An Angel for Satan (Un Angelo per Satana, 1966)

US Severin 2021 Blu-ray edition - Region A


 



This film could have been titled The Legend of the Lake perhaps and is a very fine and atmospheric Crime-Horror, and towards the end almost
a Gothic Giallo where an old statue of a beautiful woman supposedly is causing a spree of death and evil. With crisp cinematography in black
and white by Giuseppe Aquari and with Barbara Steele, in her last italian film, giving a magnificent performance, maybe even her best.

The film takes place sometime in the 19th century and we have a village and a big mansion or a castle situated at a big lake. A Sculptor, Roberto
Merigi (Anthony Steffen) arrives by boat and he has been hired by the Count Montebruno (Claudio Gora) to restore an old statue fished up
from the lake. The 200 year old statue of a Countess Montebruno, and The Legend of the Lake says that the statue will cause death and misery
to all villagers, and the two boatmen who found the statue is soon found dead. The locals are very superstitious and don't want any outside
strangers to give them bad luck, so Merigi is met by hostility by the villagers, with the exception of the teacher David Morelli (Vassili Karis).

Then the mistress of the castle arrives from England, Countess Harriet Montebruno (Barbara Steele) the Count's niece, and he has taken
care of her as if he was her parent. Merigi is immediately attracted to Harriet and he wants her to pose for him, so he can restore the statue
properly. An ancestor to Harriet 200 years ago, the Countess Belinda Montebruno wanted her great looks to be preserved for eternity, in
marble and the statue looks just like Harriet.

But Harriet starts to change, possessed by the statue evil things from 200 year ago will be repeated, and Harriet starts doing evil things.
She whips the village idiot and seduces a village peasant (Mario Brega) which makes him burn his family to death. The villagers call her
a witch and crave that the wretched statue is thrown back into the lake. She also seduces her maid, Rita (Ursula Davis) and makes her dump
her boyfriend Dario. Harriet seems to be schizophrenic, sometimes she's sweet Harriet and sometimes evil Belinda. Twist ending a-coming.

Widescreen ratio not stated on the cover, with english or italian audio with english subtitles, REGION A.
Extras: Two separate audio commentaries 1. with Barbara Steele (!), David Gregory of Severin and David Del Valle, 2. with Kat Ellinger (i
always like her commentaries, Go Kat!), The Devil Statue: Interview with actor Vassili Karis (or Karamesinis) 18 minutes in italian with subs,
1967 Short film: Barbara and her Furs (9 minutes in french with english subtitles) art film directed by Ado Kyrou with commentary by
Barbara Steele, Trailer and extended Trailer

Barbara Steele - The Queen of Gothic Horror had a strange knack of being both beautiful and disturbing at the same time, depending on
which angle the camera shoots her from. She had an extraordinary face and she's magnificent as Evil Harriet in this film. A great film it is.

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Above picture: The old US Midnight Choir - Ryko DVD edition, with two films: 1. Un Angelo per Satana (An Angel for Satan) 1966 and
2. The Long Hair of Death (I Lunghi capelli della morte) 1964 Directioni: Antonio Margheriti (under alias Anthony Dawson)

When the first film, An Angel for Satan, had a fine anamorphic widescreen with a crisp picture, the second one was an old crappy transfer.
The Long Hair of Death - is an atmospheric gothic horror by Margheriti. At the end of the 15th century a woman is executed falsely
accused of murder, and her daughter Helen (Barbara Steele) also dies, but not without passing a curse upon the Count Humboldt and his
family. Helen's little sister grows up in the Humboldt castle and then she marries with Curt Humboldt (George Ardisson). Then the plague
hits and Harriet decides to return from the dead. Film in widescreen, black & white, english audio

 

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