Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (1968)

One of my all time favorites.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The first thing one must know before viewing this film is that it's got nothing at all to do with Frankenstein; American producer Sam Sherman concocted this title along with a fake opening Frankenstein credits sequence because he was supposed to deliver a Frankenstein movie but couldn't get it in on time. In actuality, aside from its misleading name, this is a pretty good Spanish movie about werewolves, originally called "La Marca del Hombre Lobo" ("The Mark of the Wolf Man"). It was written by Jacinto Molina, who wound up having to star in the movie himself when veteran horror actor Lon Chaney Jr. was unable to do it. Molina changed his name to Paul Naschy, and this would become the first of many adventures featuring his popular character Waldemar Daninsky, who in this first film is bitten by a werewolf and cursed to endure the transformation from man into beast during the full moon. This is a very eerily-lit, moody and atmospheric horror experience, full of Gothic ambiance and old ruined castle settings. The only reason it just misses a good solid three star rating is due to its sometimes lagging pacing, but nothing more. Naschy is very effective as the sympathetic victim who turns into a very fierce and ravenous wolf man. He is helped by a young friend who cares for him by locking him away in an abandoned old castle. In the meantime, he secures the services of an eccentric husband and wife duo who claim to be doctors who'll cure Waldemar; but who actually turn out to be blood sucking vampires with evil intentions of their own! The female vampire is played by the alluring Aurora de Alba, and the way she seduces the young male friend is one of the sexiest makeout/biting sequences I have ever seen in such a genre film. I would gladly submit to her vampiric intentions. **1/2 out of ****

Count Waldemar Daninsky (a solid and sympathetic performance by Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy, who also wrote the script) gets bitten by a werewolf and subsequently suffers from the curse of lycanthropy. He seeks help from Dr. James Mikhelov (a perfectly sinister turn by Julian Ugarte) and his alluring wife Wandessa (ravishing redhead Aurora de Alba), but things go seriously awry when the duo turn out to be vampires. Enrique Lopez Eguiliz's merely okay direction lets the place plod along at a too gradual clip in the rather laborious opening third, but luckily still manages to develop a fair amount of creepy atmosphere and stages the infrequent werewolf attacks with a reasonable amount of flair. In addition, this movie is a bit too tame and tepid; latter entries in the Daninsky series were much racier, more explicit, and hence better. This film does improve as the enjoyably daft story unfolds, with a rousing climax complete with an exciting fight between Waldemar and Dr. Mikhelov and a poignant and tragic downbeat ending. Moreover, there's a bevy of beautiful ladies on hand to keep things watchable: Besides de Alba, we also have lovely blonde Dyanik Zurakowska as the fetching Countess Janice von Aarenbergand and the enticing Rosanna Yanni as fiery gypsy girl Nascha. Both Emilio Foriscot's sumptuous widescreen cinematography and Angel Arteaga's shivery'n'groovy score are up to speed. While it's not one of Naschy's best, this picture is nonetheless worth a watch for Naschy fans.

