El carnaval de las bestias

An Asian crime syndicate enlists the aid of Paul Naschy in a diamond heist, a choice they come to regret when he violently betrays them. He kills the syndicate leader, the father of a girl he's been feigning romance with. She shoots Naschy in a vengeful rage, but he escapes into the wilderness. Critically wounded, he slips under, only to awaken in the personal care of an eccentric doctor and his two sexy daughters. At this point, the film switches gears, and what began seemingly as an action/crime film suddenly shifts into a hybrid mystery/lurid revenge story, culminating in a weird but satisfying finale in the flavor of classic EC horror comics.

All things considered, it's a likable little dish of a very different flavor. 5.5/10.

"Human Beasts" is an odd mix of crime drama, action film, and horror - in that order. Naschy plays a criminal hired by Japanese gangsters to steal some diamonds. One of the gangsters is his girlfriend who is in loe with him, but the movie doesn't do much with this. When he steals the diamonds he cold-bloodedly murders everyone involved in transporting them, which shocks his employers, making one wonder what they expected when they hired a hitman to carry out the job. Naschy double crosses them and escapes into the Spanish highlands, but is injured in the fracas, and awakes in a mansion where a rich man and his beautiful daughters care for him.

We see Naschy bandaged up lying in bed with a doting woman standing beside him, there is a cut to something else, and cut back, and - what do you know - that doting woman is naked in bed with Naschy! This has to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious edits I have seen in a movie. Who needs things like seduction, sexual tension, chemistry - this is Naschy we're talking about. You know the girls are going to get naked. Why not just show her in bed with him and be done with it?

The man who owns the mansion is inexplicably kind to Naschy, and his brutal criminality begins to soften. But right from the beginning we are shown that, surprise surprise, all is not as it seems in this spooky mansion. In one of the weirdest moments, we see the man whipping the panty-clad butt of his beautiful black maid, while she admonishes him, "harder! harder!"

Is she a maid, or a... slave?

The movie seriously stalls when Naschy starts living at the mansion. Considering how it skips the details of Naschy's apparent seduction of the daughters, this is strange: it's like it misses necessary scenes to replace them with filler. The movie cuts to the Japanese that Naschy has ripped off, but for no real reason I can tell, other than the fact that the movie is a Japanese co-production. There are also some dream sequences, and a ghostly apparition of a woman who serves no purpose other than reminding you you are watching a horror movie.

In one of the movie's more memorable scenes, a man is... meant to be eaten alive by some bloody-snouted pigs.

Finally, there is a crazy fancy dress party at the mansion, which is probably the movie's best moment. As the rich eccentrics eat, the pigs are cut back to, reminding us for the nth time that Eurohorror basically exists to show rich people behaving like swine.

This scene comes too late, though, and I'd be surprised if many who watch "Human Beasts" would still be paying attention by this point. The film has some good moments, but the structure is too weak to string them all together, unfortunately. I think all Naschy is worth watching for cult/horror fans, but this isn't one of his best.

Paul Naschy wrote and directed this Japanese/Spanish co-production, but instead of playing his regular hero or sympathetic monster, the Euro-horror star's character is a complete and utter git. Naschy plays Bruno Rivera, a ruthless mercenary hired by crime-boss Taro (Kogi Maritugu) to carry out a daring diamond robbery. As Bruno waits for the day of the heist, he romances Taro's sister Mieko (Eiko Nagashima), getting her pregnant, so it comes as a surprise when the mercenary double-crosses his employer and jilts his lover, running off with the sparklers. Taro and Mieko, naturally miffed, vow to hunt the scoundrel down.

During a shootout, Taro is killed and Bruno wounded, but Mieko's target gives her the slip. Eventually passing out from loss of blood, Bruno wakes to find himself in the home of doctor Don Simón (Lautaro Murúa) and his sexy daughters Alicia (the lovely Azucena Hernández) and Mónica (Silvia Aguilar), who nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, Mieko is closing in, determined to take revenge.

