her in the castle that was painted over with another picture but finding it in a castle with over a hundred portraits may be a problem. He needs to find the portrait to see if the ancient witch looks like Laura. If so that's not good. Still he believes that knowing the truth is better than what Ludwig may be imagining.
“Terror in the Crypt” AKA “Crypt of the Vampire” AKA “La Cripta e l’incubo” AKA “Crypt of Horror” was released in 1964 and was directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. It is an Italian Spanish gothic horror film. It is based on the 1872 novel “Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is the third adaptation of Le Fanu’s book. The others being Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1932 silent film “Vampyr” and Roger Vadim's 1960 film “Blood and Roses”.
This is one of Christopher Lee’s lesser known films and surprise surprise; he’s not a vampire, mummy or wizard. He’s not even a bad guy just a normal nineteenth century father worried that he daughter is possessed by the spirit of an ancient witch. Even though he got top billing his part was smaller than most Lee fans would have liked. Vampire or worried daddy he’s still cool.
The movie is chock full of gothic atmosphere. Candlelight, deep shadows and stone passageways amid witches satanic rituals and demonic possession, not to mention the lesbian undertones, are some of the highlights. I also liked the sets. The theme was subdued and basic. They lived in a castle but the castle was hundreds of years old.
I will admit there were some slow spots here and there but I still found the suspense of the story compelling and intriguing. There are several people that are possible suspects besides Laura for being responsible for what is happening at the castle. I bounced around trying to determine if there really was an evil spirit and if so who it was.
Lee did his own dubbing for the American release.