My second Paul Naschy film in a row (the other being "Assignment Terror"), in which I'm reminded how much he looks like a cross between John Belushi and Marlon Brando. Take that for what it's worth, at times it can be hilarious. This is also the second time in a row I've seen him where his character is Waldemar Daninsky, doing battle with Satan's favorite mistress, Countess Wandessa Darvula de Nadasdy (Patty Shepard). There's more to the story than that, but it gets a little murky with choppy editing, which was also a hallmark of "Assignment Terror".
You have to hand it to Waldemar, when the chips are down, he'll even take it out on his own sister (Yelena Samarina) with a wooden stake to the heart. I thought chopping her head off with an axe was just a bit of overkill, but it was that kind of picture. I don't envy the leading lady, having to go through life with a name like Gaby Fuchs. In my first year of college anthropology, the professor turned redder than red attempting to pronounce the same last name of a woman in the class. Believe me, the rest of the class got it too.
By the looks of it, there are some real solid Naschy fans on this board, but rating the movie a '10' I think is somewhat a disservice to the Universal classics featuring the likes of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney. This is okay for what it is, and what it is, is right there in the title.
You have to hand it to Waldemar, when the chips are down, he'll even take it out on his own sister (Yelena Samarina) with a wooden stake to the heart. I thought chopping her head off with an axe was just a bit of overkill, but it was that kind of picture. I don't envy the leading lady, having to go through life with a name like Gaby Fuchs. In my first year of college anthropology, the professor turned redder than red attempting to pronounce the same last name of a woman in the class. Believe me, the rest of the class got it too.
By the looks of it, there are some real solid Naschy fans on this board, but rating the movie a '10' I think is somewhat a disservice to the Universal classics featuring the likes of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney. This is okay for what it is, and what it is, is right there in the title.