What follows is a fairly typical example of Euro sleaze, with both Mónica and Alicia lusting after Bruno, meaning that Naschy gets to roll around with both girls naked (remember, he wrote this, the sly old devil). There's also some naughtiness involving shapely servant girl Raquel, Don Simón giving her a flogging on her ass for disobedience (giving us a hint that the old guy isn't quite the saint that he at first appears to be). There's also some violence, a mysterious figure creeping about the house killing various visitors, allowing for a smattering of gore.

With the nudity and blood boxes well and truly ticked, Carnival of the Beasts should give most Naschy fans a reasonable time, but to be honest, the plot is pretty lousy, the acting not great (not helped by terrible dubbing on the version I watched), and the whole thing is rounded off with a very silly twist ending (all of which are probably plus points for many Euro-horror fans).

5/10, if only for this hilariously un-PC line of dialogue spoken about Asian women: 'They all look the same to me'.

A hit man working for the Yakuza double crosses his employers and flees with a cache of diamonds from the latest heist. Injured and hiding in the mountain regions of Spain, with Japanese assassins in hot pursuit, he takes refuge in the home of a local doctor and his two daughters, who nurse him back to health and hide him from his pursuers.

Mirek Lipinski writes that this film is "one of Naschy's most intimate cries that something was wrong with humanity." Naschy himself wrote that at this point in his life he "didn't believe there were many things worthwhile in this filthy rotten world." This perfectly explains the mindset that went into writing and directing this film.

An unusual blend of mystery, action, crime and horror, the one unifying theme of the movie is that no one is to be trusted and man is always ready to prey on his fellow man. For those viewers who like to have a character they can be sympathetic with, this film may have you searching in vain. Our "hero" is a double-crossing hit-man and thief. His saviors have their own agenda. The house servant is unfaithful to her lover. The only one who is arguably a good person is Meiko, who is justified in tracking down the man who wronged her. But even here, when we first meet her, she has orchestrated a jewel heist.

Though not one of Naschy's better-known films (at least in America), it has some moderate star power. The two daughters are played by a former beauty contest winner and a former model, who were no doubt beloved in Spain. The cinematographer is Alejandro Ulloa (1926-2002), who may be known for "Horror Express" or Orson Welles' "Chimes at Midnight". The score even has a track from Ennio Morricone, albeit a recycled one from a much earlier film.

Scream! Factory has included this film as part of their 5-movie Paul Naschy Blu-ray set. Interestingly, of the five films this one has the fewest special features. This is a shame, as a commentary would have been nice or better still an interview with star Eiko Nagashima, who could have added a great deal of knowledge about the production.

The video transfer is very good. While not the most crisp and clean picture you will ever see, it is probably the best that could be achieved from the source material and looks exceptional. The only drawback is that Spanish (or Castilian) subtitles are embedded on the screen when characters speak Japanese. The sound, unfortunately, is not spectacular. While this is no doubt the way the original was and no fault of Scream, the vocals tend to fade in and out and the music is not as clear as it could be.

So ad not to end on a negative note, this is still well worth seeking out. For those who only know Naschy from his werewolf movies, this will be an eye-opening experience and really showcases his versatility for various genres.

Paul Naschy plays a cold, heartless man who thinks nothing of stabbing his close ties in the back, however sordid they may be. But when he wakes up in a countryside estate, rippled with bullets, being nursed back to health by a very unusual family, he begins to open up his heart and shed his evil ways. But can he escape the wrong doings of his past and his destiny? Be prepared for some crazy twists and turns in this original, entertaining thriller.

Naschy wrote, directed and starred in this very strange film. Departing from his regular Gothic tales, this movie mixes double-crossing, revenge, Oriental mobs, killer pigs and voodoo to create a very unusual but tasty tale. Some very offbeat characters, a slight touch of comedy, some racial political incorrectness and several splashes of gore add just the right flavor. Bon Appetite!