Welcome To A Nightmare

 

 (imdb)

MONSTER DOG-1984-Rock star Vincent Roberts (Alice Cooper) goes to his old hometown to shoot a music video. A grumbling sheriff tells Vincent and his group to watch out for some wild dogs that killed some locals recently. Then in a real drawn-out scene, the sheriff and deputy are killed. After the group accidentally run down a dog, a crazy, bloody old man says they will all die. They arrive at an old house but the caretaker is missing. At night, one of the women, Angie (Pepita James), is terrorized by the bloody man and everyone else is dead and Vincent is a werewolf. But of course, it's a dream. The dream doesn't sit well with Vincent because 20 years before his father was killed by the townspeople because they thought he was a werewolf. During a video shoot, the dead caretaker crashes onto the set and lands on Angie. Then stupidly the rest go to check upstairs and leave Angie alone. She walks away in a trance. Meantime, a bunch of dirty, grimy townspeople plan on killing Vincent because they think he's a werewolf. (Things haven't changed much since his father's time...) They take his friends hostage and the dumb ass leader accidentally kills Angie. While Vincent hunts down the killers, the others are killed by wild dogs. A gigantic demonic dog does show up. After everyone but Vincent, his girlfriend Sandra (Victoria Vera) and Mary Lou (Jose Sarsa) are killed, they almost escape but the monster dog is in the backseat of their car and it kills Mary Lou and attacks Vincent, who crashes the car. The bloody man (Vincent's dad?) shows up to say “we have a new king who will live in the house of death forever”. Vincent seems to take the bloody man's place and starts to transform into something but Sandra shoots him. It ends with most of the movie shown as part of Vincent's rock video (??). 

There are two original Cooper songs. This production was shot in Spain by Italian director Claudio Fragasso who was once an assistant to Bruno Mattei. He later made TROLL 2 (1990). Cooper (whose voice is dubbed) agreed to do the movie because he was told it wouldn't play outside Spanish speaking countries. Except for Cooper on the lead role, there's nothing to separate it from any number of horror movies made in the mid-'80's.

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Orlof (f)

 

THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF-1962-Jess Franco's famous horror opus about Dr. Orlof (Howard Vernon), a mad doctor in 1912 Paris trying to cure his daughter Melissa's (Diana Lorys) disfigurement. He is assisted by abused blind servant Morpho (Ricardo Valle)) who goes out at night and kidnaps females to fuel his boss's skin transplants. He likes to bite victims on the neck before taking them. Only Orlof's female servant Arne (Perla Christal) shows the guy any sympathy. After some experiments fail, Orlof notices a woman Wanda (also Lorys) who looks very much like his comatose daughter. She's the fiancé of Tanner (Conrado San Martin), the inspector who's investigating the disappearances! 

After Orlof kills Arne accidentally, he kidnaps Wanda (she'd been posing as a hooker) and takes her to his castle. But things go awry for the doc when Morpho discovers Arne's dead body. He kills Orlof and takes the unconscious Wanda for a stroll on top of the castle. Tanner and a drunk (and former suspect) save her. Morpho is killed and somehow Wanda who was up on the castle is suddenly on the ground embracing her husband to be. 

When WPIX in NYC showed this on TV in the early '70's, it was a kind of incoherent mess but since it's been restored, it's a nice mix of dark horror, medical experiments and Morpho! Orlof would return (usually played by Vernon) in several “sequels” by Franco.

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Very Cold

 

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COLD SKIN-2017-Interesting but ultimately disappointing Lovecraft inspired horror set on an island where a man (David Oakes) has come to be the new watchtower keeper. He meets a guy named Gruner (Ray Stevenson) who says the last keeper is dead. Strange sea creatures terrorize them. It's all downhill from there. 

This French/Spanish co-production was directed by Xaiver Gens (HITMAN (2007).

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Weird Anthology

 

 (themoviedb)

WILD TALES-2014-This is a bizarre black comedy anthology Argentine-Spanish co-production with a ensemble vast. A pre-credits story (“Pasternak”) deals with a plane load of passengers all connected by knowing the same man named Pasternak. In the second, “The Rats”, a waitress meets a customer, a loan shark, who drove her father to suicide. She doesn't know what to do but the cook has an idea. In the third “The Strongest”, a man with a flat tire is terrorized by a driver he insulted earlier. Their fight results in a sardonic ending.

