El retorno de Walpurgis (1973)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Carlos Aured

Writers:

Edward Mannix (American dialogue)
Paul Naschy (story)

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Prepare yourself for the HORROR of PSYCHO! The TERROR of EXORCIST!

Plot:

A man whose ancestors executed a witch is turned into a werewolf by modern-day descendants of the executed witch.

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Severed Head | Decapitation | Sequel | Female Nudity

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Waldemar Daninsky / Irineus Daninsky / Werewolf
Fabiola Falcón	...	Kinga Wilowa
Maritza Olivares	...	Maria Wilowa
José Manuel Martín	...	Bela (as José M. Martín)
Eduardo Calvo	...	Laszlo Wilowa
Mariano Vidal Molina	...	Roulka (as Vidal Molina)
Ana Farra	...	Malitza
Fernando Sánchez Polack	...	Maurice, Waldemar's valet (as Fernando S. Polack)
Inés Morales	...	Ilona
Santiago Rivero
Pilar Vela
José Yepes
Ana Maria Rossie
Sandalio Hernández
Jorge Matamoros

Also Known As:

Curse of the Devil (USA)
La noche del asesino (Mexico)
Return of the Werewolf (International: English title) (informal literal title)
The Black Harvest of Countess Dracula (USA) (video title)
The Return of Walpurgis (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

USA:73 min | Spain:81 min (original uncut version)

Country:

Spain | Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (uncut version) | France:-12 | Germany:16 (video) | Spain:18 | West Germany:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Lotus Films

Movie Connections:

Follows La noche de Walpurgis (1971)

And a Happy "Night of Walpurgis" to Y'all!

Paul Naschy – the living and already legendary icon of Spanish exploitation cinema – once again suffers from overabundant body hair growth in this entertaining and very gory episode of the "Hombre-Lobo" cycle. These fun movies don't exactly follow each other, but they all star Naschy as Count Waldemar Daninsky; a noble and honorable man but with the misfortune of transforming into a bloodthirsty werewolf whenever the moon is full. In "Curse of the Devil", all the events revolve on the Night of Walpurgis. This holiday is kind of like Christmas but exclusively for witches, Satanists and everyone else who's up to no good. On this night, poor Waldemar is struck by a terrible curse that was placed upon him several centuries ago, when his Witchfinder-ancestor single-handedly wiped out an entire coven of devil worshipers and burnt their leader. Following a series of macabre events (a bizarre hunting accident, a bloody ritual performed by a sexy witch…), Waldemar becomes a werewolf and kills a lot of people (preferably gorgeous women) in the forest surrounding his land. This is not the type of movie you watch for its unbearable suspense or the masterfully written dialogues. It's a simple European exploitation effort from the 70's in which a lot of girls get fully naked and even more poor souls have their throats bit open. The gore is plentiful but never really shocking and the acting performances vary from bad to…very, very bad! Naschy's transformation into a werewolf is hilarious instead of creepy and the sub plot about an escaped murderous lunatic is just too implausible. Recommended…but only to Euro-horror fanatics and fans of Paul Naschy. PS: the indicated running time of 73 minutes must be taken from a severely cut version. The DVD I watched (Dutch release) runs 82 minutes and shows every butchering in great and tasteless details. Go for that one!