Seven years after giving us the very enjoyable Castle of Blood (1964),one of the most gothic of '60s gothic Euro horrors, director Antonio Margheriti decided to tell the exact same tale again, only this time in colour and without cult favourite Barbara Steele. The result is entertaining enough but also rather redundant if you've already seen his earlier, better movie.

The promise of Klaus Kinski as Edgar Allen Poe is undoubtedly a draw, and sure enough the actor chews up the scenery with a typically wild-eyed performance, but his appearance is little more than an extended cameo to kick off proceedings. The majority of the film follows American reporter Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa) as he endeavours to spend an entire night in a haunted castle for a wager. As in Castle of Blood, he meets several mysterious characters, all of whom turn out to be ghosts who feed on the blood of the living to ensure their existence.

The film is atmospheric enough and the performances adequate, but I had hoped that Margheriti would have moved with the times, opting for a more exploitative approach this time around, just to make the film a little different from its predecessor (I'd have happily seen more of Michèle Mercier and Karin Field, who play ghostly babes Elizabeth and Julia). It's not to be: Web of the Spider is remarkably reserved, aiming for style over sleaze. Oh well...

When Michèle Mercier appears in the sequence when she's still "alive" and puts on a necklace,it is obvious that the director was thinking of her "Angelique " character.The scene looks like an outtake of the Bernard Borderie's saga.

"Nella..." is certainly an underrated work:it does not rely on special effects or on gore and sex is kept to the minimum.Probably influenced by Bava,Margheriti creates fear with his camera ,using elements of the settings ,a mirror for instance.His lead is an earnest thespian,Anthony Franciosa, a former student of the Actor's Studio,not a mediocre amateur as we often meet in European horror movies.Supernatural is smartly introduced and the screenplay is much more elaborated than usually.Many people will disagree but Amenabar's style in "the others" is not that much different,even if that director is infinitely superior to Margheriti."Nella..." was also certainly influenced by Robert Wise's classic "the haunting " (1963!!!) as far as the conclusion is concerned.

Poe's presence (Klaus Kinski) and the fact that the hero's first name is "Allan" do not bring much to the movie.

In spite of the poor rating,I sincerely believe that fantasy and horror buffs won't waste their time if they watch "nella...."

An remake with similar events to a former film titled Castle of Blood or Danse Macabre . While interviewing the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe and in an attempt to convince him , journalist Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa in previous version played by Georges Riviere) that his horror stories are not pure fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) challenges the journalist to spend a night in Lord Thomas Blackwood's (Enrico Osterman) mansion. As they take a bet , so that he can spend one night at a tenebrous and haunted house , resulting to be a challenge from which no one has ever returned. Alan's evening starts out uneventfully, until Alan discovers that he is not alone. Sharing the house with him is Elisabeth Blackwood (Michèle Mercier),sister of Lord Blackwell and the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen, along with Elisabeth's lover Julia (Karin Field),a strange man with dark purports named Herbert (Raf Baldassarre),one Dr Carmus (Peter Carsten) who writes books about metaphysical medicine, and an entire ballroom full of dancers.

Nice horror film concerned the classic plot about a hanted house with plenty of preternatural beings , creepy murders and ghastly events. Set at a ghastly castle where happens scabrous and horrifying events . There appear to him vengeful spectres and bloodsuckers roaming here and there, such as : a murderer , a doctor expert on mathaphysical , mysterious and bautiful women , all of them resulting in fateful consequences. In spite of a few escenarios in the uninhabited, spiderweb-invested castle and its medium budget the picture is pretty well, thanks to the adequate filmmaking , stunning cinematography taking great use of lights and shades as well as camera positioning to complement appropriate horror set pieces. Acceptable starring , an obstinate journalist well incarnated by Anthony Franciosa . Reamining cast are pretty good , such as : Michèle Mercier , Klaus Kinski , Peter Carsten , Karin Field , Raf Baldassarre and Silvano Tranquilli who also played the 1964 version .

It contains an evocative and colrful cinematography in black and white by Guglielmo Mancori , Sandro Mancori and Silvano Spagnoli . Displaying a thrilling and frightening musical score by Riz Ortalani who also composed the former film . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Antonio Margheriti or Anthony M. Dawson . Antonio Margheritti was a good craftsman expert on horror and exploitation films. A prestigious filmmaker of Spaghetti Westerns, terror , adventures Peplum and anything else . Notorious Antonio directed with skill and aplomb from 1956 to his death in 2002. He made all kinds of genres , some of them splendidly directed and others mediocre or failures. As he realized wartime movies, such as : The Last Hunter , Tornado, Codename Wild Geese , Der Commander , Command Leopard . Sci-Fi : War of Planets , Planet of the Prowl , Criminal of the Galaxy , Yor the Hunter from the future , Treasure Planet .Spaghetti Western : Joko, Dynamite Joe , The Stranger and the Gunfighter , Take a Hard Ride , Ghosts go West , Joe implacable God Said to Cain. And Terror : Virgin of Nuremberg , Cannibal Apocalypse , Alien From Deep , Flesh for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, among others. Rating 6.5/10. Better than average. The picture will appeal to Italian Gothic aficionados.