1962·Horror·1h 28m
7.0
★
In late 19th century London, a woman weds a necrophiliac doctor whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances - and who might be returning from the grave to torment her successor.
Directed by Riccardo Freda
necrophilia
sadomasochism
mad doctor
hospital
gothic horror
italian gothic
dead wife
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Barbara Steele
Cynthia Hichcock
Robert Flemyng
Prof. Bernard Hichcock
Silvano Tranquilli
Dr. Kurt Lowe
Maria Teresa Vianello
Margherita Hichcock
Harriet Medin
Martha, the maid
Crew
Riccardo Freda
Director
Ernesto Gastaldi
Writer
Roman Vlad
Original Music Composer
Ornella Micheli
Editor
Ernesto Gastaldi
Story
Popular Reviews
14 reviews
whitnie
6.0★ · 10/24/25
"the past is burning and that nightmare is over forever."
Hooptober XII Movie #14
i honestly didn't mind this as much as i thought i would have. had a few great lines of dialogue and the set designs were great! the only problem i really had were the plot holes. i ended up having way more questions by the end of it than i thought i would. other than that, not a bad film. just expect to be a tad bit confused after watching
Hooptober XII Movie #14
i honestly didn't mind this as much as i thought i would have. had a few great lines of dialogue and the set designs were great! the only problem i really had were the plot holes. i ended up having way more questions by the end of it than i thought i would. other than that, not a bad film. just expect to be a tad bit confused after watching
"the past is burning and that nightmare is over forever."
Hooptober XII Movie #14
i honestly didn't mind this as much as i thought i would have. had a few great lines of dialogue and the set designs were great! the only problem i really had were the plot holes. i ended up having way more questions by the end of it than i thought i would. other than that, not a bad film. just expect to be a tad bit confused after watching
Hooptober XII Movie #14
i honestly didn't mind this as much as i thought i would have. had a few great lines of dialogue and the set designs were great! the only problem i really had were the plot holes. i ended up having way more questions by the end of it than i thought i would. other than that, not a bad film. just expect to be a tad bit confused after watching
Tim Tufts
6.0★ · 09/16/25
Hooptober 2025
6/31
Watched the American release which was chopped up a bit. Unfortunately found that too late which spoils a bit of this being my Gastaldi pick. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would because I can struggle to get into older media. There's a lot of it in my Hooptober list, so hopefully this keeps up.
Two positives that really shine through for me are the lighting and Barbara Steele's physical acting (don't know who did the dub). The spotlight effect was a little silly but I was totally into it. The exaggerated color in the lights also carried a lot of weight. All of Steele's shocked expressions sold the horror where other aspects of the production came up shot.
Biggest negatives all revolve around the sound. The dubbing was very stilted, just like rushing, talking over each other, and leaving lots of space in the scenes. The music jumped the shark in the opening scenes when he's touching his wife's boobs and it's playing bloody murder. Then it was just laid on thick the whole way through which dampened the impact when it actually fit well.
I thought the plot had a lot of potential if executed better. I liked the psychological horror aspects of the plot where Hichcock has this struggle with his perverse desires which both troubles him and puts Cynthia in danger. Throughout, that kind of balanced against the more ghoulish horror where Martha is clearly hiding something unnatural in the house. But by the end, they just kind of threw it all away and all of the sudden Hichcock actually had this plan to revitalize Margaret. But... that undermines all his grief including why he left the house in the first place and his reactions to the piano playing.
Anyway, I'm needed at the hospital so I must go.
6/31
Watched the American release which was chopped up a bit. Unfortunately found that too late which spoils a bit of this being my Gastaldi pick. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would because I can struggle to get into older media. There's a lot of it in my Hooptober list, so hopefully this keeps up.
Two positives that really shine through for me are the lighting and Barbara Steele's physical acting (don't know who did the dub). The spotlight effect was a little silly but I was totally into it. The exaggerated color in the lights also carried a lot of weight. All of Steele's shocked expressions sold the horror where other aspects of the production came up shot.
Biggest negatives all revolve around the sound. The dubbing was very stilted, just like rushing, talking over each other, and leaving lots of space in the scenes. The music jumped the shark in the opening scenes when he's touching his wife's boobs and it's playing bloody murder. Then it was just laid on thick the whole way through which dampened the impact when it actually fit well.
