By Lee Pfeiffer
Nightmare Castle, released on DVD by Severin Films, is an Italian horror film from 1965 that has achieved a following largely on the basis of its star, original scream queen Barbara Steele. The story is a period piece set in the late 1800s with Steele playing a dual role. As the film opens, we find her as the unfaithful wife of an aristocratic doctor (Paul Muller) who has a penchant for dabbling in bizarre medical experiments. (A note of caution to readers: if you are contemplating having an illicit affair, it's best to reconsider if your spouse is quasi-mad scientist.) When the husband catches on to having been made a cuckold, he tortures his wife and her lover to death - only to find the mansion they inhabited has been inherited by his sister-in-law (also played by Steele). In short order, he woos and marries his wife's sister, who conveniently happens to have been recently released by a mental asylum after suffering from delusions. This sets up an antique version of
Gaslight with Muller and Helga Line, who plays
his mistress, trying to drive Steele insane so they can inherit the mansion.