Night of the Devils (1972)

Night of the Devils (1972) (La Notte dei Diavoli) is a lurid modern reworking of Leo Tolstoy's Gothic vampire novella The Wurdalak. Gianni Garko, who appeared in the highly enjoyable cult Sartana spaghetti western, plays a distraught soul who wanders around the countryside bruised and bloodied. After collapsing from exhaustion, he wakes up in a mental institution. He suffers horrific visions depicting naked women and surreal gore from special effects genius Carlo Rambaldi.

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As his mind returns, in flashback, we realise that his ordeal began when his car broke down nowhere in Italy. Seeking help, he goes to a decrepit house in the woods. This house is occupied by a very eccentric and superstitious family under a curse. The family head advises our hero to stay the night as all kinds of dangerous animals are in the woods. He also informs him that his car will be fixed in the morning. Once inside the house, he eats with his hosts and realises that something's missing when he notices all the windows have wooden shutters. He hears someone knocking on the front door, but the family patriarch tells him it's only the wind!

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The next day, the family head, armed with what appears to be a significant wooden stake, tells his relatives that he's off to lift the family curse once and for all. But his son tells him he won't be allowed back inside the house if he returns after 6 p.m. Grandfather returns to his home with a bloody trophy to boot, but is it really Grandfather?

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The Wurdalak was also part of Mario Bava's horror anthology Black Sabbath. The original was full of sinister atmosphere, and so is this one. The film throws some heavy gore at you within the first five minutes. The next fifty-five minutes are a bit of a slow burner, but the last half an hour delivers the goods. Creepy, moonlit, giggling vampire children! Eek! And the twist ending is fantastic. I also love the dreamy score, which is absolutely gorgeous. This is an unusual and obscure Euro horror that is worth tracking down.