La marca del Hombre Lobo

First of all, this is a VERY difficult film to find in any condition, and I am afraid my endeavours obtained a print put out by Video Search of Miami that was grainy, subtitled in German(odd for a Spanish film), and rather bleary through much of it. I searched long for this print, and despite its many flaws, both with the copy and with the film, I must say that I enjoyed the film overall. It has very high marks for atmosphere with its superb European gothic castle and its slyvan night settings. The acting is pedestrian at best, and the plot about an ancient family curse of lycanthropy is somewhat muddled. Apparently an old family, suitably called Wolfstein, was populated with a werewolf named Imre Wolfstein. Some traveling gypsies come by the deserted castle and steal jewels from the dead family members in the vault, even taking the silver-pointed crucifix embedded in the body of Imre. Of course, this allows Imre to come back to life and rid the castle of those pesky gypsies and other villagers. In the wake of his feeding, he bites Waldemar Daninsky. The story really starts here as Waldemar and friends try to rid him of his new affliction. Thinking they are getting expert medical help, his friends enlist the aid of two vampires, who are up to no good. As you can see the plot has something for everyone. Well the film has lots going against it, but the atmospheric mood and settings, and the fact that this is the first of the eight Waldemar Daninsky films starring Paul Naschy are reason enough to grab some popcorn, light some candles, and sit back and enjoy some hokum.

First time in which Waldemar stricken by ancient curse that turn into Werewolf at the full moon . Paul Naschy is turned into a werewolf when an annoyed Wolfman attacks and bite him . Daninsky looks desperately for a cure . He along with his lover (Dianik Zurakowska)) and a young man (Manzaneque) seek help for a doctor . Meanwhile Waldemar goes on a murderous rampage every time the moon is full. They contact a strange couple (Julian Ugarte, Aurora De Alba)who tries to cure his Lycanthropy with incantation but they result to be vampires. First entry about Werewolf with the unforgettable Waldemar Daninsky-Jacinto Molina ,under pseudonym Paul Naschy. Continental Europe's biggest horror star again with his classic character and horrifying to viewer. Jacinto Molina Aka Paul Naschy ,who recently passed away, was actor,screenwriter and director of various film about the personage based on fictitious character, the Polish count Waldemar Daninsky. The first entry about Waldemar was ¨The mark of the Wolfman (1967)¨ by Enrique Eguiluz , it was such a box office hit that Jacinto went on filming successive outings as ¨Night of Walpurgis¨, ¨Fury of the Wolfman¨ , ¨Doctor Jekill and the Wolfman¨ , and once again¨The return of the Walpurgis¨, ¨Howl of the devil¨, ¨The beast and the magic sword(1982)¨ that is filmed in Japan and for the umpteenth time ¨Licantropo(1998) and finally even directed by Fred Olen Ray in ¨Tomb of the Werewolf(2004) with Michelle Bauer.

It's a B series entertainment with abundant sensationalistic scenes and a Naif style.The movie has a bit of ridiculous gore with loads of blood similar to tomato and is occasionally an engaging horror movie full of fights, curses, and several other things. This time Paul Nashy/Jacinto Molina exhibits little breast but he was a weightlifting champion. Here Waldemar takes on vampires and werewolf in some moving fighting scenes. Pretty slow going, but hang in there for the Werewolf versus vampires. Regular cinematography in 3D and big screen ,70 mm, by Emilio Foriscot is accompanied by a lousy remastering. Filmed in Manzanares and Navacerrada, Madrid and Talamanca De Jarama, location in which were shot most part these horror movies. Eerie and atmospheric musical score by Angel Arteaga, saga's usual .The motion picture written by Naschy is middling directed by Enrique Eguiluz and regularly played by Jacinto Molina , a slick craftsman and mediocre actor.The flick will appeal to Paul Naschy fans and terror genre enthusiastic. Rating : 4,5 .

The Mark of the Wolfman (1968)

