Último deseo

Great title for a film, but just not this one. Over ambitious project inevitably leading to it becoming pretentious, silly and unforgivably, dull. It starts promisingly enough with a disparate group of dignitaries all masked at sat about a banqueting table as pretty girls in diaphanous gowns prepare to submit to their every whim in the name of the Marquis de Sade. Some of us will wish the film continued in this vein instead of lurching into post apocalyptic Twilight Zone territory, with blindness, zombieness and the threat of radiation and the end of the world. Paul Naschy is fine but looks a little more awkward than usual. I find he is usually better when working for himself.

This easily makes for the best film from Leon Klimovsky I have watched, since he had otherwise come across as a strictly pedestrian director. Given the apocalyptic sci-fi premise, this plays like a variation on 1962's THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (revolving around a town-folk blinded by nuclear fall-out) and 1968's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (having a besieged unaffected community as its protagonists). The former are led by a vicious real-life case who instigates his 'followers' to gouge out the eyes of one girl and shoot another in the mouth!; the latter, predictably, would just as soon fall out {sic} amongst themselves – best of all in this regard is Maria Perschy's put-down of the Paul Naschy character as "the biggest faggot of all time"! The film, therefore, is an ensemble piece – apart from Perschy's hostess (eventually revealed as a lesbian) and Naschy's rugged but volatile man of action (constantly imbibing drinks and smoking), we get Alberto De Mendoza as a Physicist (who probably knows more than he lets on about their current state of affairs) and Antonio Mayans (later elevated to leading-man status in several Jess Franco pictures).

Interestingly, the opening sequence has all of these (and others besides, notably a fat man who gradually regresses to an animalistic level!) convening for an underground Sadean 'experience' – donning masks so as to conceal their high-profile identities and with several willing girls at their disposal! – which, ironically, saves their hide. Other films which can be seen to have inspired this one to some degree are two popular Charlton Heston sci-fi vehicles, namely THE OMEGA MAN (1971; the look of the 'monsters'), SOYLENT GREEN (1973; the downbeat 'mass of human flesh' finale), and even Luis Bunuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL (1962; the party-turned-survival-game premise). Incidentally, one of the co-writers here was himself a notable director i.e. Vicente Aranda, who had previously helmed the popular "Carmilla" update THE BLOOD-SPATTERED BRIDE (1972). In the end, while the English title of the film under review is undeniably memorable, I admit to being partial to the subtlety displayed by the Spanish original – which translates to "Last Wish"; as for the copy I acquired, it was only let down by the first three minutes which had jerky movement coupled with audio that was both distorted and out-of-synch!

This film might play as some kind of parable about the rich and the poor, or perhaps the Franco regime, or some crap like that. What we in the instant world of 2018 need to know is: are there plenty of boobs and gore in this film?

The answer of course is there's some boobs and not a lot of gore, but it's worth a watch anyway. It's got Paul Naschy in it. And he's plays a complete jerk.

He's a Baron or something of a huge villa where the rich go to play out weird sex games in the basement. We get to meet our elite first - a couple of doctors, a lawyer, the Madame who runs the plays, and we get to meet out hookers: the red-head, the blonde one, the black one and I think at least two were gay as well. I've got to admit the film does spend quite a bit of time establishing why we should this lot before the men all don weird masks and the women throw on see-through gowns and head to the cellar.

It's lucky for them that while they're down there a nuclear war breaks out and everyone 'up top' is blinded by the flash. Our rich folk/hooker team head back upstairs to find the help staggering about blind, and do what any rich enclave would do: Head into town to steal all the food from all the blind people that clearly need help while also killing a few of those blind folk and causing a huge siege situation back at the mansion. Remember those poor folks in Day of the Triffids? Well, imagine a really angry, violent version of them and you've got this film.

People compare this to Night of the Living Dead and Last Man on Earth and that's because it is basically those films, only with Paul Naschy and the priest guy from Horror Express in it. That doesn't mean it's a bad film though. It's good. I still haven't watched a Paul Naschy film I haven't liked, and this one seems to have a bigger budget than most. Who doesn't want to see a bunch of angry blind people get their own back on a bunch of jerks?

Strong suspense with considerable violence by that time : the early and middle Seventies . The plot is plain and simple : a bunch of wealthy businessmen , doctors and military officers who are partying at an old house , then occurs a nuclear accident and subsequently they venture out into the nearest little town to search for supplies as well as food and meet most of the residents blinded by the outbursting . As a catastrophe turns all of humanity into blindness , a group of bourgeois people and prostitutes stay suffering on earth in a post-apocalypse , while becoming themselves into reluctant victims and cruel assassins , then several surprises to take place . Meanwhile , lots of infected people are crawling , shambling , through empty streets , whimpering , pleading , begging for his loves ..Now ... there is nothing between you and ... "the people who own the dark".

Creepy , scary and violent movie in which a bunch of rich businessmen are spared when a nuclear war ravages the earth , and they discover the existence of a sinister and brutal group called ¨The People Who Own The Dark¨ . This is an original as well as effective cross-fertilization of doomsday fantasy and Gothic myth . It suggests compellingly the darkest and sinister themes of Richard Matheson 1954 novel , frequently adapted as ¨The last man on Earth¨ . As the story takes parts here and there of ¨The Last man on Earth¨ by Sidney Salkow , ¨The Omega man¨ by Boris Sagal , and ¨The night of living dead¨ by George A Romero . Main cast is pretty good , such as : the veteran Argentine actor Alberto De Mendoza , the extremely gorgeous Nadiuska , the terror legend Jacinto Molina and Maria Perschy who time ago worked for Howard Hawks . And support cast is full of familar faces such as : Teresa Gimpera , Emiliano Redondo , Julia Saly , Ricardo Palacios , Tomás Picó , Diana Polakov , Antonio Mayans , among others . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Miguel Milá , shot on location in Torrelodones ,Alcalá de Henares, Miraflores de la Sierra ,Talamanca del Jarama, Madrid . And frightening and suspenseful musical score by by Asins Arbó .

The motion picture was compellingly directed by Leon Klimovsky . This Argentinean filmmaker Leon Klimovsky was a good and prolific craftsman . Klimovsky was born on October 16, 1906 in Buenos Aires, Argentina as León Klimovsky Dulfano . Founded Argentina's first film club in 1929 . Began his film career making short movies . Settled in Spain in the 1950s and became a Spanish citizen . He was a director and writer , known for his terror films as La Noche De Walpurgis (1971), La Orgía Nocturna De Los Vampiros (1973) , La Saga De los Drácula , La Rebelión De Las Muertas , Doctor Jekyll Y Hombre Lobo , but he also directed other genres as Wartime : Operación Rommel , A Ghentar Si Muore Facile , The Legion of No Return ; thriller : Mean Mother ; Western : Reverendo Colt , 2000 dollars for Coyote , Few Dollars for Django, Death Knows No Time , Rattler Kid , A dollar for Sartana ; and Drama : La Casa De Las Chivas , Salto a La Gloria . Rating . 6.5/7 . Decent , almost notable terror and thriller movie .

Well, don't get me wrong, this has a nice plot, the acting is better than most films of its type and the direction is nice. But that can't disguise the fact while the movie was good, the ending was just atrocious. I definetely would have given this movie three and a half stars, but due to the lame ending, gave this one only two.