Mill of the Stone Women is an uneven but still entertaining horror-thriller with some fine make-up effects work and intriguing enough mystery storyline to keep my attention even during the slower moments.
Mill of the Stone Women
— Limited Edition —
(1960)
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense/Thriller
Arrow Video| NR – 96 min. / 90 min. / 95 min. – $59.95 | December 14, 2021
Date Published: 12/05/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Arrow Video provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Young art student Hans von Arman (PIERRE BRICE) arrives by barge at an old mill to write a monograph about its celebrated sculptures of women in the throes of death and torture, maintained and curated by the mill’s owner, the hermetic Professor Wahl (HERBERT BOHME). But when Hans encounters the professor’s beautiful and mysterious daughter Elfi (SCILLA GABEL), his own fate becomes inexorably bound up with hers, and with the shocking secret that lies at the heart of the so-called Mill of the Stone Women.
Quick Hit Review: Mill of the Stone Women is certainly a weird movie although after thinking about it, is in the same grouping of House of Wax (both the original and remake, which had completely different stories), Waxwork, etc. This one does a good job of keeping the viewer in the dark in what is going on before coming together fairly well for a decent enough third act (and yet another movie I’ve watched in the past month that ends with a fire). The acting here is on the stage theatrical side which did make me chuckle a few times, however as a whole I found it entertaining and enjoyable with some fine make-up effects for the era. But I will say Scilla Gabel, even with fairly little screen time, is enticing as the mysterious Elfi. On the other hand, I couldn’t quite buy Pierrce Brice as an art student, and he was around 30 when this was filmed…
Mill of the Stone Women was directed by Giorgio Ferroni and was based upon a short story. It’s nothing amazing but passably entertaining nevertheless. I did feel the middle section was on the dry side however the finale was satisfying enough. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¾/5 |
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This Limited Edition release from Arrow comes housed in a sturdy slip case and the two-discs are in a wide HD keep case. Also inside is a fold-out double-sided poster, six double-sided post cards and a collectible booklet. The second disc has no features but has the French and U.S. Versions of the film, which is an exclusive to this set. Audio Commentary — New track featuring Author Tim Lucas breaking down the history behind the production in an educational way. Mill of the Stone Women & the Gothic Body (24:10) — Visual essay on the trope of the wax/statue woman in Gothic horror, by author and critic Kat Ellinger. Turned to Stone (27:07) — Newly edited featurette containing archival interviews with Actress Liana Orfei and Film Historian Fabio Melelli. A Little Chat with Mr. Mabuse (15:52) — This is an archival interview with Actor Wolfgang Preiss. Also includes Alternate Opening Titles for the UK and German versions, Trailers (US and Germany Theatrical Trailers) and Image Galleries (Posters, Stills and Lobby Cards, German Pressbook and US Pressbook). |
VIDEO – 5/5 |
| Mill of the Stone Women arrives on Blu-ray through Arrow Video and is presented in its original 1.66 widescreen aspect ratio. Per the included booklet, the 35mm negative was scanned and restored in 2K resolution with grading work, along with additional 35mm intermediary elements used for the opening titles in the English export version. The picture here looks rather stunning with sharp and well defined detail, the natural film grain and noise still present but not overbearing. Both while viewing and a bit closer inspection while making screen caps, there were no obvious or noticeable dust marks, scratches or other film damage. |
AUDIO – 4¾/5 |
| The movie includes a variety of tracks, all depending on which version you watch, but all are PCM Mono tracks. I primarily watched the Italian version with sampling of the others (couldn’t stand the English dubbing on the English version), but as such the dubbing comes across rather nicely and the depth is respectable for a singular track. There were no pops, hissing or other aural defects that I could perceive making for clean lossless tracks. |
OVERALL – 3¾/5 |
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Overall, Mill of the Stone Women is an uneven but still entertaining horror-thriller with some fine make-up effects work and intriguing enough mystery storyline to keep my attention even during the slower moments. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.