Castle of Blood

Castle of Blood Italian Danza Macabra is a 1964 ItalianFrench horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and Sergio Corbucci. The film stars Barbara Steele and Georges Rivire. The film was initially commissioned to director Sergio Corbucci who had Gianni Grimaldi and Bruno Corbucci set to write the film. A scheduling conflict led to Corbuccis friend Margheriti to complete the film. To complete the film without going overtime, Corbucci was brought in to film one scene.

A journalist challenges the authenticity of Edgar Allan Poes stories which are presented in the context of the film as Poes eyewitness accounts of the supernatural, not as literary fiction. To prove himself, Poe accepts a bet from Lord Blackwood to spend the night in a haunted castle on All Souls Eve. Ghosts of the murdered inhabitants appear to him throughout the night, reenacting the events that lead to their deaths. On of the ghosts reveals that they all need his blood in order to maintain their existence. Barbara Steele plays a ghost who attempts to help the journalist escape.The idea for Castle of Blood came to Sergio Corbucci when producer Giovanni Addessi commissioned him to create a film that would reuse the Medieval sets from Corbuccis comedy film The Monk of Monza. Corbucci had his brother Bruno Corbucci and screenwriter Gianni Grimaldi to write the script. The script is credited to a short story by Edgar Allan Poe in the films credits, but the film is not based on any specific Poe work. According to Ruggero Deodato, who was the assistant director on set, he persuaded actress Barbara Steele to star in the film. Deodato continued that Steele had just donefor director Frederico Fellini, and wanted to distance herself from horror films. When filming was about to begin, Sergio Corbucci found his schedule conflicting and called upon his friend Antonio Margheriti to direct the film. ........

Source: Wikipedia