Movies that seem to be D&D Adventures - Castle of the Living Dead (1962)

“I wish the two of you to play the leading parts in my eternal theatre […] You will be forever on the stage” – Christopher Lee as Count Drago in Il castello dei morti vivi (1964)

How many times has your mind gone blank and you cannot think of an adventure plot hook? I'm sure it has happened to us all from time to time, but it ss not very often that an entire movie jumps out of the screen to me and screams – “This is a D&D party on an adventure!”. But that is exactly what happened when watching the 1962 Horror Film “Castle of the Living Dead”, but with an added twist…..it could be set in a Ravenloft campaign.

While Castle of the Living Dead is set in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, it could be easy to lift the setting and drop it right into the Realm of Terror and use it for inspiration for your gaming night. While there are a few instances of flint lock weapons, there is more knife and sword (rapier) play than I expected…..and there is even a pole arm used.

Without to many Spoilers, you have the classic Ravenloft dramatis personae of a spooky local lord (Count Drago – played by Christopher Lee), a entertainment troupe consisting of at least two thieves, a bard and two fighters, the hag who warns everyone to stay away from the castle (played by yes – Donald Sutherland), a member of the group who turns on the party, and the bumbling police – led by Sgt Paul (again – played by Donald Sutherland). There is even a dwarf (although I would call him a halfling) who plays a thief.

The setting is eerie (the count’s castle), and there are classic D&D types of encounters such as a bar fight, party members using slight of hand to steal, an encounter on the road, a mad scientist lab and even a creepy garden…..shot in the Parco dei Mostri (“Park of Monsters”, sometimes called “Mostri Park”) that has statues that (IMO) inspired the mouth portal in Tomb of Horrors.

The pacing of this movie is well done, the creepiness pairs well with the campy – and have fun trying to determine which spells are cast and which potions are used. Oh yeah - Did I mention you finally get a reason to use that Human Commoner with a scythe from back in the day?

And finally, since gamers and Horror fans love trivia – The movie was co-written and directed by Warren Kiefer. This was also Donald Sutherland’s second movie. The actor and director became such good friends, that Donald named his son after the director two years later…..giving us Kiefer Sutherland. And now you know, the rest of the story.

All in all – this movie is a lot of fun, and I personally cannot recommend any more highly.You can watch the trailer below on YouTube or you can purchase the DVD Here on Amazon.