Mill of the Stone Women (1960)

Day 65 of Sobriety.

Mill of the Stone Women is an Italian gothic horror film from 1960. It was directed by Giorgio Ferroni, who apparently only directed only one other horror film, but lots of action movies, including many “sword and sandal” movies. I guess the production companies must have been Italian too, but it is set in Holland and the bulk of the cast are either French or German. Despite its multinational qualities, however, it’s considered something of a classic of the Italian gothic cannon, so it has been on my radar for a while.

The plot concerns a young journalist who is writing a story about an eccentric sculptor who lives in a windmill. In the course of his work he becomes infatuated with the sculptor’s mysterious daughter. The sculptor only produces grotesque representations of historical female figures in the process of either being executed or committing suicide—for example, we have Joan of Arc about to be immolated, Cleopatra holding the asp to her breast… you get the picture. He then displays these works on a bizarre carousel-like stage where they revolve past the customers who—for some reason—come to see this bizarre attraction.

The film's scenery, sets, and photography are all excellent. The costumes in particular were sumptuous. Some of the best I have ever seen in any gothic horror film—from Hammer or anywhere else. And the cast comprises several stunningly beautiful/handsome men and women. We also have a scenery-chewing villain who could put Vincent Price to shame. In these respects, the film is top notch. The unfortunate thing is that the plot itself was as creaky and clunky as the sculptor’s macabre carousel.

I won’t give anything away, but any fan of gothic horror will have encountered similar plots many times, and here things play out slowly and predictably. So what we have in Mill of the Stone Women is a very rich feast for the eyes, but not so much for the brain. I did enjoy it though, and I will definitely watch it again (especially since there are four cuts of the film provided on the blu-ray I have!). I have a feeling that I might enjoy it more on second viewing, when I will know what to expect, and can devote my full attention to its better qualities.

As a personal aside, I watched Mill of the Stone Women late at night, after returning from a night out with friends and live music. Prior to becoming sober, this is not something that would have been possible, as I would have fallen into unconsciousness pretty quickly after arriving home. So it was nice to end a night out in a different way for a change.