The Whip and the Body
Nobleman Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) returns to his family castle to congratulate his brother Christian (Tony Kendall) on his marriage to Kurt's former lover Nevenka (Daliah Lavi). His return is not exactly greeted with open arms by his father the Count (Gustavo De Nardo), Nevenka, the servant Giorgia (Harriet Medin) who blames him for the death of her daughter or even his cousin Katie (Ida Galli). Tension reigns in the household.
Kurt proves to be a rather sadistic fellow who seems to enjoy torturing the people around him. At one
point, Nevenka over hears her husband and his cousin discussing their love for one another. Horrified, she escapes the castle for some private time by the sea, riding her horse. As she sits on the shore, contemplating her life choices, Kurt finds her, he takes her whip from her and strikes her with it - as though they have played this particular game before. She reacts favorably to his actions and they make love on the beach.
Later, when Nevenka is miss, and everyone is searching for her, Kurt is stabbed and killed by the same knife that killed Giorgia's daughter. Tension grows as the household suspects one another of being Kurt's killer, while Nevenka is haunted by the ghost of Kurt. When the Count is also found dead, also by the dagger, there can be no doubt of a killer in their midst. But is Kurt actually dead is the question.
I ran across this Italian film on Shudder. I'd never heard of it, but knowing Christopher Lee was in it was good enough for me. It was in Italian, with English subtitles. I could never tell if That was Christopher Lee's voice or not since he didn't have the usual depth of voice one associates with the actor. On the other hand, he was of Italian heritage, so it's not impossible.
This is a bit of a departure for Lee, being a Gothic type horror film without a vampire in sight. Seeing him kiss a woman without biting her neck is also different. But all kidding aside, this is like a soap opera horror story set in an isolated Italian castle by the sea. The plot was sometimes difficult to fathom but once I sorted it out in my head, it wasn't too hard to follow. It does have atmosphere, and appropriately angsty music, but it was made in 1963, so the pacing feels a little dated.
I wish the filmmaker had given us better insight as to the nature of the relationship between Kurt and the others, or why he was gone to begin with. So much bad blood, and probably not all justified. It was interesting to watch Lee, in particular, but I don't think I would watch this again. That being said, I'll give this film 2.5 Stars.
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