The Whip and the Body (1963)

Original title

La frusta e il corpo

Directed by

Ernesto Gastaldi, Mario Bava

Genre

drama film, horror film, mystery film, melodrama, supernatural horror film, gothic horror film

Country

France, Italy

Runtime

1h 25m

Rated

12

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 159 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A man returns to his family castle after a scandal involving a servant's suicide. He tries to win back his former fiancée who married his brother, but soon turns up dead. The locals believe his ghost has come back for revenge.

gothictenseatmosphericmelancholichauntingeroticmoodysupernatural

What happens

The Whip and the Body (Italian: La frusta e il corpo) is a 1963 gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava under the alias "John M. Old". The film is about Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) who is ostracized by his father for his relationship with a servant girl and her eventual suicide. He later returns to reclaim his title and his former fiancée Nevenka (Daliah Lavi) who is now his brother's wife. Menliff is later found murdered, but the locals believe his ghost has returned to haunt the castle for revenge. Italian censors removed the film from cinemas due to its sadomasochistic themes. The international cut features some significant changes, and runs for 77 minutes. It was released theatrically as What! and Night Is the Phantom in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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