70's Paul Naschy Part Seven

THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN

(1970)

Dir - Jose Maria Zabalza

Overall: WOOF

 

Easily the worst in Paul Naschy's Waldemar Daninsky series until Fred Olen Ray took an embarrassing crack at it over thirty years later, The Fury of the Wolfman, (La Furia del Hombre Lobo, Wolfman Never Sleeps), is a botched effort solely due to its trainwreck production.  The initial director was to be Enrique Lopez Eguiluz, a friend of Naschy's who was then replaced by José María Zabalza, a veteran in Spanish cinema that was allegedly drunk and volatile during the shooting.  Coming in too short for proper theatrical release, additional, "out for a stroll" werewolf scenes were shot with a stand-in, footage was then recycled from two earlier Naschy Daninsky films, and further distribution problems resulted in numerous cuts of the movie which did not get circulated until several years after everything wrapped.  As one could surmise, the result is virtually incomprehensible with plot points that are both rushed and boringly drawn out, random stock music thrown in anywhere, and abrupt editing that gives it a lazily slapdash feel throughout.  Certain moments are unintentionally hysterical like an early, sloppy dream sequence where a Hindi man says "Pentagram" over and over again and a later scene where Naschy in full lycanthropian garb casually gets into a screaming woman's bed for a few seconds, only to then get up and leave with her laying there unattacked and still screaming.

DEATH OF A HOODLUM

(1975)

Dir - León Klimovsky

Overall: MEH

 

The last collaboration between director León Klimovsky and Paul Naschy was the crime drama Death of a Hoodlum, (Muerte de un quinqui), one of a handful of lesser known works during the actor's 1970s heyday to never receive an English dub or US release.  Not that fans on the other side of the Atlantic were particularly missing out as this is hardly a memorable effort for all parties involved.  Naschy penned the screenplay as he was wont to do, this time writing that he successfully seduces a mother and daughter under the same roof.  At least this time the women on screen do not find him irresistible from the moment they lay eyes on him, but it still provides the movie with one of Naschy's most steadfast and silly tropes.  Elsewhere, this is dull stuff that is similar in some respects to the 1973 giallo Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll which also found Naschy's unwholesome character looking for work, holding up in an isolated house, and banging more than one woman in a family.  Klimovsky's direction is entirely flat though, with no stylistic choices whatsoever besides the same piece of horrible music showing up several dozen times to give it the wrong, romantic tone at random intervals.  Naschy's character has some disturbing trauma involving his parents which cause him to occasionally lose his cool, call women sluts and bitches, and resort to violence, but besides that, it is a snore.

THE FRENCHMAN'S GARDEN

(1978)

Dir - Paul Naschy

Overall: GOOD

During the late 70s, Paul Naschy was stepping away from his nostalgic, Gothic horror reworkings to prioritize more boundary pushing and challenging works, turning "The Frenchman's Garden Murders" of 1904 into an incredibly stark, understated film whose tone was miles away from the Spanish Wolfman's norm.  Though he appears in the lead, Naschy omitted his name from all promotional materials as to not mislead audiences into thinking that this was akin to the movies that he was known for, though the result is one of the most personally sincere in his filmography.  The Frenchman's Garden, (El huerto del Francés), primarily focuses on the sin of pride and how if left unchecked, can lead to a series of misfortunes at the expense of others.  As the brothel owner Juan Andrés Aldije 'El Francés', the character's selfish need to sleep with as many women as he wishes, murder as many wealthy passers-by as he wishes, and all with the explicit excuse to prove himself worthy of his wife's disapproving parents, sets him up as a severely flawed man.  Naschy's performance is wonderfully nuanced though.  He rarely comes across as the on-paper brute that he is, routinely seeming concerned and compassionate towards those around him, even if it is ultimately a cold affront to the deep seeded darkness within, (a darkness that is literally shown in a few sequences through some lighting maneuvers).  The entire film which deals explicitly with abortion, murder, adultery, and even homosexuality is played virtually exploitation-less, showcasing a bold move for Spanish cinema in general of the era which was only a few years removed from the Francoist Period.