First released in 1965, The Seventh Grave is an Italian film, featuring an all-Italian cast and dialogue that is recited in Italian.
Despite this, however, the film itself takes place in Scotland and we’re told that all of the characters are all meant to be either Scottish or American. I imagine this was done with an eye towards eventually releasing the film in the States. Indeed, many Italian horror films were made to specifically appeal to American and British audiences. However, as far as I can tell from the information that’s available online, it doesn’t appear that The Seventh Grave ever made it over to the United States. It was apparently released in the UK and Canada.
As for what the film is about, it follows a group of people as they head to a gothic castle in Scotland. The castle was owned by Sir Reginald Thorne, who was apparently a scientist of some sort but who died of Leprosy and who, we’re told, was buried in the crypt’s seventh grave. Sir Reginald’s assistant also suffered from Leprosy and was imprisoned and sent to a Leper colony. However, as the film begins, we are informed that his assistant managed to escape a month ago and no one is quite sure where he is hiding out.
As for the people heading to the castle, they are all relatives and acquaintances of Sir Reginald’s. They’ve gone to the castle to hear the reading of his will but they’re informed that one of Sir Reginald’s relatives has yet to arrive and the will cannot be read until she does so. While they wait for her, someone mentions that the castle is rumored to be the hiding place of a treasure that was found by Sir Francis Drake. Since just about everyone in the film is super greedy, they all want to get their hands on that treasure. Since one member of the group is said to be a “powerful psychic,” they decide to hold a séance so that she can commune with Sir Francis Drake’s spirit. Needless to say, the séance doesn’t go particularly well and soon, people are turning up dead. Is the murderer a ghost or could be the Leper assistant or could it be one of the visitors to the castle?
(As a sidenote, allow me to just mention that Sir Francis Drake was one of my favorite of the British explorers. Queen Elizabeth I could have been very happy with him under different circumstances.)
The plot of the Seventh Grave is next to impossible to follow and, like a lot of gothic Italian castle films, it suffers from the fact that there’s really no one to root for. I mean, just about everyone in the movie is motivated by greed and, even when the murders start, no one really acts that upset about any of them. That said, the castle is an atmospheric location and the film is only 77 minutes long so at least it doesn’t drag. For the most part, though, it’s easy to see why The Seventh Grave is largely forgotten today.
Through the Shattered Lens 