 In “Little Bomb”, a demolition expert runs into problems when his car is towed. His wife wants a divorce, he's arrested then fired from his job. When he uses his expertise to get revenge, well things change. The next and most serious one, “The Proposal”, involves a prominent man who wants to pay his gardener to take the blame for his son's hit and run murder. Everything snowballs but this has too much of an abrupt ending. It ends with “Till Death Do Us Part”. At her wedding a bride finds out that her husband had an affair with one of the guests. It turns into a wedding no one will ever forget.

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2 Shorts

 

 (imdb)

LE SPECTRE ROUGE-(THE RED SPECTRE)-1907-This silent 9 MINUTE short was made in Spain by two directors and was influenced by Georges Melies. A skeletal demon does lots of magical tricks thanks to the use of many optical film tricks. It's crude but clever (hey, it was made over a hundred years ago!) and features great tinted color scenes. Sometimes confused with SATAN S'AMUSE made the same year by the same directing team.

 (imdb)

Il CASO VALDEMAR-1936-Weird, haunting silent short adaptation of the Poe story done in Italy. It might be hard to follow if you're not familiar with the story (I am and still found it a little mind boggling). It's sometimes referred to as the first "gore film" and I can see why in the climax. 26 years later Roger Corman used the same story for the third segment of TALES OF TERROR. It's only 12 minutes, judge for yourself:

https://youtu.be/qz3bw_21K8M?feature=shared 

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Not Really a Remake

 

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NIGHT OF THE DEVILS-1972-An amnesic man is found wandering in a forest. A doctor examines him. The man seems to have suffered some kind of trauma. A police inspector investigates. A woman Sdenka (Augustina Belli; later in HOLOCUAST 2000 (1977)) shows up claiming to know him but when he sees her, he goes berserk and has to be sedated. She disappears.

Then while confined to a straitjacket, the man has a flashback. When his car breaks down, the guy named Nicola (Gianni Garko; star of the “Sartana” series of westerns in Italy) takes refuge with a strange family who are deathly afraid of the night. This is because a witch has put a curse on the family and one by one, they become a “Wudalaka”, a type of vampire. He also falls in love with Sdenka. Eventually everyone is cursed and Nicola has to fight them off. He goes crazy. Back in the present, at night Sdenka comes to visit him. Is she alive or not? 

Ok Italian-Spanish production with some good vampire attack scenes, it's based on the same story Mario Bava used in the third segment of BLACK SABBATH. It was the second to last film of director Giorgio Ferroni (MILL OF STONE WOMEN (1960)).

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More Naschy

 

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THE DEVIL'S POSSESSED-1974-Baron Gilles de Lancre (Paul Naschy) hires Simon (Eduardo Calvo) the alchemist to teach him how to make gold from glass. At first Gilles is reluctant to help the alchemist because it requires a human sacrifice. However, with some urging from his consort Georgelle (Norma Sebre), he overcomes his misgivings, and a local cutie is killed. Later Gaston Malebranche (Guillermo Bredeston) returns from the war and has a fight with some hooligans in a bar. The Baron uses murder and torture to keep everyone in check while searching for the philosopher's stone. His Georgella says the devil will talk to him through a severed head, so he has a local boy decapitated. The head does talk to him and tells him to sacrifice some virgins but the voice is actually that of the alchemist who is obviously in cahoots with Georgelle. 

Later Gaston, who once saved the Baron's life, is more than welcomed in the Baron's castle but Georgelle doesn't like him and says he should be killed. When an assassination fails, Gaston joins the underground peasants who oppose the Baron. After losing a jousting match to Gaston and killing the alchemist because he failed to produce the philosopher's stone, the Baron and his army go on a killing spree. Later he thinks he's invulnerable, but his enemies prove him wrong. 

