Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Robert J. Maxwell A reporter, Georges Riviere, accepts a bet that he can not spend the night alone in a broken-down castle. He loses.The story opens in a shabby London ale house with a chubby Edgar Allan Poe telling a horrifying tale. You can tell that it's horrifying because his eyes are practically popping from their sockets. Of his two listeners, the reporter, Riviere, scoffs. The other man owns a mansion two hours from the city. The place is supposed to be uninhabited but those who visit it -- which happens once a year -- are never seen again.Riviere is dropped off at the castle's gate by the owner and Poe, whose carriage then trundles off into the night in the film's most unsettling scene. Riviere enters the grounds and stumbles through a nightmare of thickets and bare hanging branches. Inside, the castle is filled with shadows and cobwebs. It's all reminiscent of Renfield's being dropped off at the Borga Pass and being taken by carriage to Dracula's castle.Well -- "Dracula" was itself a bit confusing. You will remember that Dracula shooed his female consorts away from the unconscious victim and sucked the blood himself. So what did the females eat or drink? How long could they exist without drinking blood? Why was Dracula such a hog? If Renfield was turned into a vampire, how come he could subsist on flies? "Castle of Blood" is even less logical. The castle turns out to be filled with spirits. Most of them walk around like zombies but at least one of them, Barbara Steele, of the enormous eyes and magnificent mammaries, is pretty lively. She no sooner meets Riviere than she throws herself at him, has the reporter declaring his love for her, and they spend some time in the sack together. (The camera pans to the fireplace, where the logs send up brighter flames.) I don't know what the attraction is. Okay, Barbara Steele isn't bad looking, but Georges Riviere seems kind of plain to me and gives a particularly ligneous performance.That's nothing, though. The spirits come and go. Their peregrinations make no more sense than they did in "The Shining." There can be a ballroom full of whirling, well-dressed, waltzing men and women, and in the next moment they're gone. One is a lesbian. The reporter shoots one of them, a dim muscle man, and he apparently dies, only to show up later thirsty for blood.They're all thirsty for Riviere's blood. It's going to keep them alive for another year, until the next visitor brings next year's supply. But just as the reporter seems cornered, Steele appears, sobbing out her love for him, and shows him the door to the outside, where it will soon be light.Riviere drags her along, screaming. Once outside, though it is still night, she drops to the grass and dissolves into a skeleton. Riviere beats it to the gate and slips through it to wait for the carriage that will pick him up that morning.Too late, though. Being outside the castle may have skeletonized Steele but it doesn't prevent the other spirits from following the reporter and slamming the gate shut behind him, impaling him on one of its spikes. Their voices keep repeating, "We need your blood. Now you are one of us." In fact, there is no blood from the puncture of the spike and nobody around to drink it. And if the spirits can wander around at will outside the castle, what's to stop them from wafting into London and treating themselves to a real repast of Dickensian losers? And, not that it matters much, but the elderly fellow who owns the castle shows up with Poe at dawn to pick up the reporter and they find his body held upright against the gate. Both Poe and the owner are properly shocked. Yet, what is the owner playing at? He seems to know nothing of what's up, but he sends the ghosts a fresh victim on the same night of every year? Riviere keeps checking his anachronistic pocket watch to see how much painful time has passed. I felt his pain. Castle of Tedium.Want to see a good, scary movie without a cascade of gore? Watch "Dead of Night." Want to see a good, scary, CHEAP movie? See "Carnival of Souls."

MartinHafer The DVD for "Danaza Macabra" (Castle of Blood) is very odd. That's because parts of the film are in French with subtitles and the rest is dubbed into English from the French. Sometimes, characters switched between the two in the middle of a scene! When I tried to get the film to be JUST subtitled or just dubbed, it made no difference! Odd, but still watchable.The story purports to be based on a Poe story, though I can't recall which one. In fact, the character of Poe appears in the beginning and end of the film--though it didn't look especially like him.A rich man makes a bet with a guy down on his luck that he cannot stay the entire night in a manner home. It seems like an easy bet to win--even if the house is very creepy. However, it can't be that easy, as the rich guy says that all those who previously took the bet died--yet this fool STILL wants to make the wager! While in the home, he meets lovely Barbara Steele within and falls madly for her. Later, however, he learns that she died more than a decade earlier! How can this be?! I could tell you more about the plot but don't want to spoil any of the suspense. See it for yourself to find out the rest of the story.This film gets very high marks for creating a creepy atmosphere. The house, black & white cinematography and music work together to make for a scary looking film. As for the plot, it's interesting--especially because there are many twists and turns--so many that you are wondering just who is and who isn't among the undead by the end of the film.The only negative is that I felt sorry for the poor snake that was needlessly killed. Crazy as it might sound, I felt sorry for it and it hardly seemed necessary.Also, parents may want to know that towards the end there is a bit of nudity. A strikingly beautiful woman appears topless, but it's hardly necessary for the plot.

johnrtracy I've watched this movie a number of times, and found it to be very good. This movie is also known as "Castle Of Terror", "Coffin Of Terror", and "Dance Macabre". Barbara Steele, is her usual beautiful/creepy self. George Riviere, the male lead, does a good job with his role. The whole movie is dripping with atmosphere, and there is a good deal of tension throughout. The camera angles are good and the acting, for the most part, isn't bad. This film is quite suitable for a rainy day or evening. I have the DVD uncut version, which is far superior to the edited TV version. Grab some popcorn, turn out the lights, settle back and enjoy. John R. Tracy

rickkoobs I saw this film when I was 10 or 11 years old, alone in my parent's basement on a Saturday night. It was being shown on "Chiller Theatre," a regular fright feature that I watched religiously as a young 'un. Now, I have seen many old horror films thanks to Chiller Theatre, but none ever stuck with me like "Danse Macabre," a.k.a. "Castle of Blood." I am 51 now, and only last year was I fortunate enough to locate a relatively recent, quality DVD edition of this wonderfully shudder-inducing supernatural classic, having thought I'd never manage to see it again. I have already watched it four more times, and cannot seem to get tired of it.They just don't make spook films like this one anymore. Haunted catacombs and mist-enshrouded graveyards just don't work as well in color as they did in black and white back in the day. Anyway, this one has Edgar Allen Poe and Barbara Steele, deliciously shadowy, cobweb-wrap'ed haunted castle sets, restless spirits re-enacting their deaths... and a wickedly ironic ending.IMO, this one's right up there with Robert Wise's "The Haunting," "The Innocents" (with Deborah Kerr), and the more recent "The Others."