Las garras de Lorelei

This was a nice discovery of a lost or at least unknown movie for me. 'The Loreley's Grasp' was released with a German dubbing for the first time in 2014, and because the director is famous for the 'Blind Dead' series, I bought the Blu-ray disc blindly (no pun intended).

Sigurd (Tony Kendall) is requested to save a boarding school from a mad killer that stalks the village at the Rhine. Elke (Silvia Tortosa, known best for 'Horror Express' with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing) is the young teacher who walks alone in the night a lot, so Sigurd is getting a chance to save her. Of course she could stay inside, knowing that a killer is outside, but then we wouldn't get any chase sequences. A blind musician tells everyone in the village about his suspicion that the killings are related to the Loreley legend, but when Sigurd meets a mysterious woman introducing herself as Loreley (Helga Liné), he is not suspicious at all and falls for her tricks, until it is almost too late...

Not a very clever script, rather dumb characters, cheaply made (the school has about 6 students), very free interpretation of the original myth, but never mind, you get a lot of darkness, a monster with green claws and big teeth, screaming girls and typical 70s sleaze. The killings are rather bloodthirsty - I personally prefer the old-fashioned, black and white 60s style over the graphic violence in the much too colorful 70s style, but it is a sign of the times.

Amando de Ossorio is definitely more famous for his excellent 'Blind Dead' series, and while this film is nowhere as good as that series (overall), The Lorelei's Grasp certainly has its moments and the film is mostly fun to watch, although it has to be said that it's a rather long way away from brilliant. The film is very much in the Eurohorror style; although the plot seems to take more influence from classic monster films of the UK and USA (Hammer Horror's The Reptile sprang to mind for me). The story is actually quite a good basis for a horror film and follows the idea of a beautiful woman that turns into a horrible monster known as 'The Lorelei' when the moon is full. She has been living under the Rhine in Germany for centuries, and hunting for human blood at night. However, when The Lorelei decides to kill one too many young girls at the local boarding house, the authorities decide to hire a hunter named Sirgurd to track down and kill the monster.

It's obvious that this film was made with a low budget, but even so; the director manages to create a fabulous Eurohorror atmosphere, and not even the special effects are all that bad. There's a fair amount of gore, and while the monster itself looks silly - that is both to be expected, and kind of fun in its own way. The plot itself is a little choppy, and the film definitely isn't very well paced. Certain plot points seem forced, while others seem more than just a little bit silly - the section with the scientist, for example. I have to say that this film could have been better; I'd have preferred something more along the lines of a Giallo style monster movie. It's odd, considering the nature of the plot, that the film appears to be pretty much humourless; but its serious tone only really comes off as being inappropriate when it comes to actually showing the monster. Overall, The Lorelei's Grasp is a good cheesy little horror film, and comes recommended to Eurohorror fans...just don't go in expecting too much.

"The Lorelei's Grasp" is sadly hard to find at the moment. The awful re-release "When The Screaming Stops" makes a mockery of the heart of the film, dressing it up as drive-in trash. In it's original version, it's still a bit cheesy, but I think it's a pretty good horror film. The plot centres on beautiful girls at an exclusive school who are being terrorised by a killer...some of the girls are already dead and so the school calls on the help of a handsome bodyguard called Sirgurd to protect the rest of them. Sirgurd has his hands full as all the schoolgirls soon develop a crush on him, but he also has to work out who is responsible for the gruesome murders.

Although the English version has terrible dubbing and most available versions are bootleg copies with a poor picture, it's possible to see that there is a good film hiding in here somewhere. The Lorelei creature itself is a bit hokey, but it doesn't hold back on the violence, with lot's of gory chest ripping shots(the Lorelei likes to rip people's hearts out). It also features some beautiful actresses of the period, notably Silvia Tortosa as the heroine, and the fabulous Helga Line as the mysterious beauty who seems connected with the murders somehow. It also has a poetic ending of sorts, and a great dreamy musical soundtrack. This film could gain a lot more appreciation if it was given a re-mastered DVD release. As they have recently done a make-over for the director Amando De Ossorio's "Blind Dead" series, maybe this one could be next?

According to ancient tradition of seven moons , a horrible creature called Lorelei emerges from river Rhine to eat human hearts . Every night when the moon is full, she turns into a reptile-like monster craving for human blood and begins her criminal rampage . Lorelei is attended by a bouncing and tall servant called Alberic (Luis Barboo) . The monster appears causing wreak havoc on the village , horrifying and torturing the rural population . She makes a brutal massacre in the little town and the protagonists are surrounded in a house . Later on , one girl after another of a nearby boarding school is being killed by her . Then , the Mayor (Luis Induni) and the Doctor (Sergio Mendizabal) hire a hunter named Sirgurd (Tony Kendall who recently died at age 73 from cancer) who is engaged to kill the monster . Meanwhile , the starring attempts to save the damsel in disgrace , the boarding school ruler (Silvia Tortosa) , and falls in love with Lorelei.

