Writer/director Michael Reeves managed just three horror pics before dying @ 25 of ‘accidental overdose;’ this zero-budget debut, a bare-bones budget Boris Karloff (THE SORCERERS/’67) and then Vincent Price in THE CONQUEROR WORM/’68. This one, his first, finds Barbara Steele on honeymoon in Transylvania with Ian Ogilvy. But when their car develops a mind of its own, it drives them straight into a haunted lake where the evil spirit of a witch still lives; she’d been dunked & drowned a couple of centuries ago. Now, transmogrification in the inky depths has the old witch change places with Steele. Fortunately, John Karlsen’s Count von Helsing is around to offer assistance in bringing back the bride. Silly stuff, but worth a look, especially for Horror heads, since Reeves had a natural talent for these things, with an easy filmmaking style that hums along and even seems to be making sense while you watch. Not far from one of those classic Roger Corman fright pics . . . if Roger Corman could only direct. Whether Reeves could have moved beyond terror trash will never be known, but he certainly had real visual talent, with technical chops giving this film a confident look & feel far beyond expectations.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: It couldn’t have been easy for Dark Sky to locate such good source material for their dandy looking DVD. Released under various titles, many subpar discs still circulate.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: For a change, the commentary track (with leads Steele, Ogilvy & producer Paul Maslansky) is a hoot, loaded with info & juicy gossip. Remarkably so, knowing that Steele shot her role in a single (very long) day.
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