Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (1968)

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The birth of Waldemar Daninsky and Spanish fantaterror, a magical and essential film in the filmography of Paul Naschy. First indent Jacinto where show their influences from classic movies of universal, Gothic horror literature and original to its mythical Werewolf character as well as vampires and other characteristic characters in his stories. A movie that marked me and influenced me greatly in childhood, terrifying me and marveling,conditioned my cinematic tastes until today. Maybe later surpassed by many other films made by Naschy, but none as influential as this for pioneering and give charisma as mythical and immortal character.

When is a Frankenstein movie not a Frankenstein movie ? When the production team promise the American distributors a Frankenstein film and make a film featuring werewolves and vampires and leave it to the distributors to come up with a solution why it features Frankenstein in the title . The cheeky chutzpah involved is astonishing as is the simplicity . " Let's put up a credits voice over saying the Frankenstein clan have changed their name to Wolfstein and that will solve everything " . It's very naughty making promises you can't keep and reading the trivia section on this page it seems the production team were at best self deluded mavericks and at worst out and out charlatans . I mean they honestly thought they'd be getting Lon Chaney Jnr as a casting coup ? so if you're expecting some dude with bolts in his neck to stagger about with his arms outstretched this isn't what you'll be getting and HELL'S CREATURES seems a much more appropriate title What you will be getting is some very low brow horror that firmly falls in to guilty pleasure territory . Yes it's absolute rubbish but as someone who has seen far too many horror films for his own good I've always had a soft spot for this type of movie . Like the Hammer horror movies from Britain this is a European answer to the classic Universal monster movies from the 1930s and 40s . The production values are very similar to that seen in a contemporary Hammer and we've got the same type of imagery of blonde maidens showing off their cleavage along with studio exteriors and greedy people getting their come uppance . It's interesting how much common ground it shares with Hammer that the greedy people here are portrayed as outsiders in that they're Gypsies , you obviously can't trust these foreign types at all . Like so much else surrounding the production the film cheats the audience somewhat . We never get to see the werewolf transformation in any great detail and looks like it's happening during a bad LSD trip . It's also noticeable that the transformation only takes place when the plotting requires itThis is the film that kick started the whole Daninsky franchise that lasted thirty years or at least I think it does . IMDb lists a film previous to this one featuring Paul Naschy as Daninsky but seems to have no surviving print and one wonders if it ever existed in the first place . What is interesting is that does feel like an introductory self contained story with no prior continuity to any other film . It also means however it contradicts the internal continuity of other films in the cycle most notably CURSE OF THE DEVIL from 1973 but I guess the Universal movies also suffered from this so it's not really a valid criticism . Naschy makes an unlikely anti-hero resembling a weight lifter rather than someone with an obvious sexual magnetism but I guess he's much more preferable to Lon Chaney Jnr who would have been 61 when his film was produced and just imagine how unappealing it would have been seeing Daninsky being seduced by the vampire woman if Chaney had played the part . It does seem unlikely that someone with an obviously Slavonic name like Daninsky would have survived the Nazi regime but once again the logic behind this is down to the production team hitting barriers in not being allowed to set the story in Spain or have a Spanish character as a Werewolf hence the German setting but you'd still think a bit more thinking might have gone in to Daninsky's background . That said despite all the flaws it is a fairly entertaining horror film and is miles better than the direct sequel ASSIGNMENT TERROR

I am not to familiar with the Paul Naschy WolfMan movies. A good friend of mine has been watching these films for years and told me that I have got to check some of them out. So, where else better to start then with the beginning of the series. A fun start if you ask me.The story is pretty standard as far as werewolf stories go. A werewolf is on the loose and a group of people go on to try and lynch the creature. Actor Paul Naschy (playing the part of a man named Waldemar) gets attacked and bitten by the werewolf. Soon after, the creature is shot down and killed. Poor Waldemar, he is now inflicted with the curse and must find a way to stop or cure it. He summons the help of a strange doctor and his wife. The problem is they turn out to be vampires with nothing but bad intentions.Well, for the first movie in the series of about a dozen, this was a lot of fun. I will admit that I was a little bit skeptical sitting down to watch this but I really enjoyed it. Paul Naschy is awesome in the role of the tormented Waldemar. The transformation scenes are pretty nifty, even if they are low budget. Naschy as the werewolf looks pretty good and is pulled off nicely.I think one of the highlights for me was the music score. This really brought forth a lot of atmosphere and gave the movie life. Without this, I don't believe the movie would have had such a nice impact.If you like horror this is a must see. 7/10

Finally! I've been searching and searching for a Paul Naschy film that appeals to me. And I'm so happy to have discovered one. After sitting through some less than stellar offerings like Vengeance of the Zombies and Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf, I've finally found a winner. I won't go so far as to proclaim it as one of the best horror movies I've ever seen, but Frankenstein's Bloody Terror is a whole lot of fun and easily the best Naschy film I've so far run across.To begin with, Frankenstein's Bloody Terror has absolutely nothing to do with either the good doctor or his creation. It seems that an American distributor was promised a Frankenstein movie, but was given a werewolf film instead. Undaunted, the distributor decided to stick with the Frankenstein name he probably had already worked into advertising. Thus Frankenstein's Bloody Terror becomes a werewolf/vampire slugfest.Frankenstein's Bloody Terror is something of a historical movie for horror fans. It marks the first time Naschy would play Waldemar Daninsky and his cursed alter-ego that Naschy turned into something of a cottage industry. In this one, the residents of a small village blame a series of deaths on wolves. Daninsky joins a hunting party and is bitten, not by a wolf, but by a werewolf before he is able to subdue the creature. It's not long before Daninsky goes through a strange and painful metamorphosis that turns him into a snarling beast himself. A friend, looking to help Daninsky, turns to a doctor who has written extensively on the subject. But it turns out that this is no ordinary "mad" doctor. It seems the doctor and his wife are in reality blood sucking vampires. Before you know it, they've got Daninsky chained to a wall while they prey on his friends. Can Daninsky free himself and save those dear to him? And if he does save his friends from the vampires, who's going to save them from him? As I said in my opening, Frankenstein's Bloody Terror is a lot of fun. It's hard not to have a good time with the over-the-top storyline and action. The movie actually gives you two werewolves for the price of one. Their battle is a blast and a real highlight of the movie for me. This monster free-for-all is reminiscent of some of Universal's monster mashes from the 40s, only a little more graphic in its presentation. The film has a marvelous Hammer-esquire look to it with vivid colors and period sets. The use of colored gels is a nice touch to the lighting in many scenes. I really liked Naschy's werewolf make-up. It's a little more "wild" than it would be in latter Daninsky films. The supporting cast is good with Rosanna Yanni as a gypsy woman being the most well known.If you're looking for a sophisticated sort of horror movie with a deep, philosophical meaning that sticks with you long after it ends, Frankenstein's Bloody Terror is probably not the movie you're looking for. But if you're just looking to be entertained and have a good time, it's hard to go wrong with Frankenstein's Bloody Terror. Now that I've found a Naschy film I enjoy, I'm even more excited to discover the rest of his work.