Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (1968)

This is the first movie in which Paul Naschy, born Jacinto Molina, donned the werewolf attire to play Waldemar Daninsky, a Pole afflicted with lycanthropy. Naschy wrote the screenplay but was actually not the first choice to play the role that would make him world famous - that would be the immortal Lon Chaney Jr.In this first outing a gypsy couple resurrect another lycanthrope - the werewolf Imre Wolfstein (not Frankenstein - in spite of the film's American title, there is no Frankenstein in this film) who begins killing with savagery. Daninsky is able to stop him, but not before becoming afflicted with lycanthropy himself, here represented in a mark the shape of a pentagram, whereas in other hombre lobo films it was a pentagon - perhaps because that shape is easier to draw?Daninsky seeks help to cure his condition from a pair of occultists who turn out to be vampires, and this is where the movie became confusing for me. What do vampires want with werewolves, anyway? And why do they resurrect Wolfstein (again) so that Daninsky and the other lobo can fight? The actor who plays the male vampire seems unsure of his role as well. He flaps his cape around a bit too much, perhaps looking for inspiration, or distraction for the audience noticing his uncertain eyes. There had to be a reason why the vampires were included aside from plotting. Did the producers or distributors demand it? Either way, el hombre lobo was pitted against the nosferatu in further Daninsky offerings that more than make up for the uneven spectacle we get here. Check out Werewolf Shadow and The Craving if you don't believe me.

The birth of Waldemar Daninsky and Spanish fantaterror, a magical and essential film in the filmography of Paul Naschy. First indent Jacinto where show their influences from classic movies of universal, Gothic horror literature and original to its mythical Werewolf character as well as vampires and other characteristic characters in his stories. A movie that marked me and influenced me greatly in childhood, terrifying me and marveling,conditioned my cinematic tastes until today. Maybe later surpassed by many other films made by Naschy, but none as influential as this for pioneering and give charisma as mythical and immortal character.

This is the film that made Paul Naschy a star. The title is misleading as there is no Frankenstein to be found. Don't let that stop you from enjoying a fine piece of horror. Waldemar Daninsky(Naschy)is bitten by a werewolf and you know what happens next. Two doctors arrive to seek a cure but they're only interested in drinking blood(yes, they're vampires). At the end, the vampires are eliminated and Waldemar is killed by a silver bullet.The werewolf make-up is pretty good and the sets are excellent-almost as good as the ones by Hammer studios. If you get the chance to see this, don't miss it! By the way, this film was very rare but it is now being released on DVD starting 10/25/05 by Media Blasters. The great thing is that they are improving the picture quality so it won't be like the faded transfers on hard to find VHS tapes.

For being the introduction to one of the most enduring horror series in European cinema, FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR is rather lame - apart from being an edited variant of the original Spanish cut, bearing the more accurate title THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN - but one tends to forgive Paul Naschy the many shortcomings of his script on this occasion because here he was still treading the waters, as it were. That said, his penchant of filling the plot with as many monsters and weird situations as his imagination could conceive is already well in evidence, as we not only get two werewolves for the price of one but there's also a mad doctor and his female assistant involved, who both just happen to be vampires! At such a distance it is easy to forget the impact that Naschy's presence as either Daninsky or his werewolf alter-ego made on the movie-going public when it first appeared (proving obviously popular enough to generate the myriad sequels, or variations on the same theme, which followed) for, even if the monster gets a fair work-out here (scenes from this film were actually lifted outright for the abysmal THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN [1970]!), he's also chained up for a good part of the second half, as if Naschy was as yet unsure how to use his 'creation'. In fact, the vampires dominate most of the proceedings during the latter stages of the film, while early on there's also excess footage featuring a gypsy couple (who, for plot purposes, unwittingly revive the werewolf which subsequently 'marks' Waldemar Daninsky); however, despite the limited resources at the film-makers' disposal, the Gothic atmosphere is well up to par for the course (though dissipated somewhat by the faded print I watched!).