While it isn't the best and most fun flick starring the late Spanish Horror Legend Paul Naschy, "La Marca Del Hombre-Lobo" aka. "The Wolfman and Count Dracula" aka. "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" (1968) is the first film in which Naschy played the Werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, and therefore the film that launched his career as an immortal Cult icon. In a way, Enrique López Eguiluz' film is therefore maybe one of the most influential Eurohorror films ever made, as it is not for certain if Naschy's career had been the same, had it not been for this film. It is an interesting detail that Naschy, who (as for so many of his films) wrote the story and screenplay to "La Marca del Hombre-Lobo", only took the role of Waldemar Daninsky because Horror star Lon Chaney Jr. had turned it down. Luckily so! As in the sequels, Waldemar Daninsky is a kind-hearted and likable man, to whom young beauties are magically attracted. Shortly after the ravishing 18-year-old countess Janice (Dyanik Zurakowska) falls in love with Daninsky, unfortunate events lead him to get bitten by a Werewolf, after which the likable man becomes a nighttime Werewolf himself...The 'Waldemar Daninsky' or 'Hombre Lobo' Werewolf films starring Paul Naschy all follow a very similar pattern in which the likable Daninsky becomes a Werewolf (sometimes due to a curse, sometimes due to unfortunate events), and yet each one of them is highly entertaining to watch, even after having seen a bunch of them already. Since this film was made in the late 60s, it is quite a bit tamer in terms of sleaze and gore than its 70s and 80s sequels (though there are some gory scenes), and may therefore be not quite as fun to watch to my fellow Exploitation fans. The storyline, then again, is slightly more logical than in most of the Daninsky flicks, and while the film probably won't make anyone shiver in terror, it has a moody Gothic atmosphere and several genuinely eerie moments. Naschy is great as always and young Dyanik Zurakowska, who would later play alongside Naschy in one of his greatest films "La Orgía De Los Muertos" (aka. "The Hanging Woman", 1973), is lovely in the female lead. Julián Ugarte and Aurora de Alba are nicely eerie as a married couple of very sinister occult scientists.Even though some of the sequels, such as "La Noche De Walpurgis" ("Werewolf Vs. Vampire Women", 1971), "El Retorno De Walpurgis" ("Curse of the Devil", 1973), or "El Retorno Del Hombre-Lobo" ("Night of the Werewolf", 1981, my personal favorite so far) may be even cooler than this one, this is the original Waldemar Danisnky flick, and an absolute must-see for all my fellow Paul Naschy fans. Not to be missed by Eurohorror-lovers. Paul Naschy forever!

"Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" is one of the better European films of the Gothic era.**SPOILERS**A curse on the Wolfstein family causes the descendant Count Waldemar Daninsky, (Paul Naschy) to investigate a strange accident at an abandoned castle. While joining a local hunting party, he is the only one who escapes but suffers a severe gash on his chest. He finds that he can turn into a werewolf and asks for help, and keeps friends Rudolph, (Manuel Manzaneque) and Janice, (Dyanik Zurakowska) from discovering his secret. Janice decides to help him despite the problem, and decides to take him to see Doctor Mikhelov, (Julian Ugarte) who also has a terrible secret that is soon revealed to Rudolph and Janice.The Good News: The first film in the legendary Waldemar Daninsky series of films, and is one of the better entries in the series. It has a great combination of the European sleaze and American Gothic sensibilities. The film takes place almost exclusively in a castle allows for the always-impressive settings. The gloomy dungeon, long winding hallways, tons of long, winding staircases and plenty of other factors that are found in Gothic castles. The costuming and pace are also quite reminiscent as well, and combined with the marvelous castle settings gives this film a literal dripping atmosphere. The sleaze comes at the more exploitative elements thrown in, which mostly come from the werewolf's actions. The kills are brutal for the time, with the decidedly European blood and gore. It's got a great combination of the two. The pace is quite nice, and the big scenes are placed at the right moment to keep things from getting bored. The twist in the story about the way to deal with the werewolf is a great injection of originality into the proceedings, making this a bit more clever than the other films from the time.The Bad News: This is one of the hardest films to understand. It's not like nothing is explained, and many scenes doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Waldemar is hardly given any back-story and his role in the proceedings changes a couple times. He at first is the creepy owner of a forbidden castle, then becomes a kind hearted person who invites a pair of wanderers to his castle, and switches to wanting to investigate when they go missing. It was given the impression that the events took place at his castle, then clearly doesn't know that the kills took place. It's just one example of a confusing series of story lines. It is most likely due to the differing prints out there, which is understandable. They're really isn't much wrong with it, just a confusing series of events.The Final Verdict: If films that look great but don't make any sense are your favorite kinds of films, then this will greatly appeal to those. The film is also recommended to those that love the European way of horror films and to fans of Paul Naschy.Today's Rating-PG-13: Violence and Sexual themes