El retorno de Walpurgis

Actually, "a bit slow" is sort of a complement. European horror films from this era frequently cover the range from very slow to painfully slow. So a bit slow is acceptable, in my opinion.

I have only seen one other Paul Naschy film (an edited bad print of Werewolf Vs. the Vampire Women) so I can't really compare this film to his others.

Anchor Bay just released this film on DVD in widescreen with a nice looking and uncut print. I can definitely endorse the film in this version for fans of the genre. I am more familiar with British and Italian horror films, less so with Spanish ones. The quote on the DVD box from Video Watchdog hails this as one of the best Spanish horror films and I would say that sounds fair. The atmosphere and settings are both quite good and there is a fair bit of blood and gore, although don't expect it on the same level with a Romero zombie film or a cannibal film.

Worth noting is the framing of the film. Having only seen this widescreen version I would say that it is definitely worth waiting to see it in it's original aspect ratio as opposed to any pan & scan version. This is one of the better framed films I've seen of this type from this period. While it is definitely not Psycho or Touch of Evil (in my opinion, two of the best framed films I've ever seen) the compositions are very nice and I would complement the director and d.p. both for having a good eye.

In my opinion the dubbing for this film is better than average as well. Fans of foreign horror are likely familiar with frequently bad (and unintentionally funny) dubbing. While I would say that the original foreign language track with subtitles is ultimately the preferred set of circumstances, the dubbing job on this film is better than most, especially for a lower budget film such as this.

I would say that any fans of Paul Naschy who haven't seen this film should track it down right away. And any fans of Euro-horror should take a look as well.

The DVD is released under the title Curse of the Devil and based on that, the description I'd read of the film, and the opening minutes, I expected a sort of mix between Satan worshiping witches and the werewolf story. In reality, after the opening section, the bulk of the story is werewolf-related. The film has gone under other titles that give more focus to the werewolf story, which may well suit the bulk of the film better. However, don't let that turn you away from seeing the film.

I'm like the Energizer Bunny when it comes to Paul Naschy – I keep going and going and going with the hope of one day finding a Naschy film I really enjoy. I know the man has his fans, but I've yet to see the appeal. My latest excursion into Naschy's filmography is Curse of the Devil. It's certainly not the worst Naschy film I've seen (that would be Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf), but the best I can do is call it an average horror film.

The film gets off to a good start. The story explaining how Daninsky (Naschy) became a werewolf is well done. Much like Hammer's Curse of the Werewolf, the backstory presented in Curse of the Devil is nice as it provides a reasonable (well, as reasonable as horror movies can be) explanation behind lycanthropy. Too often, horror movies expect us to accept a person is a werewolf without any explanation other than they were bitten by a werewolf. It's as if it's always been that way, so just accept it. I really appreciated and enjoyed this portion of the film. These early scenes also have a nice Gothic feel to them and an attention to detail that really adds to the atmosphere.

But then Daninsky changes into a werewolf and the whole thing goes downhill. It's the same old story we've seen numerous times. And, if you've seen many Naschy films, you'll definitely feel like you've seen it before. If Naschy is anything, he's consistent and predictable. From what I've seen, his films rarely stray from the tired and true path. But more specifically, there are a couple of things about the werewolf scenes that bother me. First, how is he able to sneak up on everyone? Wouldn't the sound of a hulking, snarling werewolf be a tip-off that something's not quite right? Second, the "special effects" are abysmal even when taking into account the time period in which the movie was made and any budget limitations. Most of the werewolf victims in Curse of the Devil look like people who have, for whatever reason, poured marinara sauce on their faces. It's not very effective.

As I always seem to write when discussing a Naschy film, I'm not giving up. Even though I've yet to find that Naschy film that clicks with me, I'll keep going in hopes that sooner or later one will.

Hahahaha, that should be my review but IMDb doesn't allow that so here we go. First of all it's a Paul Naschy movie which means you are against him or you love him. Secondly, it's a low budget flick. In the beginning of the movie we have some slicing of a throat, easily to see the fake flesh, or blood running out of the knife and not from the wound. We move on to the next scene were they hunt a dog, oops, I mean a wolf. Once shot they go looking towards the wolf but it's a man's body laying there. Must be a werewolf. Over to some nice scene's about hanging some women and the burning at the stake of Bathory. But before she dies she cursed the Darinsky family. Of to some summon of the devil, you guessed it a man in a suit with a shot revealing the zipper of his suit. The devil chose the perfect girl to do the cursed ritual on one of the offspring of the Darinsky's(that's Paul Naschy). Girls disappearing at night....before the wolfman appears we are having a lot of nudity, full frontal. But the movie does have his failures. It's never scary and sometimes it really becomes laughable. The wolfman reminded me of the 1941 version. The way he changes from man into wolf is the same as they did in 1941. But the most frightening part of this flick are the moments of the full bushes, go figure out you have to bite that! They're more hairy than the wolfman. But some shots are gory for the time being even as you can see that it is a cheap effect. The blood really looks like ketchup and reminded me of the blood used in Blood Feast. Be sure to watch the uncensored uncut version.

