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The Worst Film Ever

hyped garbage

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Three Euro babes are leaving Rome for Hungary, making the trek in hopes to discover the grave of the infamous Countess Elizabeth Bathory. One of the women in particular has a keen interest in the dark arts, and believes she has the power to resurrect the dead countess.But before the ancient sepulchre is discovered, none other than the hombre lobo himself, Waldemar Daninsky, a consort of Bathory's, introduces himself to the group of women.The Craving, aka. Night of the Werewolf is certainly among the best of Naschy's films in which he plays Daninsky the lycanthrope. The movie is very well shot, scored, and is haunting and scary in places. It stumbles toward the end due to a few extraneous characters - grave robbers and thieves who don't serve much purpose - but besides that, it's a must see for Euro horror fans.If you want more Naschy, don't miss Horror Rises From the Tomb. If you want more Naschy as Waldemar Daninsky, see The Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman.

Paul Naschy's 1981 werewolf opus, NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF, is a glorious slice of Gothic mayhem. It feels like this was a real labour of love for the horror actor, who wrote and directed as well as taking the leading role; the entire film is full to the brim of the elements of classic horror fare, from the ruined castle locales to the graveyards, haunted woods and rotten skeletons. Then, of course, there's the fascination of seeing not one but two monstrous beasts wreaking carnage on the screen: Naschy's much-loved werebeast, Waldemar Daninsky, is up to his old tricks, while vampiric Countess Bathory is also back for good measure. It's a clear homage to those lovely monster mash-ups put out by Universal during the 1940s, so what's not to love? Not a lot, as it turns out. NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF is right up my street; it's a film that exudes Gothic menace, is packed full of spectral imagery, and tells an interesting story at the same time. Naschy makes the most of his relatively low budget and small cast, drawing out character in admittedly limited time and space; the storyline might be entirely predictable, but it's never less than engaging. The film, which I had the pleasure to see on Blu-ray, has sumptuous colours and looks beautiful on regular occasions.If I had any complaint, it would be that this film is an unacknowledged remake of the 1971 Naschy movie SHADOW OF THE WEREWOLF (aka WEREWOLF's SHADOW), right down to the inclusion of an undead zombie who seems to have wandered in from an Amando de Ossorio set. As is ever the case, the earlier film is the better one, but that doesn't stop NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF from being a great deal of fun, and a real treat for Naschy fans.

Centuries after Elizabeth Bathory(Julia Saly, quite effective and sinister)and her followers were put to death for their crimes of witchcraft, Satanism, and vampirism, a student of the occult, Erika(Silvia Aguilar), obsessed with her and the dark arts, will coerce two female friends, Karen(Azucena Hernández) & Barbara(Pilar Alcón)to join her on a vacationing expedition to the Carpathian Mountains to find the blood countess' crypt. Also being sentenced to death for unwillingly following Bathory's orders as a slave, El Hombre Lobo Waldemar Daninsky(Paul Naschy)receives an iron mask on his head and glimmering cross of silver plunged deep into his heart. In actuality, Daninsky was happy of being condemned to death for he wished the cursed lycanthropy and servitude to Bathory over..but as Bathory will be resurrected, two grave robbers remove the cross that gave him peace and rest, awakening El Hombre Lobo from the dead. Daninsky will make them pay for their bothering his rest as he once again rises to await the certain challenge of his vampire rival Bathory who is also awaken from her demise as Erika hypnotizes Barbara shedding her blood and giving the Countess life. But, to regain full power E Bathory will have to wait for the second full moon upon the astral convergence, but until then she'll seek to turn all the females around Daninsky, even making her resting place in a hidden room of his castle. Who will ultimately come out from the battle for supremacy..the werewolf or vampire countess?Naschy as director removes his film from logical story-telling, and despite some tired material practically lifted from other Waldemar Daninsky werewolf tales, he directs with a very sure hand. There ambiance in abundance and his presentation of the vampire women is superb such as how large castle doors swing open with fog introducing them. The setting in and around the castle using natural locations has always been an asset in the El Hombre Lobo films..you can count on some very effective use of cob-webbed crypts and rats thereabouts. There's one marvelous scene where Erika, now one of the undead, arriving to the room of Daninsky as he lays in bed, through a window as she attempts to seduce him before trying to take a bite. I thought all the scenes of E Bathory were successfully handled;she certainly looked the part. I do believe Naschy is able to build up the showdown between E Bathory and Daninsky well. By painting poor Daninsky in a corner as E Bathory even achieves to draw blood from his beloved Karen(the film has Daninsky and Karen falling in love), you feel all hope is lost for him. I can say this is probably as close as you can get to a successful werewolf film featuring Naschy's Waldemar Daninsky.As far as werewolf transformations go, Naschy goes mostly old school using dissolves which is a cheaper way of translating his turn on screen. There's a scene where we see Daninsky go through the rigors and agony of attempting with all his might not to turn without success. There isn't any flesh ripping, although the werewolf attacks show Daninsky go for the jugular of various village folk who have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I say the more effective moments are given to the vampires. Some erotic biting sequences show E Bathory closing lustfully towards her women victims as they give themselves over. I think E Bathory's fate at the end(also using dissolves effectively)is cool, as well. Oh, and there is one very inspired "blood bathing" scene, also.

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.