Czech Film Center

Synopsis

This philosophical horror story is loosely based on two Edgar Allan Poe tales: The Premature Burial and The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether. Young Berlot suffers from a recurrent dream in which hospital orderlies attempt to strap him into a straightjacket. The dream ends with his waking up in a destroyed room. After his mother´s funeral, Berlot meets a certain marquis in a pub and accepts an invitation to his palace. One night he witnesses an orgy in the palace chapel. A young woman is being forced to participate and she captivates Berlot to such a degree that he decides immediately to quit the palace. The marquis, however, falls into a cataleptic fit which seems like death, and the nobleman´s valet forces Berlot to seal the coffin. The next day they find the marquis feasting in the family tomb. He too has his secrets and is thus able to offer Berlot therapy which should end his troublesome dreams.