This great historical bloody horror film was written by star Naschy under his real name Jacinto Molina as he once again teamed the director Leon Klimovsky (THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, DR. JEKYLL VS. THE WEREWOLF). The story is loosely an adaptation of the life of Gilles de Rais, a 15-century notorious French serial killer who had serves under Joan of Arc. Read about him here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais

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Mummy in Spain

 

 (imdb)

VOODOO BLACK EXORCIST-1974-A voodoo priest in the Caribbean is burned for having an affair with a married woman named Kenya. Many years later he comes back as a revenge seeking mummy when he's discovered by an expedition and brought aboard a luxury liner. He wakes up and sometimes he's crusty looking but most times he's normal. He cuts off the head of a steward and puts the head in the bed of Silvia (Eva Leon), a woman who may be the reincarnation of his girlfriend. Then he has a guy he's made his slave run over a doctor with a steamroller. A short rotund police chief figures out what's going on and the mummy is burned up. 

This production from Spain is pretty bad. The director Manuel Cano also made THE SWAMP OF THE RAVENS.

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Francostein Monster

 

THE (EROTIC) RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN-1973-Just as Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price) and assistant Morpho (your director Jess Franco) have resurrected the monster, Cagliostro (Howard Vernon) and Melisa (Anna Libert), his vampire bird-girl kill them and take the monster. Before he dies Frankenstein asks Dr. Seward (Alberto Dalbes) to save the monster ("my legacy"). 

At the doc's funeral Seward meets Vera Frankenstein (Beatriz Savon) who at night steals her dad's corpse with the help of her nurse. She brings dad back to life for a few minutes and he tells her to get his monster back. She vows revenge against Cagliostro. Later Melisa has the monster kidnap a woman and in a bizarre ceremony the woman's head is severed from her body while Cagliostro and un-dead ghouls look on. When the monster kidnaps an artist's model, it meets Vera who convinces him to take her instead of the model. Held prisoner, Vera beats a henchman in a cruel game where the henchman winds up impaled. Cagliostro hypnotizes Vera so she will obey him. He wants to build a mate for the monster and start a new race. Meanwhile Steward and a police inspector investigate. 

Poor dead Dr. Frankenstein is found and brought to life once more by Steward but the doc attacks Steward until the inspector throws acid on him. Then using "magnetic rays and an incisor machine", Vera helps make the perfect mate. Melisa goes into a blood frenzy on a hapless victim. Before the monster can consummate with "his bride" Steward convinces him/it to turn against Cagliostro and his minions. He kills Melisa and tries to do in Vera but the inspector shoots him. Laughing madly Cagliostro escapes and Vera warns he'll return….

Mindless but entertaining Spanish-France horror mess from Franco who also made a "hotter" version  with more nudity (not an uncommon move for for the director). Franco (1920-2013)  made upwards of 10 movies in 1973!

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Daminsky!

 

THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN-1971-Two college students Elvira (Gaby Fuchs) and Genevieve (Barbara Capell) are looking for the grave of a blood drinking countess. They stumble upon the home of writer Vladimir Daminsky (Paul Naschy) who seems very hospitable until they mention the countess. He invites them to stay over and at night a strange woman tries to strangle Elvira. It turns out to be Daminsky's "mentally disturbed" sister Elizabeth (Yelena Samarina). The next day she attacks Genevieve. 

With Daminsky's help the women find the countess' tomb and open her coffin. Genevieve cuts herself and her blood drips on the corpse. Then Elvira is attacked by a skeletal faced figure dressed like a monk (some say this brief character may have influenced "The Blind Dead" series, the first of which was made several months later). At night Genevieve falls under the spell of the countess (Paty Shepard). Somehow Elvira and Daminsky fall in love. The countess kills Elizabeth and Daminsky explains it will soon be Walpurgis night when the devil rules and vampires take over. At night while Elvira is in the village with the dumb handyman, Daminsky finally turns into a scary werewolf. Elvira has a weird dream and the next day she learns her lover boy's secret. Genevieve bites Elvira but when Vlad kills her, Elivra gets better. The countess seems to disappear into the catacombs. 

Elvira chains up Vlad but the handyman tries to kidnap Elvira. Daminsky escapes and kills him. Elvira's boyfriend Marcello shows up to cause more trouble but he and Elvira are made prisoners by the countess. Vlad saves them just before the devil (director Carlos Aured) arrives and transforms into a wolf and kills the countess. Elvira stabs her wolfman with a cross and "frees him" (until the next movie). 

