A Noite dos Assassinos

The label "thoroughly average" is borrowed from the Aurum Horror Encyclopaedia and, for once, describes the movie very well.

That does not imply that the movie is without interest. There are nice decors and several interesting scenes, e.g., a man is buried alive with only his hands, which are tied to the back, sticking out of the ground like a cry for help or a women is tied to the rocks and left to the tides. Of course, the movie features also Franco's usual dilettantism such as badly focussed shots.

All in all, it is worth a try. No suspense or blood, though. So, watch it only if your are fully awake.

The already quoted horror encyclopaedia contains a plot summary which differs slightly from what I have seen. This could mean that, as so often, there exist several different versions of the movie.

Horror mystey about the residents of a luxurious mansion where are being killed one by one executed by a masked serial killer . At the beginning is killed the house owner , Lord Archibald Marian : Angel Menendez . When the family arrives for the reading of Marian's will , his wife : Maribel Hidalgo, is also murdered . As a group of potential heirs gather in the old house to learn which of them will inherite a fortune. Later on, they learn that a flesh-rending maniac is loose , carrying out a criminal spree . As a result , his will is structured in such way as to set up a dogfight between his potential heirs as to who will collect his fortune . More and more murders go on and a policeman : Vicente Roca and a Scotland Yard inspector : Alberto Dalbes investigate the stranges cases and along the way find out dark secrets . For God's sake , stay in your rooms and lock the Doors !

This scary film titled "Night of Skull" or "Night of the assassins" or "Suspiri" or "La noche de los asesinos" results to be a peculiar Giallo with a lot of murders , being regularly directed by prolific filmmaker Jesús Franco in his usual style . This mysterious film contains suspense , intrigue , whodunit , spooky atmosphere and bloody mayhem , being the essential question to find out : Who's the killer ? . The main interest resides in guessing what kind of murder is executed by the masked killer wielding an iconic skull mask , as a man is buried alive , another is stabbed , a woman is strapped to the face of a rock and drowned by the tides , while two Policemen investigating and discovering dark secrets in the family's past . Being inspired by prestigious writers as Edgar Allan Poe and Edgard Wallace , though actually based on a play titled "The Cat and the Canary" by playwright John Willard previously adapted on big screen in 1927 by Paul Leni and in 1978 by Radley Metzger with Honor Blackman , Michael Callan, Edward Fox . The cast of this atmospheric period piece is formed by Franco regulars such as Alberto Dalbes , Antonio Mayans who was Franco's habitual collaborator , the giant Luis Barboo , and Lina Romay , Franco future wife and his muse, who this time keeps her clothes on, and , of course, common cameo by Jesús Franco as a notary . Adding other actors customary players in Italian/Spanish B films as William Berger , Evelyne Scott , Yelena Samarina , Angel Menendez and Dan Van Husen who played several Spaghetti/Paella Westerns

While the atmospheric cinematography by Javier Zofio , being really necessary a perfect remastering , due to the images are very dark . Being shot on location in Orihuela , Alicante , Comunidad Valenciana . Adding adequate musical score by the Italian Carlo Savina that results to be intriguing and suspenseful. This Gothic flick was middlingly directed by Jess Franco , though it hasn't usual sleaze and depravity , Uncle Jess' regular marks . This hack director was an expert on exploitation movies , making all kinds of genres , such as : Terror : Miss Muerte, Gritos en la noche, Count Dracula, Vampyres Lesbos, Dracula versus Frankenstein , Jack the ripper , Los Demonios, Mansion of the Living dead and Orloff saga that includes : Secret Dr Orloff , Sinister Dr Orloff , Orloff's Invisible Monster , Faceless . Erotic : Justine , Eugenie of Sade , Venus in Furs, Female Vampire , Devil's island lovers . Adventure : Un Capitan de 15 Años , Lucky the intrepid , Fumanchu and kiss of death, Castle of Fumanchu . WIP subgenre : 99 women, Barbed Wire Dolls. Cannibal subgenre: Sexo Cannibal, Mondo Cannibale and Giallo : Bloody Moon , La noche de los asesinos , among others .

