Mill of the Stone Women
Directed by: Giorgio Ferroni
French/Italian Production 1960 (Mondo Macabro)
Mill of the Stone Women is a lush and lavish period piece in the vein of the classic Hammer horror days or the Roger Corman / Vincent Price / Edgar Allen Poe vehicles. Director Ferroni poetically melds heavy gothic overtones with turn-of-the-century science, medicine and experimental surgery, making for an awfully surreal cinematic experience.
Mill plays out a bit like House of Wax as a madman is keeping his ill daughter alive with the blood of freshly murdered women. The women are then transformed into statues resembling famous killers and their victims. The new creations are exhibited for the public in an ancient historical windmill. The exterior shots of this landmark backed by a dark blue sky help to create a most ominous atmosphere for the debaucheries within, especially when compared to the almost carnival-like museum in House of Wax. Even creepier are the sequences depicting the statues as they are in motion, zipping about the stage like a Tilt-O-Whirl gone awry. These scenes are particularly more effective than the purely static sculptures in House of Wax. Still with all of its borrowings Mill of the Stone Women stands soundly on its own as a wonderful horror film that effectively balances art with exploitation.
This brand-spanking new DVD version comes from Mondo Macabro (www.mondomacabrodvd.com) and is packed with some fantastic extra features including: Deleted and alternate scenes, 3 different audio tracks, theatrical trailer, poster/still gallery and production notes by Pete Tombs (author of Mondo Macabro and co-author of Immoral Tales). – C. Curry
Posted by MK Magazine