Spanish genre superstar Paul Naschy gets a fine showcase here, playing no less than three roles, and he also wrote the screenplay using his real name Jacinto Molina.
His primary role is that of a ruthless 15th century sorcerer, Alaric de Marnac, who gets put to death - by his own brother. However, he and his female cohort Mabille De Lancre (Helga Line) are quick to rely on one of those oft used clichés of the genre - the curse that is placed on future generations. We cut to modern day Paris, and Hugo (Naschy again) and his friends journey to his old family place to do some investigating; the decapitated head of his ancestor Alaric is stored away somewhere on the property. Things soon go terribly awry as Hugo & pals fall victim to many supernatural and sadistic goings-on. Will any of them survive?
Naschy is a great deal of fun here; he and the striking Line are a wonderfully devious pair and it's entertaining to watch them do their thing. His scenes as the severed head of Alaric are simply priceless. The cast also includes Victor Alcazar, who also plays more than one role, and the intoxicating Emma Cohen who is irresistible as nice girl Elvira.
The movie is slow going for its first half, with an awful lot of talk, but making up for that is the second half which successfully delivers some effective genre staples. These include sex (Line goes full frontal), violence (there are throat slashings with a sickle, which becomes a recurring image in the film, and there are also delicious scenes of hearts being ripped out), and surrealism (things get substantially more eerie, and the screenplay incorporates blood drinking and zombie action into the mix).
As another asset, the look of the film is just gorgeous, with colours that pop and an appealing mixture of cinematography (by Manuel Merino) and production design. Director Carlos Aureds' pacing is always deliberate and his creation of a grim ambiance is impressive.
Fans of European horror should find this agreeable entertainment; it's got a decent body count and is at least unpredictable enough that people may not know where it's going from scene to scene. Recommended.
Seven out of 10.
His primary role is that of a ruthless 15th century sorcerer, Alaric de Marnac, who gets put to death - by his own brother. However, he and his female cohort Mabille De Lancre (Helga Line) are quick to rely on one of those oft used clichés of the genre - the curse that is placed on future generations. We cut to modern day Paris, and Hugo (Naschy again) and his friends journey to his old family place to do some investigating; the decapitated head of his ancestor Alaric is stored away somewhere on the property. Things soon go terribly awry as Hugo & pals fall victim to many supernatural and sadistic goings-on. Will any of them survive?
Naschy is a great deal of fun here; he and the striking Line are a wonderfully devious pair and it's entertaining to watch them do their thing. His scenes as the severed head of Alaric are simply priceless. The cast also includes Victor Alcazar, who also plays more than one role, and the intoxicating Emma Cohen who is irresistible as nice girl Elvira.
The movie is slow going for its first half, with an awful lot of talk, but making up for that is the second half which successfully delivers some effective genre staples. These include sex (Line goes full frontal), violence (there are throat slashings with a sickle, which becomes a recurring image in the film, and there are also delicious scenes of hearts being ripped out), and surrealism (things get substantially more eerie, and the screenplay incorporates blood drinking and zombie action into the mix).
As another asset, the look of the film is just gorgeous, with colours that pop and an appealing mixture of cinematography (by Manuel Merino) and production design. Director Carlos Aureds' pacing is always deliberate and his creation of a grim ambiance is impressive.
Fans of European horror should find this agreeable entertainment; it's got a decent body count and is at least unpredictable enough that people may not know where it's going from scene to scene. Recommended.
Seven out of 10.