Night of the Werewolf (1985)

Night of the Werewolf (1981) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Julia Saly) and her servant Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) are put to death because of their connections to Satan. Flash-forward several hundred years and a grave robber pulls out the silver cross from Daninsky's heart, which brings him back to life as a werewolf. Soon the Countess also returns to life and before long they are battling.NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF was the eighth (or seventh, depending on how you look at it) time that Naschy played his most famous role and it's also the first time he directed himself in the part. This here was released in America as THE CRAVING and it's a remake of Naschy's WEREWOLF SHADOW, which played in America as THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN. For the most part there are a lot of good things here but at the same time there's no question that this falls well short of the original film as well as several others in the series.What I enjoyed the most about this film is obviously the werewolf. I thought the transformation scenes were good enough considering the budget they were working on and there's no question that the look of the werewolf is excellent. There are some really great an striking shots of the werewolf including one of the final ones with a ton of gore spewing out of its mouth. As you probably know, Naschy was an expert at playing Daninsky by this time and he turns in another fine performance. Saly is also very good in her role and there are plenty of beautiful women throughout.With all of that said, there are certainly some flaws in the film including some of the direction. I never really thought that Naschy built up a very strong atmosphere. I'd also argue that the love story thrown in is rather stupid and at times laughable and especially how Naschy and the woman don't know each other one minute and in the next scene they're madly in love! None of the dialogue scenes are all that captivating either but what keeps you glued to the film is the werewolf and thankfully that there is strong enough to recommend the movie.

Night Of The Werewolf aka Retorno del Hombre-Lobo is without a doubt a must see classic in the Spanish horror genre. One negative I must mention first is an odd score in one early scene in particular, but that is a very minor complaint. Night Of The Werewolf is an absolutely beautifully shot film, with an amazing Gothic atmosphere. The look cannot be praised enough, such stunning shots and sets. Paul Naschy is in top form here, and I recommend Night Of The Werewolf to horror enthusiasts not familiar with Naschy's work. And lets not forget the drop dead gorgeous actresses', who are easy on the eyes, and deliver in there performances. Definitely makes one think "she can bathe in my blood anytime" LOL. Highly recommended to fans of Naschy, and fans of the genre in general. Get the new remastered DVD, which at Best Buy is available in a two pack with another Naschy film Vengeance Of The Zombies. It looks amazing.

In "El Retorno del Hombre-Lobo" (called "The Craving" in English), Paul Naschy returns as his most famous character, werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. This time, he gets executed along with alleged vampire Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Julia Saly). But, as always seems to happen in horror flicks, they both get resurrected and go on a rampage. Specifically, they get resurrected by hot students Erika, Karen and Barbara. In fact, Daninsky turns against Bathory. You can probably guess what happens from there.If you watch any of the DVDs of Paul Naschy's movies, the special features include an interview with him about his life. He talks some about growing up under Franco. One gets the feeling that he knew first-hand about horror, far more than a werewolf movie could portray. But no matter; this movie will surely please Naschy's fans.

THE CRAVING is possibly the most satisfying (if still flawed) Paul Naschy film I've watched so far: the fact that Waldemar Daninsky here originates from the Middle Ages gives the character a true mythic quality which is not possible with his usual modern-day persona; besides, his medieval 'wardrobe' (beard, coat-of-arms, crossbow and, briefly, an iron mask) is pretty cool - as is the vicious werewolf look which Naschy comes up with for this one, certainly the creepiest of his that I've seen...though, ironically enough, it doesn't see a lot of action (still, I guess, there's really so much can be done differently from one film to the next). The atmosphere (fog, candlelight, color gels) is really laid on thick here and the score, too, is pretty varied for this type of film (I even liked the rock theme heard during the opening and closing credits).What prevents THE CRAVING from getting a *** rating from me, which would make it a solid and good picture, is a rather muddled storyline (though still the most interesting yet penned by Naschy): when the film opens, Waldemar is supposed to be Elizabeth Bathory's lieutenant but when they are revived centuries later, he is somehow hellbent on destroying her (and the army of women - there's a plethora of female characters here but, alas, very little nudity - which she manages to vampirize)!; the evil Erika, well-versed in the occult and who has no qualms about murdering her mentor, and later sacrifice her best friend in order to restore the vampire lady whom she idolizes, is set up initially as a quite formidable villain - even seducing Waldemar when a vampire - but her role gradually deteriorates to nothing, apparently so as to allow the Bathory character to take center-stage for the climactic duel between the werewolf and his arch-nemesis. Unfortunately, this sequence comes off as anti-climactic because one can hardly discern anything that's going on: either the print is too dark or it was simply filmed that way; however, the ending of this one is really bleak as Waldemar's love interest, already on her way to becoming a vampire, is infected with the curse of the werewolf as well(!) but she is quick to bring the house down in a conflagration which decimates the evil pervading the entire manor...