Heartbeat (1983)

The Worst Film Ever

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Paul Marnac, descendant of the 16th century warlock Alaric de Marnac, takes his sick wife back to his family home where she will be looked after by two maids in the family's employ: one, old and faithful, the other, young and beautiful.Before the married couple even arrive at the house events transpire to threaten the wife's fragile health. There is an attempted robbery on the road, thwarted by the powerfully-built husband, but when the pair arrive at the de Marnac family estate rather than quieting down things take a turn for the bizarre and the gruesome.This is a delightful Naschy horror romp in which the character of Alaric de Marnac makes his second and only appearance after the classic Horror Rises From the Tomb. Naschy keeps you guessing with constant surprises as the supernatural aspect of the story, generally a Naschy mainstay, is played down in favour of good old fashioned human iniquity. Indeed, the story makes you wish Alaric de Marnac could have made further appearances, but this was the last we ever saw of the character.

Having seen a number of the late Paul Naschy's flicks, I expected "Latidos de pánico" ("Panic Beats" in English) to have no shortage of gore. It didn't disappoint. I also knew in advance that this is one of the movies in which Paul Naschy - whose real name was Jacinto Molina - does not play werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. The plot has a man and his infirm wife moving to his childhood estate, which was also the residence of his bloodthirsty ancestor. There is a legend that his ancestor rises from the dead to get revenge on anyone who wrongs his descendants. When mysterious things start happening at the estate, the wife begins wondering if the legend is true.I do prefer the movies in which Naschy grows fur and fangs, but this one was still cool. There's plenty of nudity, and even a see-through nightgown! There was something else. Usually I think that Paul Naschy resembles Quentin Tarantino. In most of this movie he did, but while wearing a hat, he looked like Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", and in the photo he looked like John Belushi in "Animal House". And this is in a horror flick! Anyway, it's some real fun. In the first scene with the snake, I blurted out "I've had it with these mother***king snakes on this mother***king grave!" PS: It's too bad that Paul Naschy never collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar on a movie. THAT would have been something cool! Probably a story of a werewolf having to deal with a damaged relationship.

Panic Beats (1982) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Paul Naschy plays a man trying to care for his ill wife while carrying on affairs with two other women. All three women are causing him problems but thankfully there's a family curse that has a Knight return from the grave a kill anyone who dares harm him. Naschy also wrote and directed this film that has a very nice premise that goes back to his Horror Rises From the Tomb film. As usual, there are plenty of beautiful naked women but Naschy also adds some nice atmosphere, gory death scenes and some tense moments. However, like many other Naschy films, this one here eventually drags in a few spots but it's still well worth watching especially for a couple nice twists in the story.

This isn't all rotten if you hang in there. It's like a trashy Gothic soap opera running at half-speed with pretty decent acting, mild sex scenes, plenty of female nudity and a hilariously mean-spirited and lecherous roster of characters who use, deceive, manipulate, seduce and kill other people without thinking twice about it. It opens with a foggy, great-looking, atmospheric scene of infamous sadist Alaric de Marnac (laid over from Naschy's fun 1972 film HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB) tracking down a (nude) victim on horseback before mauling her to death. In modern times, Alaric's look-a-like descendant Paul (Paul Naschy) decides to take his terminally ill, wealthy wife Genevieve (Julia Saly) out to his secluded childhood home for a much needed break from the stress of big city life (and possibly buy her some more time). Waiting for them at the home are elderly maid Mabile (Lola Gaos), who's been around since Paul was a young child and used to spook him with stories about the family lineage, and her sexy niece Julie (Paquita Ondiviela), who had a rough childhood and claims she is looking to make something of her life. A month after arriving in the home, Genevieve has gotten close to both Mabile and Julie and her health is improving, but the peace doesn't last long as she's haunted by mysterious visions of Alaric back from the dead. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the forces conspiring against her are actually in human - not spirit - form, and said forces want her dead to get her money, but the less I reveal about this one the more you will probably enjoy it. It does sound like your standard issue psycho thriller, and in most ways it is a bit on the ordinary side, but the story does hold a few surprises that I won't spoil.One of the things that this movie has going for it is that none of the characters are portrayed as saints and there's a certain duality to everyone, making the interplay between them a bit more interesting and unpredictable than what you normally see. The cinematography is competent; very stylish and colorful anytime something "supernatural" is going on. The four leads are all good. Plus there's one moment of over-the-top gore that will definitely catch you by surprise. It's worth a look.Go straight for the Mondo Macabro DVD (an excellent print); quality for the Spanish language VHS version and the subtitled VSOM video don't do the film justice.