Latidos de pánico

"Panic Beats" or "Latidos de pánico" is a movie made just well enough to be an OK watch. However, storywise, it's more reminiscent of an episode of soap opera than a horror movie, which isn't necessarily bad, but it's surely not an achievement. Horror parts of the movie are nothing special and rely on gore to be shocking. There are no tense moments and there are no cool chase scenes and the opening and ending music theme of the movie absolutely doesn't fit into a horror movie. However, the movie looks and feels OK, there is some decent nudity thrown in the mix and, all in all, there are far worse movies for a horror movie genre fan to spend time on. I give it 6/10, but I recommend it only to the most hardcore genre and Naschy fans, because the rest won't find anything worth their trouble here.

This entertaining effort from 1983 has everything you would expect from a Spanish horror movie: a) Paul Naschy, b) a low budget, c) a curse from the past and d) gratuitous gore to satisfy splatter freaks.

Even though the production values are rather low key, the film is always entertaining and keeps you interested from beginning to end. There are enough twists to develop a decent plot filled with surprises. And, as mentioned before, there are also a handful of gory moments that are well crafted and really nasty (but don't expect a movie focused on blood and guts).

The most remarkable aspect of the plot is its mix of crime thriller and ghost story elements, which fit together surprisingly well. And this is one of those movies, where Paul Naschy's character is NOT the ill-fated Valdemar Daninsky!

Recommended for all friends of European horror.

"Latidos De Pánico" aka "Panic Beats" of 1983 is a neat little Horror film that mainly profits from a load of sleaze and Spanish Horror/Exploitation-icon Paul Naschy, who serves as leading man, writer and director. Paul Naschy enjoys a cult-status among my fellow fans of European Exploitation cinema, and, as far as I am concerned, his reputation is more than deserved. While the films he was involved in (as actor, writer, and sometimes, such as in this one, as director) may not qualify as being masterpieces or milestones, all Naschy films I've seen so far are highly entertaining, sleazy and violent little films that any fan of trashy low-budget Eurohorror should enjoy. What is most important, however, is that all of the man's films have a certain inimitable charm to them that can not be found anywhere but in a Naschy film. Naschy is probably best known for his role as Werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, whom he played in thirteen films so far, most famously in "La Noche De Walpurgis" of 1971. The character of the blood-thirsty knight Alaric De Marnac, whom Naschy plays here, is more sardonic than the Werewolf character, and, once again, the film has to do with a family curse. Naschy had already played Alaric De Marnac once, ten years earlier, in "El Esperanto Surge De La Tumba" ("Horror Rises From The Tomb", 1973). In addition to a creepy atmosphere and the usual Naschy-esquire charm, this sequel has a wonderful sense of black humor.

In the 16th century, the insane knight Alaric De Marnac (Naschy) terrorizes rural France with his blood-lust, using mainly his favorite weapon, the flail. Centuries later, his ancestor Paul Marnac (also Naschy) comes to his family's old castle with his wife, who needs the rural air in order to cure her heart disease... The film may not have the most logical storyline ever, but it delivers more than just diverting sleaze and gore. Naschy the director delivers a wonderful atmosphere, and Naschy the actor delivers an awesome lead. Sexy Paquita Ondiviela gets naked at every occasion and she also fits very well in the female lead. Paul Naschy plays his two roles with his usual greatness. Some may disagree, but I am personally a massive Naschy-fan, as he makes every film worthwhile, and his status as a Eurohorror-icon is more than justified. And while "Latidos De Panico" is maybe no milestone, I highly recommend it to my fellow fans of Eurohorror. Even if cheesy, this is great fun and a film that Exploitation lovers should enjoy. Not to be missed by my fellow Naschy-fans!

Paul Naschy films can be more than just a little bit hit and miss - and unfortunately there's a lot more misses than hits, but every now and again you happen upon a good one and this flick is certainly among the better Naschy films that I've seen. The film is directed by Naschy himself, and true to form (considering how a lot of his films are rather similar to each other) this one takes a hell of a lot of influence from Naschy's earlier works, particularly the boring Horror Rises from the Tomb. It's not original by any stretch of the imagination, but Panic Beats works well thanks to its atmosphere, gore and plot twists - it's almost verging on being a Giallo! The plot focuses on Paul; a rich descendant of a legendary knight named Alaric de Marnac. The knight has his own legend, and apparently he reappears every 100 years to batter any unfaithful women around his house. Paul decides to move his rich, but terminally ill wife up to the castle where the knight is reputed to have lived. Strange things start happening, and it appears the legend may be true...

The film gets off to a great start as we watch the knight chase down and slaughter a young woman. The film slows down from there and focuses more on the plot and characters. I won't say that it's all that interesting, but the film never gets boring and the way that we focus on the legend of the ancient knight is good. The film really picks up around the middle when the twist in the tale is revealed and it becomes obvious what the film is actually about. Naschy packs this flick with plenty of gore which is nice and the way that it's dished out is often unpleasant, which of course is also nice. There's a fair bit of bloodshed and the budget constraints were obviously a problem as it looks rather cheap - but it's still nice to watch. There's not as much nudity on display as some Euro-horror fans will be used to but Naschy is nice enough to cast some beautiful women and we do get some nudity. It all boils down to a predictable but well worked ending and while I cant say that Panic Beats is right up there with the best that Euro-horror has to offer - it's certainly a decent little film and above average for Naschy flick so I can recommend it.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Panic Beats; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.00 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.00 out of 10

Panic Beats is a definite Paul Naschy vehicle. Not only does he star, but he has written and directed this Dark Thriller come Horror flick. The lucky thing for the audience is that Naschy's accomplished in all of the principles.

The story's been written and filmed many times. Boy meets girl and falls in love - Love turns to despisement - Disdain germinates into murderous notions - People die. What provides the story with a breath of freshness is the motivations and complications of its characters. Naschy litters the tale with red herrings, both scripted and visually on screen. However, I still found it easy to surmise who the killer was before two-thirds of the story was complete. Luckily Naschy adds extra interest with his characters and background mythology, so I never lost my involvement.

The filmmaking is a tad simpler than the narrative. Naschy opts for basic camerawork, which works well. He tries to get creative with light and shadow and more engaging camera angles, usually when the scenes demand it - like when he uses special effects. Though, more inventiveness would only have added power to the picture. The one thing he excels in is controlling the pacing. He keeps the storytelling to a steady trot but gets it up to a gallop or a sprint when the action starts and the jump scares spring forth. And when he wants you uneasy, he adds the creepiness by prolonging the scene. One of the worst things about the filming was the FX heads. I loved the idea of the human heads mounted on the walls in place of the stags. What would have shoved the nightmare into awesomeness would have been realism. They looked so cheap and fake that they were laughable. It's sad because there aren't that many effects in the movie.

Naschy and the cast are outstanding in their performances. Each actor and actress play their part to the full. Only one actress stood out for me, Lola Gaos as Mabile. I believe it's because I liked her character the most, and Gaos superbly nails the servant woman come surrogate mother's persona.

Panic Beats is a watchable and enjoyable movie. You can use your detective skills to derive the murderer's identity or merely sit back and savour the film. Thanks to the story and film construction, either works well. Definitely worth one watch.

Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers, Absolute Horror, and The Game Is Afoot lists to see where I ranked Panic Beats.

Take Care & Stay Well.