2. Mill Of The Stone Women (1960 Italy/France)
Hans comes to Amsterdam in order to do some research about a sculptor - Professor Wahl. The professor lives on an island in a house the locals call 'Mill of the Stone Women'. Hans begins to fall under the spell of the sculptor's daughter. However, a secret is being covered up and there is a reason why Professor Val's wax women look so life like.. One of the mad doctor films so beloved of European Horror Cinema, Mill of the Stone Women is, in fitting with the times in which it was made, a superb Gothic horror film. It definitely deserves more appreciation than it gets - it is brimming with a foreboding atmosphere and the wax women are very eerie creations, modelled as they are on famous women. The film is as good as anything Mario Bava ever produced (Bava is widely considered to be the master of Italian Gothic horror). The decaying windmill setting is a fabulously sinister location for the action in the film. Scilla Gabel, as the potential love interest Elfie, is stunningly beautiful. She isn't the best actress, but she is so good looking, you won't really care. Herbert Böhme is fantastic as the menacing sculptor who is knee deep in nefarious goings on at the windmill. The film is rather slow paced and steadily climbs towards an exciting end. The only problem with the film is its title which doesn't really excite the viewer's interest and makes it sound like a third rate Hammer or Amicus production. But the film has been released on DVD and if you are an Italian horror aficionado, you will really enjoy Mill of the Stone Women. Although it will be sore on your wallet - copies are very expensive.