La marca del Hombre Lobo

"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!

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.

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.

MORD39 RATING: ** (of ****)

The first of many werewolf films starring Paul Naschy as the doomed lycanthrope, Waldemar Daninsky.

Bitten by a werewolf, Naschy seeks help from a weird couple of specialists who are not exactly what they appear to be. It's a fun and very atmospheric movie to watch, despite its dubbing and low budget. With a tendency to confuse, it's not for every taste...but it's the perfect place to start for those interested in Spanish horror.

This film is absolutely NEVER aired on TV anymore and is nearly impossible to find on video. I remember seeing it several times as a staple on one of the numerous horror movie shows that used to air in NYC years ago (Creature Features, Thriller Theater, etc.) I would love to revisit it.

As a cheapo horror movie buff (and veteran of the "old" Times Square horror/kung fu/blacksploitation double-feature movie houses), I've since learned that like many other European horror movies of the era, the version seen here in America (Frankenstein's Bloody Terror) is a truncated version of the original Spanish print. Stripped down from 93 minutes to just 78 minutes only added confusion to plot points that were vague or contrived to begin with. I'm keen on seeing the original version, but I'm sure the shorter randomly edited version is probably a lot more fun (as is often the case -- see The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula for another example).

The only Naschy werewolf film that I've seen in video release is Fury of the Wolfman, which doesn't hold a candle to this movie in terms of pure kitschy so-bad-it's-good delight.