Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

On a dark and stormy night in a Swiss castle by the lake, the ménage à trois of Mary Godwin (played by the gorgeous Natasha Richardson), Percy Bysshe Shelley (Julian Sands), and Mary's clingy, childish step-sister Claire (Cyr), visit Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) their host, and his live-in doctor "friend" Polidori (Spall) for a night of ghost stories, creative exploration, and weird hallucinogenic experiences that range from the sexual to the horrific, out from which the stories Frankenstein and Vampyre were born, legend has it. These five come together this night to conjure up their true fears for fun by way of séance with a skull, but as it turns out, backfires considerably as the evening descends into a hell of bizarre and nightmarish images.

Claire is stalking the manipulative, selfish and sadistic Byron who has previously rejected her; the free-loving Shelley, who lives his life like he writes "I'm too restrained by narrative prose" is simply trying to escape the responsibilities of his mundane every day life it seems; Mary mourns the loss of her dead child and we learn, her fear is that she would give anything to bring it back to life (sound familiar?), and as for Byron and Poli (Byron's pet name for him), it's hard to tell what, if anything, they are seeking, except maybe some entertainment and opportunities for new sexual conquests. It's clear that of the group of five, Poli is the outsider, having appeared for the first time at the top of a staircase behind a goat that is apparently allowed to roam free around the house. Byron fails to introduce Poli to any of the guests properly and is even ganged up on at one point by Byron and Shelley after attacking them in a drug-induced frenzy with an unloaded pistol.

The beautiful and repulsive are married in some fascinating sequences, among the most impressive are Fuseli paintings come to life - Shelley stands naked on top of the castle in a thunderstorm and Mary becomes the dreaming woman in The Nightmare - the incubus clawing at her neck. Also captivating is what I believe to be THE most erotic scene ever to be caught on film: the sexual tension between Byrne and Richardson erupts when he attempts to seduce her by undermining the solidity of her relationship with Shelley is unlike anything I've ever seen. Byron receives a lukewarm slap across the cheek for his rude inference: but the slap she receives in return nearly takes her off her feet and he kisses her with a ferocity and hunger women have only fantasized about. Clearly she is aroused by this exchange and kisses him back, but when he insists on going a step further, she rejects him, conflicted by her feelings for Shelley. Why Byron lets her go, I'll never understand. She should have dumped Shelley - the chemistry between her and Byron is devastating. I wanted more! Great performances by these actors, intense sexual imagery, and the glorification of the grotesque make this movie an interesting jewel for fans of the British Romantic and Horror genres. And where else can you see Julian Sands and Gabriel Byrne share a passionate kiss? Nowhere I tell you! Nowhere!

I'd had this movie for a while, but never got around to watching it. I finally sat down to watch it (just finished it actually) and was somewhat dissapointed and pleased at the same time. There are a lot of things in this movie that I'm sure are not historically accurate (other than the ones that obviously can't be verified), but it's obvious that the director did his research when he was making this movie. The actors are all well chosen, especially Gabriel Byrne.

The movie's appeal is that it's horror is more of the psychological aspect than the ghoul & ghost variety. Just like the title, the tale is very gothic and dark, which may not appeal to everyone. Some who are expecting a movie full of shocks and gore will be very dissapointed. There are shocks, but again... they are of the psychological variety.

The movie surrounds Percy Byce Shelley, Mary Godwin (who would later marry Shelley), Claire (Mary's step-sister), Lord Byron, & his personal physician Polidori. After a few too many drinks of laudnum (a very potent drug) and a botched seance, the group begins to see various frightening images. As to whether these images are fake or real, the decision is left up to the viewer. The ending is rather interesting, but I won't reveal it here. Unfortunately for us viewers, the film wasn't retouched when they transferred the film so it's very obvious that the film was dubbed directly from a VHS copy of the film. That's a pity, since there's some GORGEOUS imagery in this movie.

For the most part I'd recommend this movie to people who are willing to sit through a slow movie for some good payoff. There are some tedious moments to the film, but they're worth watching. I'd recommend renting this first to make sure that you like it. One thing is for sure, though- it's something you should watch twice so you can catch the things you missed the first go round. There's some campyness to the film, but it's all in good fun.