ada the leading man is my tpye

Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Theo Robertson 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

Michael_Elliott The Mark of the Wolfman (1968) ** (out of 4) Bland but important Spanish horror film is the first to feature Paul Naschy in the Waldemar Daninsky role. In the film, Daninsky (Naschy) is bitten by a werewolf and soon finds himself turning into the creature. With the help of his best friend and girlfriend he's able to locate a German doctor who might be able to help him but Daninsky doesn't realize that the doctor is actually a vampire. THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN really isn't a very good moment but there's no question that it's an important one considering it started Naschy career as well as kick-started the Spanish horror genre. That alone makes the film worth viewing and there's no question that there are a few memorable moments scattered throughout the picture. The most effective sequence deals with a couple gypsies unlocking a tomb and pulling a stake from a man's heart, which has him come back as a werewolf. This attack sequence is actually quite effective and shot very nicely. There's also some very good atmosphere running throughout the film as it's clear that the low-budget at least allowed for a very good fog machine. Another plus is that the werewolf make-up looks pretty good for the most part, although there's no question that the actual transformation scenes are somewhat laughable. Naschy doesn't give the best performance of his career but I think he's good enough in the role and at least makes you feel sorry for his character. The supporting players are decent at best. There are some major problems with the picture that keeps it from being better. For starters, the pacing is pretty bad throughout the picture. Another issue is that the screenplay pretty much just throws everything into the mix and not all of it sticks. When released in America as FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR the film had an added on sequence trying to attach the events to the Frankenstein legacy but this here was pretty stupid so the Spanish version is the way to go.

Tender-Flesh Here we have the first in the Hombre Lobo series that made Paul Naschy, uh, famous. I admire Paul's desire to want to play a werewolf so often. I do wish, however, that he developed the special effects. He just looks slightly more savage than Lon Chaney Jr.'s version. I feel this film, in particular, is more suited to a 1950's audience.You have the usual Gothic trappings here: creepy old castle, gypsies, curses, strange bloodlines, werewolves, vampires, but....no Frankenstein or his monster! Instead, you get some nonsense about the Wolfstein clan. Exactly how that happens is rather interesting. It's like you ask for a Mercedes-Benz. I place one in front of you when you get your driver's license. Then, I drive it away, and have a Yugo towed to the same parking spot and say "It's still a car. Have fun!" So, while we were "terrified" by Frankenstein, in all his incarnations, now we have Wolfstein! That's basically how the story intro begins. Like, it's almost the same thing! Don't complain! Ha. Well, I'm actually fine with not having a Frankenstein monster in this film. This is one of those creaky old clunkers that is long on plot and short of wolf-outs. However, you do get something I bet kids would have liked back in the day: two werewolves fighting(I don't know how many times that happened in films before this one) then you have a werewolf tackling not one but two hissing vampires.Let me break it down for you. Boy meets girl. Girl meets Waldemar. Girl thinks Waldemar is hotter(who wouldn't?). Gypsies screw around in a castle and accidentally bring an old werewolf to life. Waldemar gets bit, thus begins his hirsute problems. While looking for a cure that doesn't involve death, two strangers show up, claiming they will help Waldemar, boy, and girl. But, they are just vampires, natch! Without spoiling the ending, yeesh, you have a fairly OK fight between Waldemar and the old grey wolfman, then a horrid laughable chase between the annoying man-vamp with all his cape twirling and hissing(seriously, he has like no powers other than biting and hypnotism--he literally and figuratively sucks) and Waldemar.The movie gains a few points for atmosphere and set design. Random skeletons strewn about are, well, unusual, I think, but overall the castle set designs are quite good, and Naschy is constantly walking into cobwebs accidentally. This isn't one of those so-bad-it's-good films. I don't think it deserves a lot of ridicule. Maybe watch it alone. You probably won't find many people who will "appreciate" it as you might.Time to get hairy.

slayrrr666 "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