COLLECTION UPDATE: AN ANGEL FOR SATAN (1966) FROM SEVERIN FILMS

 

Just in time for Halloween, this excellent package has arrived from Severin Films, bringing glad tidings to Barbara Steele fans everywhere. Miss Steele's final Italian Gothic film, AN ANGEL FOR SATAN aka UN ANGELO PER SATANA, has been beautifully remastered for Blu-ray and released with several worthy extra features. For many years, this has been one of the most obscure titles in the Steele filmography. I remember purchasing a VHS copy years ago from Sinister Cinema, probably the first home video outlet that was offering it in the US. Unfortunately, their copy was in Italian with no English subtitles, and the visual quality was less than perfect. In more recent years, there was a version available that did have subtitles and was much more watchable. Finally, this excellent film has been given the attention and treatment it deserves. 

The movie was directed by the prolific Camillo Mastrocinque, who is also known to horror fans for his previous venture into the Gothic horror genre, CRYPT OF THE VAMPIRE (1964), starring Christopher Lee. While AN ANGEL FOR SATAN will be classified by most fans and critics as a horror film, I would call it a Gothic mystery, or Gothic melodrama. The story involves an ancient family curse that is connected to a statue that has been lost at the bottom of a lake for two hundred years. When the statue is found and restored, the curse appears to have an evil effect on a beautiful young woman (Steele), who causes so much death and misery that she is accused of being a witch. The details of the story give Steele one of her very best roles. She is able to show the full range of human emotions as a woman with a dual personality. She is at once a pure innocent and an unashamed seductress. Sound familiar? It should. Many of Steele's Gothic films have cast her as a woman with a dual nature. But this film really gives her a chance to express herself in a more animated manner. Her performance pushes the envelope of eroticism quite a bit. Naturally, the camera is enthralled with her unusual beauty, as in all of her films. Many Steele freaks have said that NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1966) is the ultimate celebration of unabashed Steele worship. But I would say this film may even top NIGHTMARE CASTLE in that regard.

The movie is in glorious black & white, and presented in widescreen. There is an Italian language version with English subtitles, and a recently discovered English dubbed version. Two audio commentaries are included. One has Barbara Steele herself, along with film historian David Del Valle and David Gregory, the owner of Severin Films. This commentary is both entertaining and informative. It's always a treat to listen to La Steele. She and Del Valle are close friends and have done commentaries together before. Miss Steele, at times, seems reluctant to engage in detailed discussions about her films, perhaps because she can't remember that much about them. Del Valle knows the right questions to ask that encourage her to get more involved in the discussion at hand.

The other commentary features author and film historian Kat Ellinger. She provides a wealth of information and insight concerning the Italian Gothic genre. And she is also a huge fan of Barbara Steele, which makes her discussion very enjoyable. 

Other extra features include The Devil Statue: An Interview With Actor Vassili Karis, who claims not to remember much about Miss Steele. (Oh, come on now!!) There are also two Italian trailers for the film. The most fascinating extra feature is a nine minute segment originally shown on an episode of the French variety program Dim Dam Dom in 1967. The black & white film is entitled Barbara and Her Furs, and is suggested by the novel Venus In Furs, written by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, with Barbara stepping in as Venus. This enjoyable little curiosity is mainly a fashion show, with Barbara and three other models shown wearing different varieties of fur coats, etc. Barbara even gets to crack a whip. The narration is composed of quotes from the novel, which concerns a man who desires to be dominated by an irresistible, cruel woman. The rather benign visuals don't necessarily play out the imagery suggested by the words from the book. which tend to be quite suggestive. In the audio commentary for this segment, Barbara regrets that the film was so restrained and wishes that she had shown more edginess in her brief performance. Still, this is a real gem, and sure to please her fans. As will this entire Severin Films release.