Starring - Mark Damon (Crypt of the Living Dead, Stuck on You!), Rosalba Neri (The Girl in Room 2A, The Arena), and Esmeralda Barros (Kong Island, Paid in Blood)
Release Date - 1973
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Satan is coming!"
Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
I get in a good bit of movies to review and they usually fall into two categories which are movies I had seen before and movies that are new to me. I love getting in both because if it's a movie I had seen before then it means I get to revisit a movie I like or I get to see why I didn't like it originally. This is just to see if my taste in film has changed or the circumstances during my initial viewing impacted how I saw the film. However, this set has tricked me on two separate occasions. I thought Terror-Creatures from the Grave was going to be a first time viewing for me and then I realized I had seen it years ago but didn't remember it. Goes to show that we are all getting older. The third film in the set, The Devil's Wedding Night is another film I thought I had never seen before but once I hit play I quickly realized that I had seen the film but not in it's original form. Many years ago I snagged several copies of Elvira's Movie Macabre on DVD from the FYE near my college for $1 a piece. These unopened films were well worth the price and were the first time I had watched a lot of these movies. Sadly, I didn't remember the names to a lot of the movies she hosted but it was clear this was one I had previously seen.
The film follows a set of twin brothers who split up momentarily so one of them could go the Transylvania in search of an ancient ring with untold power. He makes it to castle Dracula where he meets a young widow and her emotionless servant where she soon seduces him. Sometime later his twin brother comes searching for him but she knocks him out and hides him in the dungeon while telling him that his brother had left sometime ago. He is able to see through her lie and discovers that she is a vampire and uses the power of the ring to lure virgins to the castle to feed upon.
The Devil's Wedding Night is a movie that is pretty enjoyable for the most part but it does lag in several scenes. I don't know why I thought this movie had a different title but do we really intend on watching the movies hosted by Elvira or are we watching it just to see her and hear her horrible puns? The acting in this one is probably the worst of the set so far. While it's not the worst I've seen, their performances are very stiff and awkward to watch. The characters are pretty cliched if I'm being honest which may be why the cast didn't bring a lot of energy to their roles. The story for this one is different especially for a vampire flick centered around the mythology of Dracula. We follow his bride who is using an evil ring to lure virgins to the castle who finds herself in the company of twins at different times... so we could have one person play both parts. It's solid and works for an early 70s gothic horror tale. With that being said, some of the scenes are a bit bloated which threw off the film's pacing at random times throughout the run time. I don't know if these were added last minute or just padding the run time but they stick out like a sore thumb. Finally, those wanting a lot of carnage and a high body count will be very disappointed. The film has some vampire fangs but that is about the extent of the practical effects. Overall, The Devil's Wedding Night is a bit of a misleading title but it's enjoyable. I actually dug it and could see myself revisiting it again. Check it out!
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