Mill of The Stone Women

Mill of the Stone Women is a horror film from 1960 directed by Giorgio Ferroni. The movie stars Pierre Brice as Hans, a sculptor who visits a strange museum in Belgium. While there, he meets the museum's curator, Dr. Lorenz (Herbert Boehme), who introduces him to a strange and macabre world of life-like statues and mysterious machinery. When Hans falls in love with Dr. Lorenz's daughter, Elle (Scilla Gabel), he uncovers a dark and terrifying secret about the museum's past.

The movie begins with a stunningly beautiful sequence that sets the eerie and haunting tone of things to come. A group of tourists are on their way to the Museum of Wax, a place of outdated oddity exhibits such as mummies, torture devices and the like. The building is located next to a windmill, which appears to be the sole entity that keeps the museum running by means of some sort of complicated hydraulic contraption. This intriguing mill is the work of Dr. Lorenz, played superbly by Wolfgang Preiss.

Upon arrival at the museum, the tourists are greeted by a young man named Hans who just happens to be a sculptor. He has arrived to study the human form, and finds his way directly to Dr. Lorenz's curious laboratory. The doctor is currently working on a life-size statue of Venus, which he claims will be so lifelike that it will put the real Venus to shame. Of course, this is just the beginning of the sinister plot.

The film is a fascinating study in mad science, as Dr. Lorenz and his assistant begin to create "lithopedia," stone women who are imbued with the personalities and physical characteristics of real women. The process involves electroshock therapy, and the addition of some sort of blood-like fluid that seems to provide these inanimate creations the capacity to feel and react. In addition, he has created a device that can transfer vital energy between people, which ends up being a crucial plot element.

Brice's performance as the handsome and curious Hans is fantastic. He is immediately drawn to Dr. Lorenz's daughter, Elle (Scilla Gabel), who is, of course, a lithopedia herself. The two fall in love, adding a touch of romance to the otherwise gruesome tale. However, Hans is not content with his simple observations of Dr. Lorenz's work and becomes embroiled in the horrifying machinations of his experiments.

Director Giorgio Ferroni takes the viewer on a chilling ride filled with highly imaginative plotting, a dark and detailed atmosphere, and several truly unforgettable moments of terror. The film's pacing is pitch-perfect, building up the momentum progressively as the story unfolds. The cinematography is rich and expressive, perfectly complementing the bizarre and unnerving world of the Museum of Wax.

Perhaps the most stunning feature of this incredible film is the use of color. Ferroni makes the most of his Technicolor palette, filling the screen with vivid tones and a hyper-realistic texture that is both unsettling and mesmerizing. The life-like sculptures are immediately reminiscent of the works of contemporary artists like Maurizio Cattelan, and the attention to detail shines through every frame.

Overall, Mill of The Stone Women is an astonishingly unique horror film that stands alone in the genre. It is an intelligent and sophisticated tale that is both imaginative and terrifying. The performances are all outstanding, the direction is superb, and the visual effects are truly spectacular. If you're a fan of horror, science fiction, or just great filmmaking, you absolutely must see this classic piece of cinema.