barbara steele

Queen of Schlock! Actual Gothic Horror

Oh Hi! Yes, I’m back. I was going to continue my blogging break until the new year… but, a blog post, listing top 10 Gothic Horror movies, stirred something up. Ticked me off. Confused me.

I’m not going to post the article or any of the others I looked at afterwards {to see if they had similar entries — sadly, they mostly did}. This will only create an angry mob. You know torches, pitchforks, and all that jazz. This happens when you see a list that contains only a few actual Gothic Horror movies. Instead, I am going to list some of my all time favourite Gothic Horror movies.

{I included full movies when possible.}

As I mentioned, I’m confused by the other lists. I’m not an expert by any means, but… there were some very obvious choices that were omitted. How could they have missed most of Barbara Steele’s movies {one list has zero}, not included a single Hammer film… or any Italian, Spanish or Mexican movies? How? It leaves me wondering if they watched any of the movies or were paid to create a list and used what they googled. 😦

Below is a very small list of my all time favourite Gothic Horror movies. If I listed everything, I would need to create 100 parts to this blog post. Maybe in the near future, I will post some more.

Nightmare Castle (1965)

Castle of Blood (1964)

Premature Burial (1962)

Invasion of the Vampires (1963)

The Pit and The Pendulum (1964)

Terror in the Crypt (1964)

The Mask of Red Death (1964) Trailer

Black Sabbath (1963)

EVERY SINGLE HAMMER MOVIE EVER MADE! Not one single Top 10 list I read, had a Hammer movie as an entry! HOW? There are sooooo many of them!

We also can’t forget the original classics such as Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstien, Dracula, The Wolfman, White Zombie, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and The Bat. These should automatically be on everyone’s list. Yes, I know, I know, they can put what ever THEY want on their own lists, but… if you are making a top 10 list of Gothic Horror… maybe have more than three Gothic Horror movies on your list and do a little bit of fact checking.

What are some of your favourite Gothic Horror movies?

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! The B Movies Queens: Gothic Scream Queen Barbara Steele

Tis the time of year, when things are gloomier, night falls faster and the night air carries an eeriness. On our evening walk, guided by the brightness of the full moon, we can hear the howls of werewolf in the distance, and when we pass the seemingly abandoned manor, we see the curtains flutter, leaving use to wonder if it is a ghost or the wind finding its way through a broken pane. Do we run or stand and observe the night as it creeps in around us? In a situation like this, it’s best to take guidance from the dark Goddess herself, Barbara Steele. What would she do in a situation like this? Barbara would grab the biggest candelabra she could find and would wrap her delicate fingers around it, holding onto her skirt, walking forward, fearless, letting curiosity win her over as we’ve known her to do in every single gothic horror she has starred in!

I’m sorry… did I hear someone in the back ask who Barbara Steele was? How DARE you! Barbara Steele is the ultimate gothic horror scream queen. She is the dark Goddess!

Barbara Steele is a British actress, best known for the Italian Gothic horror movies she starred in, mostly in the 1960s. Many will know her for her breakthrough role in Black Sunday (1960) while others will know her from her later role as Dr. Julia Hoffman / Countess Natalie Du Pres in Dark Shadows (1991).

***During the 1960s, Steele starred in a string of Italian horror films, including Black Sunday (1960), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Ghost (1963), The Long Hair of Death (1964), Castle of Blood (1964), Terror-Creatures from the Grave and Nightmare Castle (both 1965). She also starred in Roger Corman‘s 1961 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe‘s short story The Pit and the Pendulum and the British film Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968).

Steele returned to the horror genre in the later 1970s, appearing in three horror films: David Cronenberg‘s Shivers (a.k.a. They Came From Within) (1975), Piranha (1978), and Silent Scream (1979). *** {source Wikipedia}

My all time favourite Barbara Steele movies are Castle of Blood, Nightmare Castle and Black Sunday. I’ve seen all three on both DVD and on the big screen. Viewing them on the big screen is of course the best way to view them, and I’m grateful that The Bloor Cinema showed them (they are no longer around) Recently, we showed The She Beast at Killer B Cinema. Right before Covid struck. It was a definite crowd pleaser. A little She Beast trivia, because Barbara Steele was only available for one day, she was kept on the set during 18 hours of shooting. It was a gruelling day, but the producer felt it was necessary. Apparently, she was beyond angry with him.

One thing that has always bothered me about movies starring Barbara Steele is they dubbed her voice and British accent in many of them. This was done for American audiences and unfortunately, in many cases, the only copies available. (they did the same to Caroline Munro)

I’ve been a fan of gothic horror for a very long time and I owe that to Barbara Steele. I was introduced to her when I was a teenager and I have adored her ever since. I get cravings to watch her movies when the gloom of November creeps in. There is a spookiness about the wind blowing through the barren trees, that goes hand-in-hand with the ultimate scream queen.

What is your favourite Barbara Steele movie?

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!