Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Cunninghamolga This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

echanove Catalonian director Jorge Grau made in Spain in the 60s films as nice as "Una historia de amor", or as interesting as "El Espontáneo". In the 70s he also reached commercial success with the not negligible "La Trastienda". Always with a very personal style, most of the times very elegant too, as it can be seen at the end of his career in movies so underrated as "El Extranjero de la Calle Cruz del Sur" or "Tiempos Mejores".In the seventies he also made in joint production with other countries some horror films, like the funny and disturbing "No profanes el sueño de los muertos" or this cult and historical approach to the vampires myth. Both films are probably which he is probably best known internationally. The trouble with "Ceremonia Sangrienta" is that in my opinion it lacks of the gracefulness in the stage of other of his films, it hasn't those polish camera movements, and it is plenty of zoom movements and closeups.May be someone can say that help the story creating a creepy atmosphere but it is not only a formal matter. In my opinion there are also in the script some aspects not enough developed, like the relation between the marquis and his wife. In that sense, the character of Lucía Bose is far more plenty of information for the spectator than Espartano Santoni's which is not completely clear about his feelings and willings.Anyway, the film has creepy moments and probably is a " must see" for horror (and blood) lovers, specially if you like some kind of 'soft gore' with a certain doses of morbid sex. One odd thing is that you don't know if the marquis is a vampire or not. And the ambiguous final has some impact too.

Leroy Gomm Here the infamous Elizabeth Bathory is aided by her husband Karl in acquiring virginal blood to help preserve her youth and beauty. Karl fakes his own death and masquerades as a vampire to fool the ignorant and superstitious villagers about who is real blood fiend is. There is an odd and uneasy alliance between Elizabeth and Karl, because Karl doesn't love Elizabeth, but rather it's his own sadistic indifference towards the mob which fuels his cruel abductions. Mean spirited and bleak, Grau's film treads the same Gothic landscape as Witchfinder General and Mark of the Devil, where the downtrodden are at the whim of the wealthy and powerful, preying on their fears and superstitions. Gothic horror fans will delight to the attention of realism and detail and perhaps it's total lack of camp, however this comes at a price as so much of it takes a serious approach that the shocking scenes happen matter of factually. It is paced rather slow, dreadfully so for modern viewers I might imagine.

Lee Eisenberg Jorge Grau's "Ceremonia sangrienta" (called "The Legend of Blood Castle" in English) is one of many movies telling the story of sixteenth century Hungarian countess Erzsebet Bathory, who reportedly bathed in the blood of young virgins so as to maintain her youth and beauty. This one has less nudity than I've come to expect in Euro-horror flicks; I think that they wanted to focus on the plot more than anything, and they did a worthwhile job. The nude scenes, so to speak, are the scenes where she lets the blood run all over her body.The only other Erzsebet Bathory movie that I've seen is "Countess Dracula", which I thought was worth seeing (although it was more of an excuse to show off Ingrid Pitt). This one stars Lucia Bose, Espartaco Santoni and Ewa Aulin. Aulin is best known as the title character in Christian Marquand's 1968 psychedelia-fest "Candy". She starred in a cinematic acid trip and in a movie about a sicko countess. Whoa...Anyway, worth seeing. You may find it under a different title, as often happens with Euro-horror flicks.

HumanoidOfFlesh The aging Countess Erzebet Bathory discovers that the blood of a young maid can temporarily restore her youth and magnificent beauty.She becomes a female predator and is compelled to kill again and again to maintain her attractiveness and prevent the secret getting out.I must say that I enjoyed Jorge Grau's "Ceremonia Sangrienta" more than Peter Sasdy's "Countess Dracula".This chilling Spanish horror film is much more grimmer and disturbing.The violence and gore is kept to minimum,but the atmosphere of dread and unease is well-developed.The acting is splendid and the climax is especially memorable.The Spanish DVD of "Ceremonia Sangrienta" runs 85 minutes and is heavily cut,however the picture quality is pretty remarkable.