This atmospheric horror movie contains terrifying scenes when appears the monster and takes place the brutal killings . Based on legendary Lorelei , a known German legend dealing with a monster that has been living for centuries in a grotto beneath the river Rhein in Germany and in which rises from undersea to wreak havoc upon some beautiful Euro-babes and unfortunate victims . Plenty of lots of blood and gore , including repellent images when Lorelei removes hearts to feed herself . The fable is sometimes silly and laughable ,though the effects and action are well made . It's a slight fun with acceptable make-up , special effects , passable set decoration and functional art direction . In the film appears known Spanishtrash actresses as Helga Line , Loreta Tovar , Silvia Tortosa and uncredited Barbara Rey . Creepy and frightening musical score especially when the Lorelei appearance , being well composed by Anton Garcia Abril, author of the four eerie soundtracks of Templars living dead and composed in similar style . Colorful and evocative cinematography filmed on location in El Carcán, Madrid, Torrelodones , river Alberche, Madrid, Spain and Rhine, Germany .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Amando De Ossorio . Amando began in films as a writer and assistant director and continued his career by making short films and industrial documentaries . He was one of the main directors of the Spanish horror boom in the 70s, specially for his quartet of films about the living dead templars which started with his first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a trilogy : ¨Return of evil dead¨ , ¨Ship of Zombies or Blind dead 2¨ and ¨Blind dead 3 or The night of the sea gulls¨ . Amando owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . He displayed a varied career and specialized on all kind of genres as Western in "Rebels in Canada" and "Grave of the Gunfighter" , Historical as ¨Los Cantabros¨ , Monster movie as ¨Serpent of sea¨ and , of course, Terror as ¨Malenka¨ , The possessed¨ and ¨night of witches¨ . Ossorio also studied painting and photography , moreover, he also made his living as a painter of creepy images of the Knights Templar in his later years.

The iconic Spanish Horror director Amando De Ossorio is doubtlessly best known for his four 'Blind Dead' films starting with "La Noche Del Terror Ciego" ("Tombs of the Blind Dead") of 1971. "Las Garras De Lorelei" (aka. "The Lorelei's Grasp"/"When the Screaming Stops" of 1974 is yet another great little gem in the man's repertoire, which must not be missed by any Eurohorror fan.

The film, which is (very loosely) based on the German Loreley myth and the Niebelungen Mythology, is set in a Village by the Rhine, which is struck by a series of gruesome murders. After a girl has been found with her heart ripped out, some voices claim that the gruesome murder was the deed of the Lorelei, a beautiful woman who turns into a monster by nights and devours human hearts. The hunter Sigurd (Tony Kendall) is assigned as a watchman for a nearby boarding school for (hot) girls, lead by the drop-dead gorgeous teacher Elke (Silvia Tortosa)...

Connecting the fascinating Niebelungen myth with Eurohorror simply must result in great entertainment, especially since the man in the director's chair is Amando De Ossorio. It is undeniable that the film has a strong (and charming) camp-factor, but it has just as many moments of genuine creepiness. While the dialogue is sometimes camp and some characters' actions make little sense at times, Ossorio succeeds once again in creating a rich and menacing Gothic atmosphere. The photography and score are great, and the locations and set-pieces are beautifully gloomy. The female cast is full of beautiful women. The Regular redhead Eurohorror beauty Helga Liné shines in the role of the eponymous she-monster, and looks both incredibly hot and somewhat eerie. Silvia Tortosa, who plays the sexy young teacher, is even more ravishing. Miss Tortosa, who is also known for "Horror Express", must have one of the most impeccably beautiful faces ever seen on screen. The cast includes many regular Eurohorror actors, such as the creepy-looking Luis Barboo, Luis Induni (who also was in many Spaghetti Westerns) and José Thelman ("La Noche Del Terror Ciego"). There is some female nudity, but compared to other contemporary Spanish Exploitation films (such as some by Jess Franco, Paul Naschy,...) the film is rather low on sleaze. As usual for De Ossorio, the gore is very graphic and intense, and very well-made in spite of a low budget.

Besides the "Blind Dead" cycle, "Las Garras De Lorelei" is one of Amando De Ossorio's most memorable films, and an eerie and outrageously entertaining little gem that no fan of European Horror should miss. Highly Recommended!