Paul Naschy – the living and already legendary icon of Spanish exploitation cinema – once again suffers from overabundant body hair growth in this entertaining and very gory episode of the "Hombre-Lobo" cycle. These fun movies don't exactly follow each other, but they all star Naschy as Count Waldemar Daninsky; a noble and honorable man but with the misfortune of transforming into a bloodthirsty werewolf whenever the moon is full. In "Curse of the Devil", all the events revolve on the Night of Walpurgis. This holiday is kind of like Christmas but exclusively for witches, Satanists and everyone else who's up to no good. On this night, poor Waldemar is struck by a terrible curse that was placed upon him several centuries ago, when his Witchfinder-ancestor single-handedly wiped out an entire coven of devil worshipers and burnt their leader. Following a series of macabre events (a bizarre hunting accident, a bloody ritual performed by a sexy witch…), Waldemar becomes a werewolf and kills a lot of people (preferably gorgeous women) in the forest surrounding his land. This is not the type of movie you watch for its unbearable suspense or the masterfully written dialogues. It's a simple European exploitation effort from the 70's in which a lot of girls get fully naked and even more poor souls have their throats bit open. The gore is plentiful but never really shocking and the acting performances vary from bad to…very, very bad! Naschy's transformation into a werewolf is hilarious instead of creepy and the sub plot about an escaped murderous lunatic is just too implausible. Recommended…but only to Euro-horror fanatics and fans of Paul Naschy. PS: the indicated running time of 73 minutes must be taken from a severely cut version. The DVD I watched (Dutch release) runs 82 minutes and shows every butchering in great and tasteless details. Go for that one!

"El Retorno De Walpurgis" aka. "Curse Of The Devil" of 1973 is already the seventh film in which Spanish Horror/Exploitation legend Paul Naschy plays Werewolf Waldemar Daninski. These Waldemar Daninski films (many of them carry an "Hombre Lobo" title) are not exactly connected with each other (some of them play in the past, some in the present), but they all revolve around Waldemar Daninski, a usually kind-hearted man who is turned into a Werewolf by a curse. Unlike the title might make believe "El Retorno De Walpurgis" is not a direct sequel to the foregoing "La Noche De Walpurgis" (aka "The Werewolf Vs. Vampire Women") of 1971, the most famous of the Waldemar Daninski films. While "La Noche..." played in the present (1971), this film takes place in the past, presumably in the late 19th century. It is also not quite clear whether the Waldemar Daninski in this film is the same, or an ancestor of the other - he has quite the same traits of character, however.

In medieval times knight Irenius Daninski (Paul Naschy) rid the world of a coven of devil-worshipers when he killed their leader in battle, and had his witch wife burned and their followers hanged. Before being burned at the stake however, the devil-worshiping lady put a curse on Daninski's family, vowing to be back for revenge... Several centuries later, the kind-hearted Waldemar Daninski (also Naschy) lives in the castle... More than its predecessors, "El Retorno De Walpurgis" gives a little background information about how the Daninsky-curse came to existence. The film is quite typical for a Naschy-flick. On the one hand the story is often extremely cheesy, but on the other hand it has moments of great style. As far as I am considered, a Naschy flick is always worth watching, as they mostly provide a great atmosphere, and practically always provide two elements that all my fellow Exploitation-enthusiasts should appreciate: Loads of sleaze and female nudity, as well as stylish (if sometimes cheesy) gory outbursts. And this is definitely the case with "El Retorno De Walpurgis". The film is filled with gore scenes, which are quite nicely done for a budget that was supposedly quite low, and all the female characters have exhibitionist tendencies, most memorably the stunningly beautiful Maritza Olivares and Fabiona Falcón. The fact that the werewolf-makeup is not exactly frightening does in no way lessen this film's cult-value. Low-budget Spanish Horror-exploitation from the 70s is a supremely entertaining kind of cinema, and Paul Naschy is its king. While this "Retorno De Walpurgis" may not be a must-see, it is definitely a highly entertaining film that my fellow Eurohorror buffs should enjoy! Paul Naschy Forever!