Le hurlement du diable

Howl of the Devil (1987)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Former horror actor Hector Doriani (Paul Naschy) spends most of his time inside his mansion where his butler (Howard Vernon) takes care of his while his maid (Caroline Munro) is constantly turning down his advances. Hector spends most of his time with hookers and before they can get back to town they are murdered by a maniac in black gloves. Hector's nephew (Sergio Molina) has a strange fixation with monsters and soon all of this collides.

HOWL OF THE DEVIL was written and directed by Naschy and for the most part it was a pretty good chance for the actor to pay homage to his career. This film allowed him to star with his son Sergio and it also allowed him to play some of the famous monsters from his past as well as some that he never played in his career. Throughout the film we get to see Naschy return to the role of Waldemar Daninsky but also Frankenstein's monster, The Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo the hunchback, Mr. Hyde, Rasputin, Fu Manchu and several others.

Obviously the chance of seeing Naschy playing all of these killers and monsters is the main reason to watch the film. It was certainly a lot of fun seeing the actor getting to mix it up as the monsters again even if some of them only appear on the screen for a short amount of time. Frankenstein's monster and Waldemar are seen for very little of the screen time but you can't help but smile when you see Naschy all decked out. It also helps that you have him acting with both Munro and Vernon. As a horror fan you can't help but smile at the three on the screen together.

The film was never released in America, which is somewhat shocking considering the cast as well as the storyline. God knows that all three had much worse films released in America. It's also shocking that this never got released because it contains a slasher like element as well as some Lucio Fulci inspired gore scenes. There's some pretty graphic violence including one scene where a woman has her stomach cut with guts pouring out. Did I mention the nipple scene? And yes, there's a lot of nudity as well so the sleaze factor is quite strong.

What keeps the film from being more entertaining is the rather weak screenplay that doesn't do much to develop the murder mystery that plays out throughout the running time. I'd also argue that we pretty much get the same thing over and over. A woman comes to the house. The former actor beds them. He then talks to them like trash. They leave the house and are murdered. The little boy talks to a monster. Repeat.

With that said, if you're a fan of Naschy then HOWL OF THE DEVIL is very much worth checking out even though the only version out there is a poor looking bootleg.

Thanks to the nostalgic "Hombre Lobo" series I have always been a fan of Paul Naschy, but it's only since I discovered his obscure but far more personal and delightfully absurd efforts that I consider him as one of my favorite people of the horror/exploitation of all times. The werewolf movies occasionally aired on late night television or in Halloween specials, but it took specialized DVD-labels to make available Naschy's spectacularly peculiar highlights, such as "Panic Beats", "Human Beasts", "The Hanging Woman", "The Hunchback of the Rue Morgue", and this awesomely entertaining "Howl of the Devil".

The written message at the start of the film demonstrates what a fantastic person Naschy was. He's a cult deity and horror monument himself, and yet he dedicates the film to the idols of his own childhood; - like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, and generally everyone who contributed to the Universal monster classics from the 1930s and 1940s.

The plot of "Howl of the Devil" is absurd, but Naschy can get away with everything, as far as I'm concerned. It's an unbelievably fun homage to classic horror from the Universal period, albeit mixed with typically nasty and sleazy exploitation storylines from the 70s and early 80s. Like he always does, Naschy surrounds himself with gorgeous woman that spontaneously undress for him, and he also arranged that he could wear the make-up of the most legendary horror villains in history. Once more, well-played Paul.

Hector Doriani is an actor frustrated because his sophisticated and elegant career choices never had any success, whereas his twin brother Alex became rich and famous because he exclusively starred in filthy and blood-soaked horror movies. Alex mysteriously died, and Hector lives in his house, together with his brother's loyal old servant Eric, the voluptuous maid Carmen, and his nephew Adrian. The latter has difficulties with his father's death and has meetings with a range of imaginary friends that represent the horror roles his dad used to play. This is how Naschy fixed for himself to play Frankenstein's Monster, Rasputin, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Hunchback, Fu Manchu, the Wolf Man, Bluebeard, the Phantom of the Opera, etc. Etc. Hector orders Eric to bring home beautiful and lewd women, but they all die horrid and gruesome deaths for some strange reason. And if all this isn't bonkers enough just yet, there's also a sexist priest and a Peeping Tom roaming around.

Well, okay, obviously I'm biased ... but "Howl of the Devil" simply offers the most fun you can possibly imagine when watching a horror flick. The nostalgic monsters actually don't do much, but there are plenty of grisly murders committed by a black-gloved killer, tons of gratuitous nudity, insane gore effects, and a phenomenal climax that needs to be seen to be believed. I love Paul Naschy, and I love him even more when he casts the legendary Howard "Dr. Orloff" Vernon and the still stupendous looking Caroline Munro.

Clearly most will consider this film not worth watching and I'm not sure it was seen out of Spain but it's really so much fun. Paul Naschy wrote and directed and played most of the legendary horror monsters. He was over 50 and his last years are on the way, this is probably his best part. His son 13 year old, Sergio Molina played an excellent role throughout. Caroline Munro who was almost 40 and is fantastic even though the same year she made a couple including a Maigret TV film and the year before Jess Franco's, Faceless (1987). The last mention must go to Howard Vernon a great part of the film and was 80 at the time and would make another 16 shorts, TV and films even after this. The story might not be so brilliant but it is just so fine to watch the people and the horror parts.

One of the last films directed by Naschy and one of his more personal ones, but that doesn't mean that its one of his best. The movie tries to be an homage to the Universal Monsters, with Naschy transforming into a lot of them (and also into his famous creation Waldemar Daninsky), but the movie is quite cringey and even a pure embarrassment at some points (the preachy wooden dialogues, the performance of his son Sergio Molina, the expected making out with naked youngsters by a 54 Naschy...). It's little more than a curiosity in his filmography.

In "Howl of the Devil" sadly deceased Paul Naschy/Jacinto Molina reviews his own career as the horror movie icon.His son Sergio Molina co-stars with his legendary father.Naschy appears as Mr.Hyde,Rasputin,Quasimodo,Fu Manchu,the Monster of Frankenstein,Waldemar Daninsky and the Phantom of the Opera.The hookers are delivered to famous ex-horror actor Hector Doriani by his butler Howard Vernon.Then the women are viciously killed by a black-gloved slasher.Time has stopped in this household and only terror remained.Very entertaining and slightly ironic horror film with some gory death scenes.There is axe murder,sexual mutilation plus throat slashing and disembowelment.Oh,and there is also extremely stunning Caroline Munro.8 out of 10.A must-see for fans of Spanish horror.