The Virgin of Nuremberg — released in the U.S. as Horror Castle — was based on the Italian paperback La vergine di Normberga by Maddalena Gui. They were published by G.U.I., who sold these Gothic erotic horror slices of sleaze as British books translated into Italian, claiming that their real writers were just the translators.  Produced by G.U.I.’s owner Marco Vicario, this was directed by Antonio Margheriti, who wrote the story — well, rewrote it to add the surgical terror and World War II ideas — with Renato Vicario and Edmond T. Gréville, who directed The Hands of Orlac. The other name listed as a writer is Gastad Green, who may either be Vicario’s brother Renato or Ernesto Gastaldi.

Shot on the set of Castle of Blood in just three weeks, this finds Mary Hunter (Rossana Podestà, Seven Golden Men) newly married to Max (Georges Rivière) and living inside his large castle. One night, she wakes up and finds herself walking down to the dungeons below the ancient structure and finding an eyeless woman inside an iron maiden. Everyone believes that she’s making these things that she’s seen up and that they are just dreams. Cared for by the sinister servants Marta (Laura Nucci) and Erik (Christopher Lee), she soon discovers that the castle once was the home of The Punisher, an evil monster of a human being who loved to torture women.

Well, he’s definitely at it again, engaging in all manner of deranged tortures, including a rat cage face mask — complete with hungry little rats — being placed over a girl’s pretty face in a scene that predates torture porn. Yet this isn’t all shock for the sake of cheap jump scares. This has a dark and twisting story that takes us into how war can destroy people who end up destroying others.

It looks beyond impeccable and over this past year, I’ve become such a fan of Margheriti. Yes, Bava may be the master of Italian horror, but you can make the case for Anthony Dawson to having a space quite near the crown.

You can watch this on YouTube.