Rating: ***
Review Date: 7/20/26
Cast: Pierre Brice, Scilla Gabel, Wolfgang Preiss, Dany Carrel,
Herbert A.E. Böhme
Hans von Arnim (Pierre Brice) visits the eccentric sculptor Gregorius Wahl (Herbert A.E. Böhme) to write a monograph on his work and family legacy. The professor's studio is in an old windmill known as the "mill of the stone women," and Hans catches the attention of Wahl's mysterious daughter, Elfie (Scilla Gabel). She is pure poison and spells certain doom for the flustered Hans. Wahl warns him to stay away, and that his daughter has a deadly condition, but he still falls victim to her charms. A fatal accident puts into motion a mind-altering series of events where Hans is convinced that he's losing his mind, when in fact he's just part of an elaborate and sinister scheme.
This was Italy's first horror film to be shot in color, and it's oozing with atmosphere, creepy sets, bright colors, and moody lighting. The production has a classic Hammer Studios look and feel, which is wonderful. The only place it falters is with a hokey looking miniature windmill prop, which seems unnecessary and out of place, since they had a real windmill they could have photographed instead. Given the film's age, the tension is generated through innuendo, and the off-screen horror is implied by the actors' performances.
That said, the acting is very good, if not occasionally a bit melodramatic. Pierre Brice is the perfect Jonathan Harker type character who is helplessly caught up in the machinations of madmen. The super pretty Dany Carrel is his long-suffering fiancée who naturally becomes a damsel in distress at the end of the film. The seductive Scilla Gabel is given star billing on some posters, even though she has little to do. While she gives a decent performance as an emotionally unstable woman, I found her unappealing and uninteresting. Herbert A.E. Böhme gives a superb performance as the seemingly respectable sculptor who harbors some terrible secrets. His creepy doctor (Wolfgang Preiss) is also excellent, and displays an impressive amount of self-loathing and conflicted morality.
Overall, it's a satisfying tale of obsession, madness, and manipulation set in a spooky gothic locale. Dread lurks behind every corner, and it looks and sounds great. While the execution isn't perfect and the story strays into the fantastic, the film served as a blueprint for a whole generation of Italian giallo films and directors that followed it.