AllMovie

Standing alongside Dellamorte, Dellamore as one of the finest Italian fantasy films of the 1990s, veteran director Pupi Avati weaves this dark tale of religious paranoia and black magic that succeeds as much in maintaining its seductively gothic atmosphere as it does in providing a solid mystery and supernatural chills. With the suffocating isolation of the titular character's cavernous dwelling serving as a stark contrast to the inviting lush countryside that exists just outside its gates, Avati creates a repressive atmosphere that becomes increasingly menacing as the viewer learns of the evil practices of his recently deceased servant though the investigations of his replacement. As the powerful exiled priest and his new assistant learn that the former assistant may have found the means to transcend death, supernatural elements come to the forefront of the film in a series of chillingly effective but restrained sequences that prove that less can be far more tantalizing and frightful. One is never quite sure who will emerge from the darkness of the castle's corridors, and Avati fills the decaying abode with foreboding aural and visual specters that leave an unsettling aftertaste long after they dissolve into the blackness. Spiraling steadfast into darkness both literally and figuratively, the pacing reveals a series of deceptions and dark secrets that convincingly place the curious new assistant in danger of being lost to forces well beyond his control. Avati utilizes the same aura of dread that made such previous efforts as The House With the Windows That Laugh and Zeder so effective as the viewer is drawn slowly but surely into a mystery that places one's very soul at stake.