I thought the plot had a lot of potential if executed better. I liked the psychological horror aspects of the plot where Hichcock has this struggle with his perverse desires which both troubles him and puts Cynthia in danger. Throughout, that kind of balanced against the more ghoulish horror where Martha is clearly hiding something unnatural in the house. But by the end, they just kind of threw it all away and all of the sudden Hichcock actually had this plan to revitalize Margaret. But... that undermines all his grief including why he left the house in the first place and his reactions to the piano playing.
Anyway, I'm needed at the hospital so I must go.
Hooptober 2025
6/31
Watched the American release which was chopped up a bit. Unfortunately found that too late which spoils a bit of this being my Gastaldi pick. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would because I can struggle to get into older media. There's a lot of it in my Hooptober list, so hopefully this keeps up.
Two positives that really shine through for me are the lighting and Barbara Steele's physical acting (don't know who did the dub). The spotlight effect was a little silly but I was totally into it. The exaggerated color in the lights also carried a lot of weight. All of Steele's shocked expressions sold the horror where other aspects of the production came up shot.
Biggest negatives all revolve around the sound. The dubbing was very stilted, just like rushing, talking over each other, and leaving lots of space in the scenes. The music jumped the shark in the opening scenes when he's touching his wife's boobs and it's playing bloody murder. Then it was just laid on thick the whole way through which dampened the impact when it actually fit well.
I thought the plot had a lot of potential if executed better. I liked the psychological horror aspects of the plot where Hichcock has this struggle with his perverse desires which both troubles him and puts Cynthia in danger. Throughout, that kind of balanced against the more ghoulish horror where Martha is clearly hiding something unnatural in the house. But by the end, they just kind of threw it all away and all of the sudden Hichcock actually had this plan to revitalize Margaret. But... that undermines all his grief including why he left the house in the first place and his reactions to the piano playing.
Anyway, I'm needed at the hospital so I must go.
6/31
Watched the American release which was chopped up a bit. Unfortunately found that too late which spoils a bit of this being my Gastaldi pick. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would because I can struggle to get into older media. There's a lot of it in my Hooptober list, so hopefully this keeps up.
Two positives that really shine through for me are the lighting and Barbara Steele's physical acting (don't know who did the dub). The spotlight effect was a little silly but I was totally into it. The exaggerated color in the lights also carried a lot of weight. All of Steele's shocked expressions sold the horror where other aspects of the production came up shot.
Biggest negatives all revolve around the sound. The dubbing was very stilted, just like rushing, talking over each other, and leaving lots of space in the scenes. The music jumped the shark in the opening scenes when he's touching his wife's boobs and it's playing bloody murder. Then it was just laid on thick the whole way through which dampened the impact when it actually fit well.
I thought the plot had a lot of potential if executed better. I liked the psychological horror aspects of the plot where Hichcock has this struggle with his perverse desires which both troubles him and puts Cynthia in danger. Throughout, that kind of balanced against the more ghoulish horror where Martha is clearly hiding something unnatural in the house. But by the end, they just kind of threw it all away and all of the sudden Hichcock actually had this plan to revitalize Margaret. But... that undermines all his grief including why he left the house in the first place and his reactions to the piano playing.
Anyway, I'm needed at the hospital so I must go.
Jason Choi
5.0★ · 10/02/24
Scarecrow Video Psychotronic Challenge 2024/31 Nights of Horror movie #2
2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules… “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock”
Basically it’s “Rebecca” with a husband who’s a Doctor who’s into necrophilia.
2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules… “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock”
Basically it’s “Rebecca” with a husband who’s a Doctor who’s into necrophilia.
Scarecrow Video Psychotronic Challenge 2024/31 Nights of Horror movie #2
2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules… “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock”
Basically it’s “Rebecca” with a husband who’s a Doctor who’s into necrophilia.
2. DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Mad scientists never seem to follow the rules… “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock”
Basically it’s “Rebecca” with a husband who’s a Doctor who’s into necrophilia.
Ouija Hadid
5.0★ · 03/28/26
Garrett
7.3★ · 12/12/25