Michael_Elliott Terror-Creatures from the Grave (1965) ** (out of 4)An attorney is called to an estate where a father wants to go over his will. Once at the estate the man is told that the father died a year earlier. The wife (Barbara Steele) and daughter (Mirella Maravidi) have no idea who would have sent the letter but they both know that the man always tried to contact the dead. Soon the wife, daughter and attorney are being stalked by something.TERROR-CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE starts off wonderfully well and it ends wonderful well. If we were to just judge the start and ending of the picture then this would be an Italian masterpiece but sadly the hour in between is quite bland and boring, which sadly keeps this film from being much better. Obviously this film still has a lot going for it but when it ends you can't help but feel disappointed that the film didn't deliver more.As I said, the beginning is quite effective as we're introduced to the three lead characters and there's all sorts of atmosphere created by director Massimo Pupillo. He perfectly builds up the mystery of the story and everything is good. Sadly the middle just becomes one boring melodramatic scene after another as the wife and daughter (her stepdaughter) argue and the attorney tries to find out more about what's going on. Thankfully the horror elements are pumped up towards the end as the atmosphere comes back as well as some (for the time) gory effects.Maravidi steals the film as the daughter who is terrified that her father has returned from the grave. The always dependable Steele is also very good here as is Walter Brandi as the attorney. The supporting players are all fine as well. The film does contain some nice cinematography and an effective music score but one just wishes the middle had more going for it.

Rainey Dawn When an attorney arrives at a very old manor home of the recently deceased owner, he learns the history of the place: The deceased owner was someone who could summon ancient souls from their graves - they were victims of the plague. The attorney stays to learn more and the occupants of the home will die one by one in a gruesome manner.Barbara Steele is good in the film. The film is worth watching if you like the "spooky old manor home" type of films, Gothic movies and zombies and/or vampires. It's not the best "spooky old manor home" film but it's not the worst - it's a fairly good and entertaining film.This movie would be good to make into a double feature with Nightmare Castle (1965) starring Barbra Steele or even The Old Dark House (1932) with Boris Karloff.7/10

Red-Barracuda Medieval plague victims return from the dead to terrorise a group of people who were enemies of a dead man with expertise in the occult.This is another in the cycle of Italian Gothic horror films that were especially popular in the 60's. It stars the queen of Italian horror from this period, Barbara Steele. She was hardly a scream queen however. She was rarely the one doing the screaming, she was usually the aggressor. In this movie she again is no victim and like always she provides some real class to proceedings. The story itself is fairly standard stuff, with nothing out of the ordinary. It's really pretty decent stuff though if you have an appreciation for horror films with a Gothic atmosphere. There are plenty of well used locations and the mood is effective enough. I enjoyed it and recommend it to fans of Italian Gothic.

Witchfinder General 666 When an Italian Gothic Horror film from the 60s stars Barbara Steele, this is more or less the recipe for cinematic perfection, at least in the mind of yours truly. The wonderful Miss Steele, doubtlessly the most iconic Horror actress ever, is best known for her fantastic roles in some of the most fascinating Italian Horror films, including Mario Bava's masterpiece LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO ("Black Sunday"/"The Mask of Satan", 1960), Antonio Margheriti's masterpiece DANZA MACABRA ("Castle of Blood", 1964) and I LUNGHI CAPELLI DELLA MORTE ("The Long Hair of Death", 1964), Mario Caiano's AMANTI D'OLTRETOMBA ("Nightmare Castle", 1965), Camillo Mastrocinque's UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1964), and Riccardo Freda's L'ORRIBILE DR. HICHCOCK and LO SPETTRO. Outside Italy, she starred in another one of the all-time greatest Gothic Horror films, Roger Corman's PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), alongside fellow Horror legend Vincent Price. While Massimo Pupillo's 5 TOMBE PER UN MEDIUM aka. TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (1965) is not among the most memorable Italian Horror films starring Steele, it is nonetheless an entertaining and creepy little flick that my fellow Eurohorror buffs should enjoy.In 1911, the attorney Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi) arrives at a Gothic castle in order to settle the will of the owner, Jeronimus Hauff. Hauff died one year earlier, but insisted in being interred for a year, before being re-buried. The castle is now inhabited by Hauff's daughter Corinne (Mirella Marvadi) his second wife, Corinne's step-mother Cleo (Barbara Steele), and the caretaker Kurt (Luciano Pigozzi). The rest of the personnel leaves the castle by night, since it is said to be haunted. In the 15th century, the Hauff castle had been the scene of the grisly execution of several man accused of deliberately spreading the plague out of pure malice. At the attorney's arrival, the village near the castle is struck by a series of mysterious and violent deaths...As almost all Italian Gothic Horror films, this one is elegantly filmed and supported by a moody score. For 1965 standards, the film includes several moments of rather explicit gore. The death scenes are great and there are some awesome macabre set-pieces such as a glass showcase displaying severed hands. While there is no explicit sleaze or nudity, the film delivers some mild erotic scenes, such as Barbara Steele taking a bath. The settings are nice, and the film maintains an eerie atmosphere from the start. The storyline is not too coherent, and, sadly, Barbara Steele's screen-time is very limited. Apart from Barbara Steele, the most well-known face in the film is Italian cult regular Luciano Pigozzi, who is known for his resemblance to Peter Lorre, and who was part of countless Italian genre flicks from the 60s to the 80s.Overall, 5 TOMBE PER UN MEDIUM is not one of the highlights in Barbara Steele's Italian Horror filmography; however, this has to be seen in the context that the film is in excellent company. Italian Gothic Horror films with Barabara Steele are generally as atmospheric and great as Horror cinema gets, and even this lesser one is a highly entertaining film that Cult lovers should not miss. Barbara Steele, we worship thee!