Leon Klimovsky directed from a screenplay by Naschy (under his real name Jacinto Molina) and the two would later team up for a few more horror outings. This fifth installment was a huge hit in Europe.

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Naschy Returns!

VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES-1973-A grave robbing married couple are killed when the corpse they planned to loot comes to life. After this an unseen figure performs a ritual. In London a Indian mystic/guru/cult leader Krishna (Paul Naschy) puts himself in a trace and is stab by an assistant but feels no pain. Elvira (Rommy) is one his followers and his friend author Dr. Radcliffe (Vic Winner) is doing research. Radcliffe warns Elvira not too go too far with Krishna's stuff. Later she's terrorized by a pale faced zombie woman and an ugly guy in a top hat who puts an ax in a caretaker's head and hangs her father. After the funeral Elvira goes to visit Krishna. While waiting in the train station, the stationmaster tells her the village is evil and that house Krishna rented is called "The Devil's House" because years before a family called The Whatleys performed blood sacrifices there until the townspeople killed them all. She's finally met by scarred driver Ti Zachery (Pierre Bisari) who takes her to Krishna who seems to be under the weather. Kala (Mirta Miller) is his second in command. When Elvira goes to bed she has a dream Ti and the stationmaster kidnap her and take her to a chamber where some pale faced women stand around and satyr like horned demon (who resembles Krishna) slashes her throat and drinks her blood. After she and Krishna have a chat the next day the scene changes to a meat packing company where the accountant is having an affair with his boss's wife Olivia (Aurora de Alba; FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR). Someone in a top hat, cape and clown mask kills them and drains the blood out of the guy. Then two pale faced women kill a morgue attendant and a figure in a top hat and ghoul mask sets fire to a small figure. Scotland Yard calls in Radcliffe for advice and he tells them that someone is creating zombies using voodoo. Then Krishna buys a knife and walks through a graveyard while some jazzy music plays. After that, the stationmaster is forced to cut his own throat. Gala says Elvira has to leave but Krishna says he needs her help. A maid warns Elvira not to fall in love with Krishna. The maid wants to show something to Elvira in the basement but all she finds is the maid with her head chopped off. Ti appears with a bloody scythe but Krishna shows up and overpowers him. "This is a nightmare! Inexplicable and frightening!". When Elvira wants to call the police Krishna is against it and they have sex instead. Meantime the masked guy makes the zombie women rise and they kill two cops (one is impaled with a cross). After a lot of talk it seems Krishna is the unwilling slave of his occult loving revenge seeking disfigured brother Tantaka and his female zombies. 

This isn't nearly as entertaining as some other screenwriter Paul Naschy/ director Leon Klimlovsky combos (like THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN) but it has some fire, nudity and death by soda can with Naschy suitably demented as the crazed Tantaka!

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Spain

SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE-1973-In a small village in Spain in 1940, the residents there watch James Whale's 1931 version of Frankenstein. A little girl named Ana (Ana Torrent) becomes intrigued with the monster after her sister tells her the monster didn't die at the end of the movie and now lives in an abandoned house near them. Later Ann helps a wounded soldier who dies out there. After his she runs away. The whole village searches for her. Eventually at the riverside she meets the monster. This was the feature film debut for the director Victor Erice and is held in high regard in his home country of Spain where it was filmed.

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Girls In Peril

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED-1969-A boarding school for girls is run by the strict principal Mme. Forneau (Lilli Palmer). Of course she’s some power crazed disciplinarian who has a sadistic underling whip a girl who defied her. She also has a son Luis (John Moulder-Brown) who lives there and spies on the girls. Mom doesn't want him around any of the students (“These girls are poison”). She may have an unhealthy fondness for him. Luis and one of students Isabel (Maribel Martin) seem to be in love and secretly meet and he worries his mom will find out. Unfortunately a fake note from Luis leads to her being stabbed to death. A new girl Teresa (Cristina Galbo) is caught in the middle. Much time is wasted on a shower scene (very brief nudity) with Luis getting stuck in some kind of drain pipe while spying. Other girls are killed and in the end Luis is building his own girlfriend in the image of his mother. 

