Coventry It felt GREAT to finally watch another good old-fashioned and stylish Italian Gothic tale from the golden sixties, particularly one that is starring everyone's favorite and utmost beautiful horror muse Barbara Steele! Being a tremendous fan of the sub genre, the era, the country and of course the actress, I've seen all the obvious classics (like "Black Sunday", "She-Beast", "Castle of Blood", "The Long Hair of Death") many years ago already, but "An Angel for Satan" has always been the most difficult one to track down. I can't really explain why, but somehow this title was more obscure than Steele's other cult classics. This certainly cannot have anything to do with the quality level, though! Admittedly I might be slightly biased, and I have watched a lot of miserable crap lately, but "An Angel for Satan" is a genuine horror experience that has it all: an intriguing plot, a macabre atmosphere from start to finish, sinister set-pieces and music, breath-taking women and moody cinematography. Antony Steffen ("Django the Bastard") depicts a sculptor named Roberto Merigi who arrives in a small lakeside village somewhere late in the 19th century. He got hired by the wealthy Count Montebruno in order to restore a nearly 200-year-old statue that was recovered from within the lake. Roberto immediately experiences the hostility of the superstitious villagers, as they strongly believe that the statue is cursed and will bring death & mayhem upon the community. Montebruno's daughter Harriet also arrives in town, and she bears a striking resemblance with the statue. She is the descendant of a ravishing 17th century Countess Belinda, and Harriet clearly inherited the family's good looks, for whom the statue initially was made. The countess and her lover were killed by a jealous sister who later drowned in the lake with the statue during a storm. Inevitably, the curse soon turns to be frightfully real and mysterious things occur in the little town. Harriet alternately is her lovely self, but also possessed by the heinous spirit of Belinda. As Belinda she sows unrest and mayhem in town, which quickly leads to much worse. "An Angel for Satan" is a fantastic film with a few excellent and surprising plot twists, including the denouement, but also stylishly shot footage. The film is in masterful black and white, with ominous music and sound effects, and the performances are all stellar. **Spoiler** The most morbid and unnerving scene was undoubtedly the discovery of the poor teacher's body hanging from the ceiling. How badly can you drive someone over the edge that he commits suicide in the one place where he knows he'll be discovered by the innocent children he cared so much about?

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.