Night of the Werewolf (1981)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Julia Saly) and her servant Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) are put to death because of their connections to Satan. Flash-forward several hundred years and a grave robber pulls out the silver cross from Daninsky's heart, which brings him back to life as a werewolf. Soon the Countess also returns to life and before long they are battling.
NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF was the eighth (or seventh, depending on how you look at it) time that Naschy played his most famous role and it's also the first time he directed himself in the part. This here was released in America as THE CRAVING and it's a remake of Naschy's WEREWOLF SHADOW, which played in America as THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN. For the most part there are a lot of good things here but at the same time there's no question that this falls well short of the original film as well as several others in the series.
What I enjoyed the most about this film is obviously the werewolf. I thought the transformation scenes were good enough considering the budget they were working on and there's no question that the look of the werewolf is excellent. There are some really great an striking shots of the werewolf including one of the final ones with a ton of gore spewing out of its mouth. As you probably know, Naschy was an expert at playing Daninsky by this time and he turns in another fine performance. Saly is also very good in her role and there are plenty of beautiful women throughout.
With all of that said, there are certainly some flaws in the film including some of the direction. I never really thought that Naschy built up a very strong atmosphere. I'd also argue that the love story thrown in is rather stupid and at times laughable and especially how Naschy and the woman don't know each other one minute and in the next scene they're madly in love! None of the dialogue scenes are all that captivating either but what keeps you glued to the film is the werewolf and thankfully that there is strong enough to recommend the movie.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Julia Saly) and her servant Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) are put to death because of their connections to Satan. Flash-forward several hundred years and a grave robber pulls out the silver cross from Daninsky's heart, which brings him back to life as a werewolf. Soon the Countess also returns to life and before long they are battling.
NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF was the eighth (or seventh, depending on how you look at it) time that Naschy played his most famous role and it's also the first time he directed himself in the part. This here was released in America as THE CRAVING and it's a remake of Naschy's WEREWOLF SHADOW, which played in America as THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN. For the most part there are a lot of good things here but at the same time there's no question that this falls well short of the original film as well as several others in the series.
What I enjoyed the most about this film is obviously the werewolf. I thought the transformation scenes were good enough considering the budget they were working on and there's no question that the look of the werewolf is excellent. There are some really great an striking shots of the werewolf including one of the final ones with a ton of gore spewing out of its mouth. As you probably know, Naschy was an expert at playing Daninsky by this time and he turns in another fine performance. Saly is also very good in her role and there are plenty of beautiful women throughout.
With all of that said, there are certainly some flaws in the film including some of the direction. I never really thought that Naschy built up a very strong atmosphere. I'd also argue that the love story thrown in is rather stupid and at times laughable and especially how Naschy and the woman don't know each other one minute and in the next scene they're madly in love! None of the dialogue scenes are all that captivating either but what keeps you glued to the film is the werewolf and thankfully that there is strong enough to recommend the movie.