Tedious story line and non-action doom this production from Spain by Narciso Ibanez Serrador. 

The next year Moulder-Brown co-starred in the UK stalker film DEEP END. https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2011/04/deep-end.html 

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Witchcraft in Spain

THE WITCHES MOUNTAIN-1975-In a pre-credit scene a woman comes home to find her cat dead in her bed. A little girl seems to be the culprit. She bosses the woman and runs around looking for Kiki which turns out to be her pet snake. Then the woman sets the place on fire. After the credits, a pompous photojournalist Mario (Cihangir Gaffani) blows off his girlfriend's romantic expressions and gets a new assignment. For some reason he takes photos of a woman named Delia (Patty Shepard; born in South Carolina) sunbathing topless on a beach. They have lunch and he invites her to go with him on his new assignment. After refusing she changes her mind and agrees to go. While waiting for her he hears some loud chanting like music. Later they stay overnight at an inn run by a guy who's hard of hearing. The next day they go to the mountains and their car is stolen. They find the car in a village where an old woman offers to let them stay overnight. While taking photos Mario sees a line of women with torches parading around. The old woman says they are witches. Some of them show up on the photos he took although they weren't there when he took them. Finally, the witches show up, dance around and capture the pair. Mario escapes. He meets up with Delia later somehow and they drive away but when they stop, she’s recaptured. Mario drives back to his swinging bachelor pad only to be confronted once again by the coven of witches of which Carla, the woman he spurned at the beginning is a member. 

This Spanish production directed by Rene Artigot moves along at a snail's pace and is sometimes too dark. The best thing about it is Mario's over sized 1970’s porno star style mustache!

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Karnsteins Curse

TERROR IN THE CRYPT-1964-At Castle Karnstein, Laura (Adriana Abesti) has a dream her cousin is killed (it's true). Count Karnstein (Christopher Lee) hires Baron Klauss (Jose' Campos) to do research on Carmilla of Karnstein, an ancient ancestor burned at the stake. While he’s working Laura and the housekeeper Rowena (Nela Conjiu) are in the basement performing a bizarre ritual involving a paper star and we learn Carmilla cursed the Karnsteins just before they killed her. Later a woman drops her daughter Ljuba (Ursula Davis) off at the castle. Then Annette (Vera Valmont) the maid and the count’s mistress tells the Baron that Laura is the spitting image of the infamous Carmilla. Laura and Ljuba seem on the verge of becoming more than friends. The Baron works hard but Karnstein seems to change his mind and doesn't want the Baron to do anymore research. It's become apparent that Laura is possessed by the spirit of the vengeful Carmilla and she's set her sights on Ljuba! Later at night Laura and Ljuba decide to investigate the mysterious bell ringing in the ruins where Carmilla was killed. They don't bother dressing, just run over there in their nightgowns! There they find an old hunchbacked peddler (Angel Midlin) hanging from the bell rope with his hand cut off.

Back at the castle, after Annette has pleasured her boss she spies Rowena wandering around using a hand (presumably the peddler’s) as a candle. It's a ceremony to find out who killed the peddler and it seems to point toward Laura’s room. But someone stabs the house-keeper. Annette runs in horror. Suddenly the whole story cuts to Rowena’s funeral. When the lights (candles) go out Laura sees Rowena sit up in her coffin and point. When Laura and Ljuba disappear, The Count and The Baron go looking for them. They find the Count’s cousin Franz (John Karlsen) bent on revenge (father of the girl killed in Laura’s dream). They also find Annette's dead body. It turns out Carmilla's actually possessing Ljuba. The trio bust into Carmilla’s tomb and put a stake through her. 

This black and white Italy/Spain co-production has it's moments but suffers a little from chopping editing. It was released in America through AIP. Lee made THE GORGON for Hammer the same year. It's based on a novel by Sheridan LeFanu but he isn't credited.

