La nuit de l'enfer

I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that, Carlos Puerto, the obscure director of this Spanish horror semi-classic was actually a pseudonym for the more famous Spanish/English director Jose Larraz. Puerto is apparently a real guy, even though his film is eerily similar to many of those of Larraz with its plot of an innocent couple being lured to a remote house in the wilderness and being preyed on by a satanic coven of sexual degenerates.

The good news though is that this tends to eerily resemble a good Larraz film like "Symptoms" or "Vampyres" rather than a bad Larraz film like "Whirlpool" or "Black Candles". The bad news is that this suffers from the same problem of many (especially latter-day) Larraz films and many other films of the post-Franco "destapa" period--the emphasis on softcore sex and gratuitous nudity at times brings the story to a complete standstill and threatens to overwhelm any suspense or tension the story has built up. Luckily though the film is fairly skillfully done and the acting is good (I don't know who any of these actors are, but they're better than almost anyone Larraz ever worked with).

The ending is especially non-sensical even as far as Eurohorror goes, and dog lovers might not like the movie much, but it's still one of the better Spanish horror films I've seen from this period and the new DVD is widescreen and looks really good. Mirala!

I know that I should not have found anything good in this film. I know that it is just shy of an X-rating (at the time of its release.) I know the script was atrocious and the acting pretty darn bad. I know that its surprises were observed a mile away coming. But... I confess. I liked it.

A young, expecting couple depart for a weekend getaway when they are lured to a country villa by another couple under the guise that the male of the latter recognizes the younger man as an old college acquaintance. After some Ouija board dabbling gone awry, the young couple find themselves stranded by a storm and reluctantly agree to spend the night with their hosts. An orgy, dead dog, murder, suicide, and a couple of "return from the deads" later, our two protagonists successfully flee their captors only to find the nightmare may not be over after all.

"Escalofrío" aka "Satan's Blood" has some extremely erotic scenes, primarily so because of the lovely Mariana Karr who plays the young, mother-to-be wife. There are also a few disturbing scenes involving cannibalism and sexual sacrifice, not to mention poor Blackey's fate.

If you're a fan of Spanish horror, especially the 60-70's vintage, you will probably enjoy this film because it is the epitome of its ilk. If you're looking for the next "Silence of the Lambs," look elsewhere.

Throughout my many years as an avid horror fanatic, I encountered numerous movies dealing with devil worshipers & satanic cults, and therefore I also assumed I had already heard every name, title and form of address for the "character" of Satan. Wrong again, because in this underrated gem of 70's Spanish horror, there's a scene in which the speaker summons good 'ol Lucifer using a whole bunch of new, hugely offensive and exhilarating names, including Prince of Fornication, Master of Hate, Serpent of Genesis, Prince of Necrophilia, Father of Incest and High Master of the Black Arts. Other than being a surprisingly eloquent film, "Satan's Blood" is an atmospheric and ultra-sleazy highlight of European (more particularly Spanish) cult cinema. The plot is obviously simplistic and severely lacking logic as well as plausibility, but the film offers a continuous spitfire of eerie images, nudity that is simultaneously erotic and gratuitous, gore and genuinely morbid scenery. When the young newlyweds Andres and Ana are bored to death on a regular Saturday afternoon, they decide to take their dog out for a drive in the city. Waiting at a stoplight they're contacted by another couple of whom the husband claims to know Andres from high school, even though the latter doesn't remember him at all. Andres and Ana reluctantly follow the couple to their secluded mansion in the countryside where they all join in sinister Ouija-board games, dangerous acts of seduction, a bit of inappropriate cannibalism and – of course – some good old satanic orgies. The couple behaves increasingly mysterious and obtrusive, but a heavy thunderstorm and car trouble prevent Andres & Ana from leaving. And even when they manage to get out of the house, they appear to have entered an inescapable spiral of satanic evil. "Satan's Blood" is an above average; I even daresay GOOD film despite the occasionally tedious moments and the overload of sex footage that constantly interrupts the suspense. A handful of sequences are downright creepy, notably the ones with the uncanny porcelain doll, and the fate of poor pretty Blackie is truly harrowing. The last 5 to 10 minutes are really terrific, full of gore and loaded with disturbance, repulsiveness and shock value. Massive recommendation for fans of 70's exploitation or Euro-cult horror in general.

On a slightly less important note, the DVD version of "Satan's Blood" I watched even provides a bit of hilarity, as the subtitle track was clearly handled very unprofessionally. Sometimes there are English subtitles without there even are dialogs and most of the time the translations are just indisputably incorrect. For example, Andres clearly states he works as a mechanic but at the same time the subtitles claim he's a lawyer.

People who enjoy this film because of it's nudity and sex scenes should really consider if they are film goers or not. I don't mind watching a sex scene here or there but the movie is classified as horror! There were a couple of terrifying moments but they didn't last, then, the sex scene once again.

This is not film making at it's best. Spain has produced some "GREAT" films in the past but this one does not come anywhere near good.

You want to sell your films to people who enjoy watching nude women flaunting their bodies, then go and direct porn. For me, a good film needs a storyline and good acting and not have to resort in a film to have sex scenes and naked woman all through the film.

This is a very good spanish horror film made in the franco era. Its erotic sleazy and as its made in mid winter, it has nice chill feeling about it.See it, don't expect the ground to tremble but its workman like and spanish horrors of the seventies are nearly always worth watching.