(1962)
Dir - Isidoro M. Ferry/William J. Hole Jr.
Overall: MEH
A Spanish, "plastic surgery gone amok" horror film done on the cheap, Face of Terror, (La cara del terror), is unique among such movies in that the crop of not-American actors largely dub their own dialog with accents in tow, but it is otherwise a derivative and sluggish bore. TV director William J. Hole Jr. added some extra scenes for the US release depending on which version you come across, but either one boasts the same lackluster results. It plays the trope that all women with mental illness must be raving lunatics, but the annoyance of Lisa Gaye's antagonist over people gawking at her or trying to send her back to a crazy house comes off as reasonable. That is because her extreme level of depression stems from her face being deformed, something which would make anyone unhappy to say the least. The film detours with musical numbers, police trying to track Gaye down, and the attempts of Fernando Rey's doctor to recover from Gaye's earlier attack on him after he "cures" her unfortunate facial features. It makes for a boring and talky watch that only mildly springs to life with clumsy set pieces, plus the cinematography is barely competent and the finale is clearly broadcast from the onset.
Dir - Fernando Fernán Gómez
Overall: MEH
Splashing together some old dark house and hagsploitation motifs under what is primarily a lighthearted black comedy, Strange Voyage, (El extraño viaje), comes from director Fernando Fernán Gómez, who was a beloved Spanish renaissance man in various fields throughout his career. While the story meanders with several side characters and never lands anywhere interesting, it does provide a melodramatic look into unassuming Spanish life during an era that was undergoing cultural change. Most of the film focuses on the generational differences emerging during Francoist Spain, where the older townspeople are depicted as suspicious curmudgeons and the younger adults try to find their way out of their small, judgemental village while dancing and falling in love. It also just so happens to throw in an accidental murder where an old spinster gets bludgeoned by her dim-witted siblings, one of whom is portrayed with schlubby charm by the world's lousiest/most prolific filmmaker Jess Franco. We eventually get a convoluted explanation that ties some otherwise unrelated arcs together, but the road to get there is poorly paced and lacking in any convincing humor. It is a shame though that Gómez never embarked on anything in the horror genre proper, since he stages some early scenes in a spacious house at night with suspenseful and spooky confidence.
(1968)
Dir - Enrique López Eguiluz
Overall: GOOD
While the debut of Paul Nashcy's Waldemar Daninsky's character has some of the usual drawbacks for Euro-horror of the era, (namely sluggish pacing, laughable dubbing, and a hare-brained script), The Mark of the Wolfman is benefited by stylish visuals and of course Nashy's ferocious performance. This was the actor's first starring role, which he allegedly debating in offering to a far past his prime Lon Chaney Jr before Naschy somewhat reluctantly took it on himself. Considering that this launched his career as the Spanish Wolfman and easily the country's most stubborn-in-a-good-way proponent of throwback horror cinema, it is crazy to see anyone else in the part. Director Enrique López Eguiluz helps to create a colorful, Bava-esque tone with vibrant lighting, Gothic locations, fog, and occasionally eerie music which accompanies the transformation scenes wonderfully. Of course no European genre film would be complete without having been released under a plethora of alternate titles and this one is near the top of such a list with La Marca del Hombre Lobo, Hell Creature, Les Fantomes de Dracula en de Weerwolf, Le Notti di Satana, Hexen des Grauens, Die Vampire des Dr. Dracula, and of course the most misleading, Americanized title of all time in Frankenstein's Bloody Terror.
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