A Nazi occupied Keep, high in the Transylvanian Alps is the source of mystery and murder. Each night a solider is brutally murdered, coming to light each morning and bringing with it a fresh serving of terror. For Woermann, the commander in charge, the night terrors are even more disturbing given the lack of evidence to support foul play. With panic mounting among the troops, Woermann has little choice but to seek the assistance of the SS. However, not even the extermination squad can stop the killings, that is, until, a Jewish academic and his attractive daughter are brought to the Keep to solve the mystery...
Professor Theodor Cuza and daughter Magda are reluctant to assist the Germans, especially given the backdrop of WWII, however have little choice but to go along with the SS's demands for answers. With a handful of recently discovered ancient text books to wade through, the Cuza's know their success is limited and that both could very well end up as casualties in the world wide conflict. Set to work in a cold, dark and dank room in the Keep, the two have no idea what awaits them when the sun goes down.
Enter Molasar, a vampiric-like entity who somehow manages to restrain himself from taking a bite out of the every so sweet Magda, to be the eventual saviour, or so it seems...
The Keep (1981) has a gothic feel to it while still reading like a traditional vampire story. The mysterious Molasar is the typecast Dracula (at least for a while) with Theodor Cuza assuming the role of Renfield and Magda, of course, the forbidden fruit, succulent, sexy and incredibly desirable - her innocence begging to be taken away by the Nazi occupiers (at least from the perspective of said Nazi occupiers, Magda, for her part wants nothing to do with them).
As you'd expect the supernatural element is the story's backbone and it fits in seamlessly with the WWII setting, meshing otherworldly horrors with the very real and present ones made of man. I won't spoil the finer details, but needless to say, the horror is amped up once Molasar is unearthed so to speak.
Shambling corpses, vampiric-like war lords, Nazi occupiers, a good verses evil battle to the death, and a cast of intriguing and well written characters make for a fun read full of scary moments. I highly recommended checking this one out!
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