** (out of 4)

Bland but important Spanish horror film is the first to feature Paul Naschy in the Waldemar Daninsky role. In the film, Daninsky (Naschy) is bitten by a werewolf and soon finds himself turning into the creature. With the help of his best friend and girlfriend he's able to locate a German doctor who might be able to help him but Daninsky doesn't realize that the doctor is actually a vampire. THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN really isn't a very good moment but there's no question that it's an important one considering it started Naschy career as well as kick-started the Spanish horror genre. That alone makes the film worth viewing and there's no question that there are a few memorable moments scattered throughout the picture. The most effective sequence deals with a couple gypsies unlocking a tomb and pulling a stake from a man's heart, which has him come back as a werewolf. This attack sequence is actually quite effective and shot very nicely. There's also some very good atmosphere running throughout the film as it's clear that the low-budget at least allowed for a very good fog machine. Another plus is that the werewolf make-up looks pretty good for the most part, although there's no question that the actual transformation scenes are somewhat laughable. Naschy doesn't give the best performance of his career but I think he's good enough in the role and at least makes you feel sorry for his character. The supporting players are decent at best. There are some major problems with the picture that keeps it from being better. For starters, the pacing is pretty bad throughout the picture. Another issue is that the screenplay pretty much just throws everything into the mix and not all of it sticks. When released in America as FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR the film had an added on sequence trying to attach the events to the Frankenstein legacy but this here was pretty stupid so the Spanish version is the way to go.

The last time I encountered Paul Naschy was in the video nasty The Werewolf and the Yeti. This is the film that started his career as Count Waldemar Daninsky. If you like good old campy horror with busty gypsies and vampires showing maximum cleavage, then this will fit the bill. Besides, wolf-man transformations are always fun to watch.

Of course, the horror is accompanied by a juicy love triangle as Count Waldemar Daninsky seems to have stolen Countess Janice von Aarenberg (Dyanik Zurakowska) from her young beau Rudolph (Manuel Manzaneque).

Count Daninsky joins a group of villagers after "wolves" when the gypsies mistakenly removed the silver cross from the wolf-man while robbing graves. He saves Rudolph's life, but is bitten in the process, thus starting the series of films where Nachy is a wolf-man.

Seeking help, they come into contact with vampires. No, there is no Frankenstein; that was added for American markets.

"Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" is what I like to call one of them horror hodgepodges. There's a whole lot going on and it might look very confusing, but basically it's a very straightforward and sensationalist horror mess made in Europe but mainly intended for the American drive-in crowd. It's the first entry in the long-running and relatively notorious Spanish "Hombre-Lobo" series, all starring Paul Naschy as the eternally doomed lycanthrope Count Waldemar Daninsky. Some of the sequels might be better known, like "The Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Women" and "Curse of the Devil", but this is the movie that introduced us to Waldemar and showed us how he became a werewolf. In spite of the suave sounding title, the film has absolutely nothing to do with the mad scientist Baron Frankenstein or its monstrous creation. There are, however, plenty of werewolves and vampires. It's just that, around that time in particular, any horror flick with "Frankenstein" in its title was a guaranteed hit amongst the horror loving audiences. The makers of this film inventively put the connection by claiming the Frankensteins are distantly related to the Wolfsteins, a noble European family that were cursed with Lycanthropy. The last descendant of the Wolfsteins lies dead in the family crypt, with the silver dagger still in his heart to prevent resurrection. When a greedy gypsy couple (gypsies … they always screw things up in horror movies) removes the dagger, the wolf man goes on a bloody killing spree in town. Waldemar Daninsky and Rudolph Weissmann, two romantic rivals battling for the love of the yummy young countess Janice Von Aerenberg, are forced to team up during the organized hunt in the woods. Waldemar saves Rudolph's life when the wolf man attacks, but he can't avoid getting bitten and thus takes over the curse. In a last desperate attempt to find a cure, they call upon professor Dr. Janos Mikhelov, but he and his voluptuous wife Wandessa are actually vampires and primarily interested in the virgin blood of Janice and Rudolph.

Yes, okay, admittedly this all sounds quite convoluted and ambitious, but the truth is that "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" is nothing more than an amusing roller-coaster of campy horror and kitsch! The film has a rather slow and talkative opening half hour – with too much dull and pointless information about the love triangle between Janice, Rudolph and Waldemar - but as soon as the gypsies desecrate the Wolfstein tomb, there's non-stop bloody action and typical Euro-horror camp. The plot centering solely around the lycanthrope is still very atmospheric and moody (with eerie images of a dark forest and the vicious attack of a family), but as soon as the vampires appear, the whole thing just becomes too eccentric. Approaching the finale, there even is a wrestling match between two werewolves and the oddest vampire-kill in history of horror cinema. Whenever the plot becomes too much of a mess, the film reverts to the chattering fathers of Janice and Rudolph, as they summarize what's been going on at regular intervals. The make-up effects are decent and actually rather gruesome for 1968 and there are numerous hints at sleaze and perversion. This was the first horror film of Paul Naschy, but he kept playing Waldemar Daninsky throughout 12 more films and over a span of nearly 40 years. As in most of his films (especially the ones he wrote and directed himself), Paul Naschy plays a character that is extremely successful amongst the ladies even though he's not the least bit attractive. Waldemar Dankinsky for life!