ferbs54 Although cult actress Barbara Steele appeared in 14 frightening films during the course of her career, the nine Italian Gothic-style pictures that she starred in during the early to mid-'60s are the ones primarily responsible for her current title: the Queen of Horror. Starting with the Mario Bava wonder "Black Sunday" in 1960, and then on to "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock," its sequel "The Ghost," "Castle of Blood," "The Long Hair of Death," "Terror Creatures From the Grave," "Nightmare Castle," "She Beast" and finally "An Angel for Satan" in 1966, Steele's streak of grisly horror films is one that no actress had enjoyed before...or has surpassed since. The last of those nine, "An Angel for Satan," is apparently the true rarity of the bunch, never having been released in any form for home viewing except in its original Italian...and without subtitles. Fortunately, for Barbara's legion of fans worldwide, the outfit known as Midnight Choir has recently released the film in a gorgeous print, with very adequate subtitling, AND paired with the 1964 film "The Long Hair of Death" (poorly dubbed) on the same DVD, for one superbly well-matched double feature. A look at "Angel" will quickly reveal what a wonderful actress Steele had become by the end of this streak, and how deserving the picture was itself for its rescue from relative oblivion.In the film, a handsome sculptor named Roberto Merigi (solidly portrayed by Anthony Steffen) arrives in the town of Montebruno (in the northern Italian lakes region, I am guessing), in an indeterminate time period (late 1800s?). He has been commissioned by the local Count (Claudio Gora) to restore a statue that had recently been discovered in the town's lake; strangely enough, the statue is the exact image of the Count's beautiful young ward, Harriet (played by our Babs), whose ancestor, Madelina, had posed for the statue some 200 years before. Back then, Madelina's plain-Jane cousin, Belinda, in a jealous rage, had cursed the statue and then been killed by it when the statue toppled into the lake. And now, as Merigi labors to repair the long-lost piece, sweet Harriet seemingly becomes influenced by the spirit of the lustful, hate-filled Belinda! Demon possessed, she soon drives the village idiot to commit rape and murder, wrecks her maid's romance with the local schoolteacher, destroys the marriage of a father of five, drives a man to suicide and sexually seduces that same maid! No wonder the village is soon referring to Harriet as "la strega"...the witch!As in several other of these Italian Gothic affairs, here, Steele plays what are essentially two discrete roles, and she is just terrific in both of them. The moments of Belinda possession come on quite suddenly, and Barbara manages the transformations with great finesse indeed. How effectively she conveys the lust and hatred of Belinda! The cunning subterfuges that she concocts to destroy the love and happiness of those around her are truly the products of a wicked mind, and Barbara, pro that she had become by this point, conveys that wickedness with seeming ease. As in all her horror films, Steele steals every scene that she appears in, and is surely the film's main selling point. But "An Angel for Satan" boasts several other winning features. It has been directed with panache by Camillo Mastrocinque, displays some top-notch production values (particularly those lavishly appointed chambers in the Count's villa), and features a lovely score by Francesco De Masi that alternates with music of a decidedly eerier character. The picture gives us several startling/horrific moments--including the schoolchildren's discovery of a hanging man, as well as the pitchfork death of an ax-wielding maniac--and one truly bravura, creepy sequence; the one in which the spirit of Belinda speaks to Roberto during a raging thunderstorm, while her face on a painted portrait moves and twitches ever so subtly. "An Angel for Satan" would actually be a perfect horror film, I feel, if it weren't for its final segment, which features a double-twist ending that negates much of the film's supernatural aura for one of completely unconvincing mundanity; truly, an aberration in Babs' Gothic canon. Still, the film remains eminently respectable, watchable and fun, and of course a must for all Barbara Steele completists. Despite her modern-day disavowal of the title, a film like this (and its eight predecessors, of course) serves as proof positive that Barbara Steele truly IS "the Queen of Horror"....

Woodyanders The late 19th century. Skeptical and pragmatic sculptor Robert (superbly played by Anthony Steffen) arrives in a small country village to restore an ancient statue to its former glory. Roberto falls for naive and innocent heiress Harriet (a first-rate performance by the ravishing Barbara Steele), whose evil ancestor Belinda was the original model for the statue. As the statue nears completion, Harriet becomes more like the cunning, devious, manipulative and flat-out no-good Belinda. Is Harriet possessed by Belinda's vengeful and malevolent spirit? Or is there something else going on? Director Camillo Mastrocinque, who also co-wrote the clever and compelling script with Giuseppe Mangoine, relates the complex and engrossing story at a steady pace, does a fine job of creating and sustaining a spooky brooding atmosphere throughout, and delivers a potent and vivid evocation of the remote rural region and the fearful superstitious people who populate the area. Steele excels in her tasty dual role; she brings a charming grace to Harriet and portrays the devilishly enticing Belinda with splendidly nasty relish. The supporting cast likewise contribute sound work: Claudio Gora as the wise, kindly Count Montebruno, Ursula Davis as sweet, fetching maid Rita, Marina Berti as poised governess Illa, Aldo Berti as friendly school teacher Dario, and Mario Brega as brutish, ill-tempered local strongman Carlo. The surprise twist ending is genuinely startling. Giuseppe Aquari's striking black and white cinematography and Francesco De Masi's elegant score give this movie extra class. Well worth seeing.

The_Void An Angel for Satan is the rarest, and therefore hardest to find of all the Gothic horror films that Barbara Steele made in the sixties; but hunting it down was certainly worth the time and effort as this film is right up there with Danse Macabre and Black Sunday as one of the best films that the horror icon made! Director Camillo Mastrocinque had worked in the Gothic horror genre previously with the somewhat less than brilliant effort Terror in the Crypt in 1964; but it would appear he'd done some homework on the genre since then as this film is much better. The story focuses on a little Italian village. A statue belonging to a rich family has been recovered from the local lake after a heat wave, and Roberto Merigi has been called in to restore it; which coincides with the return of Harriet Montebruno; the daughter of the statue's owner. There is a story of a curse surrounding the statue, and the locals believe that the village itself will become cursed if it is ever recovered from the lake. Strange things then start happening in the village.The key thing for this genre, and indeed the best thing about this film, is atmosphere. Director Camillo Mastrocinque succeeds admirably in bathing the film in a thick and foreboding atmosphere; which is helped by a great score from Francesco De Masi. The plot is spread rather thinly and the film puts its main focus on the central characters, which works well. Barbara Steele is, of course, the star of the show and aside from looking better than ever, also provides the film with its main story lines. Starring alongside Steele is the great Anthony Steffen, who provides a strong male lead. The film is basically a mystery thriller with horror elements tied in; the horror of course coming mostly from the atmosphere and direction. The plot does flow well and the film is always interesting, though my only real criticism of the film comes from the fact that more isn't made of the curse. There's a gorgeous sequence explaining how it came about, but that's the only real mention and it's a bit of a shame. Otherwise, however, An Angel for Satan is an exceptional Gothic horror film and comes highly recommended to anyone that enjoys films like this!

Musidora-4 Very glad to see this after so many years just reading about it. Was still operating under the impression that it was only available without subtitles, but seeing that Netflix was offering it, I added it to my queue and was very happy to find that it arrived with English subtitles.It's beautiful, evocative, violent, and puzzling with Steele cutting quite the figure of death and destruction as Harriet fresh out of England to claim her inheritance somewhere on the Continent. For a film that I thought was going to be wearisome and talky considering its first 15 minutes or so of weary talk, it definitely found its stride and delivered on its promise once Steele's machinations--or Belinda's or...?--unfolded. A great end of the week, Friday night flick and now one of my top three favorite Steele films.