Paul Naschy — Director (8)

Movie

The Howl of the Devil (1988)
El aullido del diablo WikiData IMDb TMDB
other title: El aullido del diablo / 鬼哭魔嚎 …
Hector Doriani is a stage and screen actor who feels himself living in the shadow of his dead twin brother, Alex Doriani, once a famous star of horror movies. Alex’s young son, Adrian, now lives with Hector in an isolated mansion in the countryside. To keep alive the memory of his father, the boy imagines himself visited by the spirit of the dead man, incarnated in a series of classic horror characters from the past. Eric, Alex’s former butler, now also works for Hector. His main role is to locate and bring to the mansion a series of women who are paid large sums of money by Hector to take part in various sadistic sex games. To complicate matters even further, the games always seem to end with the women getting slaughtered in various gruesome ways by a black gloved, masked killer. Also on hand is horror diva Caroline Munro, as Hector’s housekeeper and cook, who is being pursued by a local priest with whom she once had a much-regretted affair.

Movie

Night of the Werewolf (1981)
El retorno del Hombre Lobo IMDb TMDB
other title: The Werwolf / El retorno del hombre lobo …
An evil witch brings back to life the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, who was executed several hundred years previously for murdering young women and bathing in their blood.

Movie

The Beasts' Carnival (1980)
El carnaval de las bestias IMDb Douban
保罗·纳什 actor: 更多...
other title: El carnaval de las bestias / 野兽嘉年华 …
A hit man working for the Yakuza double crosses his employers and flees with a cache of diamonds from the latest heist. Injured and hiding in the mountain regions of Spain, with Japanese assassins in hot pursuit, he takes refuge in the home of a local doctor and his two daughters who nurse him back to health and hide him from his pursuers, taking drastic and murderous measures to protect him... for they have plans of their own in store for their current guest.

Movie

The Beast and the Magic Sword (1983)
The Beast and the Magic Sword Douban
other title: 野兽与魔法神剑 / The Werewolf and the Magic Sword
在16世纪,狼人沃尔德马尔达宁斯基从他的祖国欧洲旅行到日本,寻找一种方法来治愈自己成为狼人。只有一个叫金的日本巫师和一把神奇的银剑才能救他。

Movie

极度恐慌 (1983)
Panic Beats Douban
other title: Panic Beats / 心惊胆战
PANIC BEATS begins with a totally nude woman with welts on her body, running through a misty forest full of decayed skeletons. A knight on horseback is chasing her, and we soon learn that he is Alaric de Marnac (a wicked character Naschy first created for HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB), viciously killing her for her unfaithful ways. After the credits role, we are taken to the present where a descendent of Marnac named Paul (Naschy) is married to the wealthy Geneviève (Julia Saly) was has some serious heart problems. Paul decides to take her to his ancestral home in the country for some peace and quiet, but the superstitious-filled setting opens a Pandora’s Box of terrible occurrences. We soon discover that Paul is a real son-of-a-bitch who plans to scare his wife to death, planning to control her fortune and continue his secret affair with seductive bad girl Mireille (Silvia Miró), who happens to be the niece of the tarot card-reading housekeeper, Mabile (Lola Gaos). Paul’s malevolent scheme works, but he still has to worry about an additional money-hungry mistress (this guy really gets around!), the unforgiving Mabile, as well as new fianceé Mireille who might be hiding a thing or two herself. More grisly murders follow, and the ghost of Marnac returns from hell to punish the most despicable human character in the film. PANIC BEATS was also written by Naschy (under his real name Jacinto Molina) who injects the film with an old-fashioned spooky house motif, beefed up with a modern movie sense of violence and sexuality. The film offers nothing too innovative storywise, and even Naschy admits on the disc’s extras that it was partly inspired by GASLIGHT and REBECCA, but he seems to just toss in a hodgepodge of exploitation and horror ingredients, while delivering a stylish and enjoyable effort with a number of twists and some genuinely chilling moments. The camera shots and lighting are both effective, and there's even does a cool set-up (much like what Freddie Francis did in THE SKULL and THE CREEPING FLESH) where we see the point of view of Marnac through his dark helmet as he stalks his female prey. Graphically, we are exposed to everything from a plate of bloody eyeballs, to victims being beaten relentlessly with the various Medieval weapons affixed on the house’s walls (for example, someone is axed in the stomach, followed by the soaked entrails oozing out!). Naschy’s most frequent 1980s leading lady, Julia Saly, is not given much to do, but with her offbeat looks, is a nice presence nonetheless. The prominent female star here is Silvia Miró who is seen in the buff frequently, and she certainly makes for some well-appreciated Euro starlet eye candy. Naschy himself is very good in the film, putting on conniving facades, carrying a number of women on a string, being a real malicious bastard, and for the umpteenth time in his career, playing two roles in a one film.

Movie

The Traveller (1980)
El Caminante IMDb TMDB Douban
other title: 旅客 / El Caminante …
The devil, following in the footsteps of Christ, decides to become flesh and take a stroll around Earth to see how humans have progressed, and have a little fun creating havoc and mayhem in the process.