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Hannah

CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD-1973-A man spends a lot of time walking around in the dark. He finds a tomb and upon examining it is strangled from behind. It's then made to look like an accident. His son Chris Bolton (Andrew Prine) arrives to find out more about Dad’s death. He meets Peter (Mark Damon) a writer/blacksmith (looking suspiciously like the killer) and his sister Mary (Paty Shepard) who tell him the legend of Hannah, the young bride of Louis 17, who became a vampire and was buried alive in the very tomb that crushed Chris' father. None of the weird locals pay him any mind. Chris decides he wants to give his dad a decent burial. (“Do you think my father started to believe in this garbage?”) While trying to hoist the marble tomb off of dead dad the lid comes off revealing the perfectly preserved corpse of Hannah! Now awake she turns into a wolf and kills a blind man’s dog. Chris and Mary fall in love and it turns out Peter is a nut who worships Hannah. There's also a one eyed crazy guy who seems to be her henchman. After terrorizing the town, Chris sets her on fire. She becomes an ugly monster. The men surround her and Chris puts a stake in her heart. He and Mary leave but someone is left to carry on for Hannah. This Spain produced shot in Turkey horror is too dark in spots and very drawn out. American Ray Danton shot additional scenes for a US release. Aka: HANNAH, QUEEN OF THE VAMPIRES. Prine also starred in SIMON, KING OF WITCHES. 

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Hell's Bell

BELL FROM HELL-1973-Weird psychological drama from Spain about a guy named Juan (Renaud Verley; also in Visconti's THE DAMNED) who returns home after being released from an insane asylum. He wants revenge on his aunt (Viveca Lindflors) and her daughters who he believes had him committed because they wanted his inheritance. Before that however he works for a short time at a slaughterhouse where it seems to hint that John is planning something horrible for his relatives (before he leaves he says "I've learned enough"). He does some strange things like after he saves a girl from being raped by some hunters he pretends to be in a body cast and makes one of the hunters (Alfredo Mayo) hold his penis while he pisses. Later he pretends to pull out his own eyes and makes the hunter's wife faint. Some of Juan's actions do seem to infer that he may not have been crazy when he was committed and only became that way after his incarceration.

The finale involves a large bell tower which director Claudio Guerin Hill fell to his death from on the last day of shooting! This was too slow going, dark and confused for me though lots of people seem to view it as a classic. Christina von Blanc who was in Franco's A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD is featured as one of the daughters.

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Grin and Lambert It

DAY OF WRATH (GAME OF SWORDS)-2005-In Spain in 1542, during the inquisition, a drunken sheriff (Christopher Lambert) investigates a series of murders that leads to a conspiracy involving corruption, torture, murder and aristocrats covering up their Jewish bloodline. 

This medieval tale is very slow going and Lambert's character is kind of a fool but it was nice to see Brian Blessed as the pompous mayor. James Faulkner is Friar Anselmo who conducts some tortures. A few higher production values can't cover up the fact that this is just more Lambert boredom. Filmed mostly in Budapest by director Adrian Rudomin.

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Spanish Vampires

THE VAMPIRES NIGHT ORGY-1974-A busload of workers traveling to a castle make an unplanned stop in a strange village after their driver dies. The village is devoid of people but the weary travelers decide to stay in the cozy empty inn anyway. One person does show up though, a guy named Luis (the ubiquitous Jack Taylor) who says he got lost while driving around. When Ernest, one of the group goes out for a smoke he's attacked and killed en mass by some weird looking vampires. The next morning the remaining members are greeted by the town folk. A sort of town leader name Boris, who everyone calls Major (Jose' Guardiola) explains that the reason no one was around the previous night was that they were all attending a funeral. When the guests want some meat with their breakfast a big bearded cook chops off a villagers leg and it's serves it to them. One of the travelers goes on and on about how “different” tasting the meat is, much to the amusement of Boris. ”In no other place will you find a roast like this"...

Around this time a pasty faced Ernest shows up and later their bus won't start. Stranded with no money the visitors must accept the hospitality of The Countess (Helga Line', from several Paul Naschy movies), an aristocratic beauty who promptly seduces the young school teacher in the group, bites him on the neck and throws him to her hungry minions. Later the hairy cook hacks off a villager's arm (while a child watches) to serve as dinner. Luis suspects trouble (“There are too many strange and dangerous things going on”) and tries to save the remaining passengers including Alma (Dyanik Zurakowska from FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR) who finds a severed finger on her dinner plate! For some reason the one child, a girl passenger goes off with a mysterious boy and gets trapped in the cemetery. After her mother is killed the boy tries to save her the girl but winds up killing her instead. Luis and Alma flee in his car with the bloodthirsty villagers in hot pursuit. They escape but like in HG Lewis' 2000 MANIACS (and BRIGADOON) the evil village disappears once the pair bring back the authorities.

