The Bloody Pit #26 - CASTLE OF BLOOD and WEB OF THE SPIDER

After a short delay John Hudson and I finally sit down to discuss two of director Antonio Margheriti's scary films. This time out we delve into his Gothic Horror output with the Barbara Steele featuring CASTLE OF BLOOD (1964) and Margheriti's remake of that film WEB OF THE SPIDER (1971). Yes, you read that correctly - much like about a dozen other filmmakers Margheriti remade his own film and in this case seems to have used the same script. And the same score too! But since the score is by Riz Ortolani that might have been a mark of brilliance instead of a cost cutting move. To add to the differences, the first film was made  in glorious, shadow-filled black & white while the remake was filmed in color. Does this end up making or breaking the story?

As you might expect when discussing two separate but very similar films we speak about the points of departure the later film makes from the first incarnation while trying to determine which is a better version of this ghostly tale. There is much to discuss when comparing the legendary Barbara Steele to the lady that took on her role seven years later. It turns out that French actress Michèle Mercier had quite an interesting career and serving as a replacement for a horror icon might have been a step down for her.

If you have any comments of suggestions for future podcasts you can drop us an email at thebloodypit@gmail.com and we'll take your thoughts under advisement. Mr. Hudson and I will be continuing our trip through Margheriti-ville soon by dipping into his westerns so we hope you'll come back for that. Thank you so much for downloading and listening.