glowinthedarkscars So last night I watched THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVESTRENGTHS : Great title, movie poster, and the plot synopsis on IMDb are what hooked me. cinema photography is well done and the music is absolutely perfect. It begins with young beautiful women being seduced to a castle where the main protagonist has them undress and put on thigh high black boots before whipping them.. unfortunately from this point the plot takes a wrong turn into Scooby-doo town.WEAKNESSES: I know it is standard for 99% of Italian movies for this time period but the dubbing even when done well is still lacking. Dubbing is a sad substitute for true dialog spoken during a scene. It was even standard procedure to dub the native Italian spoken during film production. lame. The plot was seriously lifted straight from a Scooby-Doo cartoon.No good kills. a Scissor stab, Snake bite, and rock to head = boring.The story ruined it for me. 3 Stars ***- one for the eye candy, one for the music, and one for the cinema photography

soulexpress This Italian-made attempt at Gothic Horror takes place in England— except most of the characters have jet black hair and Mediterranean complexions, and they drive on the right side of the road.The plot: Alan Cunningham, a wealthy English lord, has just been released from an insane asylum. He had suffered a mental breakdown following the death of his red-haired wife, Evelyn, whom he feared was cheating on him. A free man, Alan scours the local bars and dives for lovely redheads willing to come back to his decaying castle in the country—where he seduces, tortures, and murders them.Alan eventually remarries. Not long after, he starts seeing visions of his dead wife, and his live-in relatives are turning up brutally (if creatively) murdered. One is bitten by what looks like an ordinary grass snake and is buried alive in a shallow grave. Another is bludgeoned to death and fed to a cage full of foxes. At least I think that's what happens, but who can tell through the poor lighting?About the only thing this film has going for it is the eye-catching (if misleading) title. It's rife with Gothic clichés: cobwebs, mist, creaking floorboards, and a nasty rainstorm, for example. The plot is byzantine and contains not one, but three, false endings. There are long stretches where nothing happens. The editing is choppy. Not one character is likable or sympathetic. Alan's wheelchair-bound aunt looks much younger than he is. Fans of gore won't appreciate the mildness of the murder scenes. There is, however, plenty of Italian cheesecake on hand.Speaking of which, a strong current of misogyny permeates the film. The women are all passive and subservient, from the maids to Alan's murder victims to his new wife. Finally, the ending feels like an afterthought. It leaves a gaping plot hole (or six) and lets a murderer go free.There is no reason to see this turgid, malevolent, muddled excuse for a thriller.

Woodyanders Crazed wealthy English lord Alan Cunningham (well played by Anthony Steffen) frequents swanky clubs for beautiful redheaded women to take back to his remote castle in order to satisfy his deviant sexual practices. Alan meets, falls for, and decides to immediately marry the lovely Gladys (a charming portrayal by the fetching Marina Malfatti), who he hopes will pacify his troubled mind. However, there are other forces at work to drive him insane. Director Emilio Miraglia does a bang-up job of creating and maintaining a genuinely creepy atmosphere while milking the twists and turns in the tricky plot for all they're worth. Moreover, the full-on warped perversity gives the picture an extra sizzling kinky charge and the marvelous abundance of gorgeous gals aren't the least bit abashed about baring their fine bodies. The ravishing Erika Blanc positively burns up the screen as sexy stripper Susie; her coffin nightclub act is a real doozy. The luscious Maria Teresa Tofano likewise makes a strong foxy impression as brash prostitute Polly. Despite all the depraved goings-on, director Miraglia somehow manages to add an element of posh elegance to the tawdry proceedings. Kudos are also in order for the sound acting by the capable cast, with especially stand-out work from Giacomo Rossi-Stuart as concerned family physician Dr. Richard Timberlane and Enzo Tarascio as Alan's obsequious playboy cousin George Harriman. Gastone Di Giovanni's widescreen cinematography gives the picture a cool stylish look. Bruno Nicolai's groovy throbbing score hits the swinging spot. A total sleazy treat.

matheusmarchetti The first of Emilio Miraglia's "Evelyn" films, "The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave" is one hell of a sexy, creepy and ultimately beautiful slice of Italian horror, that is considerably superior to it's much highly praised successor "The Red Queen Kills Seven Times".Just like "Queen...", this one combines elements of Gothic horror and gialli. As a Gothic horror, it is a very unique one, using the basic elements that made so many other genre films successful, but adding a a sensual, dreamy tone to the mix. The ethereal, ghostly images of Evelyn's ghost wandering half naked through castle grounds, accompanied by Bruno Nicolai's haunting soundtrack are a good example of this - bearing an entrancing, lyrical quality to them.That being said, the 'giallo' part of the story is the total opposite, being sleazy, predictable and often unintentionally funny. Miraglia doesn't seem to know which direction to take, and at the end it seems like two distinct pictures randomly put together, and wrapped up with one of the silliest endings to an Italian horror ever, up there with that of Dario Argento's "Opera". Aside from that, the mediocre acting doesn't help overcoming it's flaws. Though Anthony Steffen does his best in his extremely demanding role, Marina Malfatti doesn't make for a very interesting protagonist, and would rather stick to supporting roles, which is what she does best. Though there is a huge gap of quality between the first two acts and the final one, the film has several redeeming qualities. Miraglia manages to keep the viewer interested throughout, with lots of suspense and, as mentioned above, visual flourishes galore. It is interesting to note how both Miraglia's films suffer from the same issues in scriptwriting, and one could only wish these two would live up to the potential they had. While they can be considered obscure gems of spaghetti-horror, they could and should've been classics. This one manages to be the best of the two though, if only because of it's unique, hypnotic style and some unforgettable set pieces. Overall, 7/10