Director Leon Klimovsky made several films with Paul Naschy. He usually provides a lot of atmosphere and action but this Spanish production is pretty standard and way too dark. The vampires are strange enough but some things are left unexplained. Star Jack Taylor (from Oregon in the USA) made (and is still making) many Euro-films including some with Naschy and some for Jess Franco.

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The Mark of Naschy!

Paul Naschy was Spain's first horror star. A former wrestler and weight lifter, he started out as an extra in American movies made in Spain (like KING OF KINGS). He's also in an episode of TV's I SPY ("The Plains of Spain") in which Boris Karloff guest stars. He made many bloody and atmospheric horror films (most which he wrote under his real name) and played several different monsters. His most famous was the tortured werewolf character Vladamir Daninsky. Most of these films made it to the US in one form or another. Yet, he was almost totally unrecognized in his native country! He told of his ups and downs in the film industry in his autobiography "Memoirs of a Wolfman".

DRACULA’S GREAT LOVE-1972-This is Spanish horror king Paul Naschy’s only vampire film (original title: El Gran Amor Del Conde Dracula). As usual he wrote the rather sadistic story (under his real name Jacinto Molina) and tried for a new slant on the old legend. It’s a period piece but exactly in what period it takes place is undetermined. Four women and one lucky guy (Victor Acalzar/Vic Winner; also in HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB; see below) are traveling in the mountains near the castle of the original Dracula. When their wagon breaks a wheel and their coachman is conked on the head by a horse the group are forced to seek shelter from Dr. Marlowe (a suave and friendly Naschy). Turns out of course that Marlowe is actually the infamous count who needs the blood of a virgin to resurrect his daughter, the countess. Unfortunately, for the first time in his long career (?) he falls in love with his intended victim!

DGL features much bloodletting, nudity and a bloody three-way vampire lesbian scene. Also usual for Naschy’s films at the time a woman is whipped and tortured for no apparent reason (although a convoluted explanation is given). Naschy may seem an odd chance to play the king of vampires but he pulls it off fairly well (some might contend he’s a little wimpy) but the women are fantastic. Rosana Yanni (in her second Naschy film) is an unsung scream queen if there ever was one! Earlier she appeared in the laughable WHITE COMANCHE (1968) with William Shatner and Joseph Cotton.

Director Javier Acquirre (who co-wrote the screenplay with Naschy and Alberto S. Insua) provides tons of atmosphere and eroticism. He would direct Naschy, Yanni and Winner again in THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE (which Insua co-wrote) the next year. A dubbed but uncut version is available from The Incredibly Strange Filmworks, Inc.



HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB-1972- Made soon after the above opus HORROR is a wild ride in the Naschy tradition that borrows from several other features, most notably THE THING THAT WOULDN’T DIE and features a beheading and topless nudity even before the credits roll!

Naschy plays Ulric Du Marnac, an evil blood drinking, flesh eating, devil-worshiping sorcerer with an equally bloodthirsty companion, Mabille (Helga Line). His severed head is buried apart from his body. Just before the topless Mabille is hoisted upside down and burned she throws curses on everyone. In the present we meet his modern ancestor Hugo (also Naschy). After he and his friends have a séance and the old medium talks in Ulric’s voice Hugo decides to search for the head. His painter friend (Victor Alcazar) comes under Ulric’s evil power. With the help of some now possessed female friends, Ulric’s body is reunited with his head. He brings Mabille back to life too and they roam around ripping out hearts and eating them for nourishment. They also bring back some dead victims who terrorize Hugo and his girlfriend (Emma Cohen).

Director Carlos Aured packs this film with decadent atmosphere, ample gore and nice nudity to make it one of Naschy’s best. As usual he wrote the screenplay under his real name Jacinto Molina.

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