Roger Corman apparently isn't the only director who can do Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, even though he undoubtedly remains the reigning king thanks to his SEVEN masterful films during the early 60's starring Vincent Price. The least you can say about this movie is that it's a likable effort. If you compare the oeuvres of exploitation master Jess Franco and early 19th century author Edgar Allen Poe, an amalgamation of their works seems nearly impossible and ridiculous. And yet, "Night of the Skull" is a very compelling and atmospheric Gothic horror film, worthy of Poe's good reputation and a class above the majority of Franco's other movies. The screenplay is based on Poe's "The Cat and the Canary" and revolves on the despicable Marion family as they gather around to hear the will of the murdered patriarch Archibald Percival. Since his death was unnatural, the inheritors all of a sudden get to hear a completely unexpected testament that divides the family fortune differently. Then at night comes a skull-masked killer to eliminate all the family members in gruesome ways, referring to the four basic elements water, wind, earth and fire. Our good old pal Jess manages to create a wondrously sinister Goth atmosphere, complete with dark mansions near the seaside and loud thunderstorms. There's always a certain level of suspense to enjoy and the murders are impressively barbaric. Especially the first murder, that of the family patriarch, is quite creepy. This movie probably contains the smallest amount of sleaze in a Jess Franco movie ever (even Lina Romay keeps her clothes on at all times, which is truly odd), but there's constant hinting at perverted themes, such as incest, voyeurism and adultery. The decors are great, the acting is more than adequate for once and the recent DVD release looks very nice. This film isn't dubbed, which is a real pleasure. Definitely top 3 Franco material, alongside "Faceless" and "The Awful Dr. Orloff".

Night of the Assassins (1976) is my second dip into the murky pool of Jess Franco; a filmmaker noted for his lurid sleaze, vulgar exploitation and incredibly low-budget style. Unfortunately for me, the two films of Franco's that I have experienced thus far have been largely devoid of the sex and depravity that his work is so often noted for; instead, finding the director attempting more worthy subject matter with restraint and integrity. My first experience of Franco was with the film Devil's Island Lovers (1973); a low-key and ultimately unremarkable treatise on political corruption, dictatorship and the horrors of the death penalty. Although it is worth noting that that particular film exists under several alternative titles, such as The Lover's of Devils Island and Female Quarters - with each version featuring more gore, sex and sleaze, to the extent that Female Quarters is essentially a lesbian-themed women in prison film - the version that I saw was tastefully done, devoid of sex and placed the emphasis entirely on the characters and the narrative.

Night of the Assassins follows a similar ideology to the film aforementioned, creating the odd notion of an exploitation film without the exploitation, but regardless, presenting Franco as a more competent and intelligent filmmaker than his reputation for more-lurid and sleazy pictures like Vampyros Lesbos (1970), Female Vampire (1973) and Barbed Wire Dolls (1975) would suggest. With this in mind, Franco presents us with a number of interesting characters, an appealing and linear story, some tasteful (though heavily over-dubbed) performances and an overall approach to the direction that is stylish, without becoming entirely laboured. As with Devil's Island Lovers, the budget was obviously at a bare minimum, but despite this, Franco and his crew are still able to inject some impressive style and unforgettable atmosphere into the film, as well as conveying a mostly authentic sense of period detail that is germane to the plot. In keeping with many other Euro exploitation films of this era, the story at hand has literary pretensions, with the initial set up of Night of the Assassins being based partially on the Edgar Wallace novel The Cat and the Canary; though in true exploitation style, the credits cite Edgar Allan Poe as the actual source, no doubt in an attempt to pull in audiences with the obvious macabre connotations that Poe's work would suggest.

Despite the opportunities presented by the story for Franco to wreak bloody mayhem, the presentation of the violence here seems entirely restrained. Whether or not there are other versions out there of this particular film - ala Devil's Island Lovers - is unknown; however, based on the version that I did see, the combination of subtle direction, intelligent plotting and that low-key atmosphere works incredibly well at drawing us deeper into the story and into this hotchpotch of idiosyncratic characters. The emphasis of the narrative is built largely upon the "whodunit" characteristics of detective fiction, with a large cast of characters gathering at a single location, only to be subsequently picked off, one by one, in a manner that recalls the ten little Indians, as the detective tries desperately to solve the central mystery before the last body is found. With this narrative device at work, the shadow of the Italian Giallo genre is also present, with Night of the Assassins recalling elements of Mario Bava's The Evil Eye (1963) and Blood and Black Lace (1964) and most prominently Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971).

Although the film won't be to all tastes, I found it memorable and entertaining despite the obvious technical limitations and budgetary restraints. There are some solid performances, particularly from Alberto Dalbés as the enigmatic Major Brooks, Vincente Roca as the beleaguered Inspector Bore and a reserved turn from Franco's number one girl Lina Romay as the sort of heroine Rita Derian; a woman who may or may not be a suspect herself! Night of the Assassins certainly isn't a masterpiece, and I can understand how some viewers would find it lacking or without interest, but for me, it slips nicely into the sub-genre of the stalk and slash literary thriller, with Franco creating some fine set-pieces, a great atmosphere, memorable images and that iconic skull mask.

Night of the Skull (1973)

*** (out of 4)

Spanish giallo has a family brought together for the reading of a will only soon a maniac wearing a skull mask shows up and starts knocking them off. This is from Jess Franco and this certainly ranks as one of his better made films, technically speaking. Franco creates a very thick atmosphere that helps the film move quite nicely and the mystery is well written and plays out very well. The performances are a lot better than normal especially Lina Romay who's given the chance to act here. The first murder sequence is very well done and the look of the killer is nice. Not your typical Franco film but a good one.