Las garras de Lorelei (1974)

Director:

Amando de Ossorio

Writers:

Amando de Ossorio (screenplay)
Amando de Ossorio (story)

Release Date:

1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

You'll Never Sleep Alone Again!

Plot:

The legendary Loreley has been living for centuries in a grotto beneath the river Rhein in Germany. Every night when the moon is full...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | River | Moon | Girl School | Mythology

Cast

Tony Kendall	...	Sirgurd
Helga Liné	...	Lorelei
Silvia Tortosa	...	Elke Ackerman
Josefina Jartin	...	Principal
Loreta Tovar	...	Alumna (as Lolita Tovar)
José Thelman		(as Joseph Thelman)
Luis Induni	...	Mayor
Francisco Nieto
Betsabé Ruiz	...	Bride
Luis Barboo	...	Alberic
Ángel Menéndez	...	Professor
Sergio Mendizábal	...	Doctor
Marisol Delgado	...	Brigitte
Victoria Hernández	...	Teresa
María Vidal	...	Maid (as Mary Vidal)

Also Known As:

Grasp of the Lorelei (International: English title) (informal alternative title)
The Lorelei's Grasp (International: English title) (informal alternative title)
The Loreley's Grasp (USA) (DVD title)
The Night the Screaming Stopped (USA) (reissue title)
When the Screaming Stops (USA)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

El Carcán, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Astro C.C.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Amando de Ossorio: el último templario (2001) (V)

Enjoyable creature feature with a heavy touch of mysticism.

A savage, lizard-like beast that is tearing the hearts out of its victims is terrorizing a village. The staff at a nearby girls' school hire hunky hunter Sigurd (Tony Kendall) to both guard them and kill the beast. While Sigurd finds himself attracted to the strict and aloof Elke (Silvia Tortosa), he is also drawn to the mysterious beauty (Helga Line, looking incredibly ravishing) frequenting the area.

Drawing inspiration from a real-life legend, director Amando de Ossorio (also well known for the "Blind Dead" series) knows how to keep this film entertaining and visually arresting. While never truly scary, it does have a haunting, fairly atmospheric quality, and does have a little bit of suspense to it. However, what some people may enjoy most about this likable little Euro exploitation horror flick is its non-stop bevy of scantily clad and delectable ladies and some very, very graphic gore. Anton Garcia Abrils' music is lovely and ethereal at some times, and at others funky, jazzy, and upbeat, striking an unusual but interesting balance. Miguel Fernandez Milas' cinematography is also quite impressive. The underwater lair is a nice bit of art direction. The monster itself is a fairly cheesy but undeniably ugly man-in-costume creation, but it never detracts too much from the overall appeal of the film, which has a very affecting, poetic sort of ending that I myself appreciated.

It's an entertaining fright flick with enough going for it for me to give it a hearty recommendation.

8/10