The Legend of Blood Castle (1973)

Directed by Jorge Grau
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Mya Communication)

Another retelling of the Countess Bathory legend. A dead body is put on trial for vampirism. He is eventually found guilty, his body burned and head decapitated. Meanwhile an aging woman discovers that the blood of her servant will keep her young. She fakes the death of her husband and he goes out and kills young girls to keep her supplied with blood. When he seduces one of them she gets jealous and kills him. Another trial at the end finds her guilty and she is walled up in her castle. A couple of good shock scenes are countered by one scene of unnecessary animal cruelty. The motivations of the husband, in particular, are unclear.