The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971)

Elvira is travelling through the French countryside with her friend Genevieve, searching for the lost tomb of a medieval murderess and possible vampire, Countess Wandessa. They find a ... See full summary »

Director:

León Klimovsky

Writers:

Paul Naschy (screenplay) (as Jacinto Molina), Hans Munkel (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Naschy, Gaby Fuchs, Barbara Capell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Naschy	...	Waldemar Daninsky
Gaby Fuchs	...	Elvira
Barbara Capell	...	Genevieve Bennett (as Bárbara Capell)
Andrés Resino	...	Inspector Marcel
Yelena Samarina	...	Elizabeth Daninsky
José Marco	...	Pierre
Betsabé Ruiz	...	Pierre's girl (as Betsabe Sharon)
Barta Barri	...	Muller
Luis Gaspar	...	Distraught man
Ruperto Ares
María Luisa Tovar	...	First female victim
Julio Peña	...	Dr. Hartwig (coroner)
Patty Shepard	...	Countess Wandesa Dárvula de Nadasdy (as Paty Shepard)

Storyline

Elvira is travelling through the French countryside with her friend Genevieve, searching for the lost tomb of a medieval murderess and possible vampire, Countess Wandessa. They find a likely site in the castle of Waldemar Daninsky, who invites the women to stay as long as they like. As Waldemar shows Elvira the tomb that supposedly houses the countess, she accidentally causes the vampire to come back to life, hungrier than ever. Daninsky has a hidden secret of his own, but will it be enough to save the two girls from becoming Wandessa's next victims?

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | vampire versus werewolf | female vampire | werewolf | sequel | 

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Taglines:

The Blood Flows Like Vintage Wine

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Spain West Germany

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Werewolf Shadow

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plata Films S.A., HIFI Stereo 70 Kg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 95 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

La Noche de Walpurgis (Walpurgis Night, released in the United States as The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman, and in the UK as Shadow of the Werewolf [theatrical] and Werewolf Shadow [video]), is a 1970 Spanish horror film.

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Goofs

When Waldemar first brings the two young ladies to his house, the film crew can be seen reflected on the side of the car.

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Alternate Versions

The Anchor Bay DVD entitled "Werewolf Shadow" incorporates previously missing footage that only appeared in Spanish prints of the film. The material is mostly centered on Elvira's boyfriend and his attempts to locate her once she has gone missing. One scene shows him receiving a letter from Elvira, and another long sequence involves a conversation he has with the mayor of the local burg that Wandessa has been terrorizing.

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Connections

Followed by Curse of the Devil (1973)

User Reviews

Just a shadow of other fairytale horror films

The first thing I noticed about this film was the completely inane dialogue, and unfortunately; there is a streak of ineptitude running throughout Werewolf Shadow, and this is a shame as without it; this film actually isn't bad at all. The principle positive element is without doubt the atmosphere, as León Klimovsky's film features a surreal dreamlike ambiance, which bodes extremely well with the fantasy-horror elements of the rather unoriginal plot line. As the title suggests, the film handles the stalwart horror monster 'the werewolf', and it does it in an almost fairytale like manner. This again ensures disappointment as films like Suspiria have shown what a great effect a fairytale plot line can have on a film; although this film proves otherwise. The plot centres on two girls; Elvira and Genevieve, who find themselves travelling through the French countryside in search of a medieval tomb, believed to that of a murderess. However, they happen to run into Waldemar Daninsky, a Count with a secret, who invites the girls to stay at his castle.

The film is probably most notable for the fact that it stars prolific Spanish horror veteran, Paul Naschy. I have to admit that I've only seen a handful of Naschy's films; but they've ranged from bad to worse and personally, I'm not a big fan of what I've seen thus far. In this film, Naschy doesn't get to do much more than chew the scenery anyway. The acting isn't the best overall and the special effects leave a lot to be desired also. The gloomy Gothic atmosphere is definitely a treat, however, and it really is a good job as if it wasn't for that, the film wouldn't be worth watching at all. Werewolf Shadow isn't a very long film, lasting just over eighty minutes, but it really does drag as the plot simply moves along without ever being too interesting. Director León Klimovsky does pad his film out with some very nice imagery, however, and the film does look very nice on a number of occasions. Overall, I really can't recommend going out of your way to find Werewolf Shadow; all of its elements have been done better in other films, and despite some nice aesthetics; this is a sadly lacklustre effort.