Films That Witness Madness

review

LONG HAIR OF DEATH

Playing out like a weird hybrid of DIABOLIQUE, BLACK SUNDAY and a Hammer Gothic, Antonio Margheriti's 1964 flick LONG HAIR OF DEATH barely registers as a horror film. It's more like a terrific melodrama with horror undertones. It's slow and plodding but magnificently shot and atmospheric, It's simply missing any sort of tension or terror, two of Margheriti's specialties. Even after seeing it three or four times, I'm still unable to make up my mind about how much I actually like it. I think it's enough to say that I appreciate it a great deal, even if it left me wanting more every step of the way.

The lovely Barbara Steele plays Helen, a young woman whose mother is accused of causing the death of a young nobleman, the son of the Count Humboldt, through witchcraft. In an attempt to save her mother's life, she allows the Count to rape her but that isn't enough to stop the Count's son, Kurt, from burning her mother alive. It isn't even enough to prevent her own murder, tossed from a cliff into a rushing river by the Count himself. Many years later, Helen's sister, Elisabeth, has grown into a beautiful young woman. She is endlessly pursued and eventually married to the lecherous, controlling Kurt. One night, as a driving rainstorm batters the townsfolk, Helen reappears at the Church doors and collapses. Count Humboldt reacts in fear at the sight of her and collapses dead. Kurt, awestruck by her, takes her into the castle and falls madly in love with her. Together, he and Helen - who is calling herself Mary - plot to kill Elisabeth so they can live together happily. They poison Elisabeth, place her still-breathing body in a tomb to suffocate her and wait for her to expire. They place her corpse back into her bedroom but, the next morning, the body is gone.

The allusion to DIABOLIQUE is obvious here. In fact, the first time I saw the film, I honestly expected Kurt to stumble upon Elisabeth's body lying in a tomb only to have her rise up, arms outstretched, while Kurt's ticker slowly went kerplooey. It's also obvious that this film owes a great debt to Bava's BLACK SUNDAY in both it's central plot - woman rises from the dead to avenge her death and fulfill a curse - and it's casting of Steele in the lead role. This was the kind of role Steele found herself playing one too many times but she plays it so well and so effortlessly that a little bit of deja vu isn't enough to kill the enjoyment. The problem is that both DIABOLIQUE and BLACK SUNDAY are far better films than LONG HAIR OF DEATH and, though it is fun to watch elements from both crash into one another on a regular basis, you can't escape the memory of either film while watching it.

Thankfully, the weaknesses of the plot and laziness of the narrative are more than made up for by the skillful direction of Margheriti. The annals of Italian horror are filled with directors like Margheriti, technically masterful filmmakers whose work exudes professionalism and careful consideration. Unfortunately, outside of genre enthusiasts, Margheriti is virtually unknown. Like Riccardo Freda, Margheriti was a profoundly talented man who labored under less than favorable conditions with less than satisfactory material. His eye for potent framing and skilled compositions keep LONG HAIR OF DEATH visually interesting long after it has lapsed into routine thriller territory. I have no doubt that if any other director were behind the camera - well, other than Freda or Bava - this would not have been half the film it is. Even the busted film print I watched the other night - a poor VHS transfer put out by Sinema Diable - couldn't destroy the care and craft Margheriti put into the film.

LONG HAIR OF DEATH certainly isn't a work of originality. Nor is it anything close to a good "horror film" but it is entertaining and visual magnificent. Well worth the time of genre fans.

Recommended.

DISCUSS THIS FILM IN THE FORUM! JUST CLICK HERE TO VISIT!