B-Movie Inspirations: Castle of Evil (1966)

I have been really focused 1960s lately and I think because there was pretty decent writing back then, even though the budgets and effects could not be as good. Castle of Evil, although very tropey, it was well written and at least I felt a cool idea for an adventure one shot.
Castle of Evil begins with a simple concept. A group of unrelated individuals share a common connection to a recently deceased man named Kovac. They all are invited and gather at is creepy mansion or castle for the reading of the will. As we find out, Kovac is a very rich industrialist, electronic expert and sort of a mad scientist who has exploited people for his own ends. He definitely was not a nice guy.
However, the movie starts out with a little prelude that gives you an idea that there is something sinister is going on. The local undertaker has been called to Castle Montego by the caretaker Lupe. The undertaker discovered that Kovac was not quite dead yet when he performed the final autopsy and now demands twice his usual fee for essentially murdering him. Lupe pays him, poisons him and disposes of his body in a disintegrator chamber in the castle’s secret laboratory. This was a very dark beginning that pulled me in. In hindsight though, it does give away a little too much upfront.
The irony is that these people are not loved ones, but people that have a grievance against Kovac. Additionally, the group only knows there was an accident and do not know that he is dead. All they know is that he is suffering from a gave illness and they were invited to hear the will before he dies. These characters are:
- Matt Granger (Scott Brady) – The stereotypical rough around the edges American tough guy, Matt was an engineer who worked for Kovac until the deceased humiliated him professional and forced him into hiding career-wise He had a relationship with Carrol at one time.
- Sable (Virginia Mayo) – A pretty lounge singer who had a relationship with Kovac that went sour.
- Robert Hawley (David Brian) – A lawyer who was blackmailed to work for Kovac.
- Carrol Harris (Lisa Gaye) – Had a relationship with Matt, her issue with Kovac involves her father, who worked with Matt in all Kovac’s engineering ventures – from mining to oil drilling. Her father ended up committing suicide because of what Kovac did to him.
- Doc. Corozal (Hugh Marlowe) – A medical doctor was was mysterious wronged by Kovac.
- Tunki (Ernest Sarracino) – A representative of the local Spanish-based people that was taken advantage of by the silver mining ventures of Kovac. He is superstitious and vengeful. He practices the occasional rituals through out the movie.
What’s interesting is that Kovac ruined many of these people’s life by going after their confidence in their career and those around them. It is also revealed later that Kovac’s father was a criminally insane psychopath. This sets up a picture of a very evil and sadistic person.
When the group arrive at the castle, they are greeted by the caretaker of the castle Lupe, who we’re are told is a native of the unnamed region (I assumed it was a Mediterranean region). Through her, we are told that Kovac died of the chemical accident and the gruesome open casket confirms that. They probably spent their special effects budget on that makeup. Lupe claims that Kovac was murdered and the will says it was up to the group to determine which one murdered him. Once they do, the rest can inherit the will.
At the start, it has that 10 Little Indians feel and you think each one will be picked off one at a time. You really do think it will happen that way when the first one is killed by a mysterious figure that comes out of secret passages in the walls. However, the remaining characters keep that from happening. The big surprise involves a life size robot of Kovac mad up to look just like the body in the coffin and somehow has all the evil and sadism of Kavoc stored up in it’s electronic brain. The beginning gives away that Lupe is the brains of this whole operation and is in fact involved in the accident and death of Kovac.
Robot aside, the basic plotline can go any direction. I lean in the direction of Occult, where the robot can be a creature of some kind, summoned by Lupe to get revenge or kill the benefactors of the will. For a one shot, the GM can choose one of the characters are the actual murderer and run it like a who-dun-it with an occult twist. The key in that is everyone has to have an equal reason to murder the guy. The location can be an isolated island castle, a sea vessel, or a space ship. If it is a vehicle of some kind, the destination can also play a role. In the case of the castle, it had the normal living space, with secret passages connecting them all, and the secret lab where the robot or creature is stored.
Yea I realize it is full of tropes and it’s very predictable, but it can turn out to be a pretty fun RPG one shot. Make it seem like a who-dun-it to start and secretly reveal it might be more. Let the characters get into their character and let there be some inter-player conflict, if they are comfortable with it.