 Sony // Buy from Amazon.comReleased in 1980 and filmed in authentic Spanish castles, "Night of the Werewolf" (El Retorno Del Hombre Lobo) remains one of Naschy's most impressive films. A sumptuous Gothic horror fest, "Night" pits Naschy's werewolf, Waldemar Daninsky, against the (real-life) Hungarian blood countess Elizabeth Bathory. Filled with werewolf transformations, seductive vampire women, bloody stakes through the heart and piercing silver daggers, the film has garnered praise over the years for its inventiveness with the genre and inspired use of macabre imagery. While the companion release for this film, "Vengenace of the Zombies," is a very trippy, almost otherworldly affair, "Night of the Werewolf" is far more straight-laced and gothic in tone. Starring and directed by Paul Naschy, this one is a very well made film, with gorgeous cinematography, solid acting, and special effects that hold up quite well in this age of computer graphics. Now, this is still a Spanish werewolf flick from 1980 - and a throwback "classic" type of horror flick at that - but it's still a solid flick that impresses while it entertains. Personally, I'm more a fan of the cheesy 70s horror flicks, but this one did earn my respect with its earnest attempt to harken back to the golden age of horror, while still mixing in enough blood and creepiness to entertain modern gorehounds. As with its companion release, BCI Eclipse has given this film the deluxe treatment, with an unbelievably nice-looking transfer and an impressive array of extras. I had never heard of this film before receiving it for review, and as such it absolutely opened my eyes to classic international horror! Video Remastered in high-def, this 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer is unbelievable... given the film's age, and cult status, I would've never expected the picture quality to be this high-end, but color me shocked, and pleased! Audio Your cohice: mono English, Dolby 5.1 English and stereo Castillian track. I flipped around the latter 2, and ended up settling on the last one (which is also the film's original soundtrack), as it just seemed to fit better with the bizarre visuals. Extras Closing Thoughts Very well crafted Spanish horror flick + loads of solid extras = worthy addition to any horror-hounds library Labels: review |
