![The Howl of the Devil [Region Free] [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81NqaB0zfEL.jpg)
Spanish horror star Paul Naschy plays a multitude of roles in a tour-de-force performance in one of his last great films. He plays Hector Doriani a stage and screen actor who feels himself living in the shadow of his dead twin brother, Alex Doriani, the latter once a famous star of horror movies. Alex's young son, Adrian, now lives with Hector in his brother's 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 Doriani'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. One of the last films to be directed by Paul Naschy, THE HOWL OF THE DEVIL was, for many years, impossible to see in anything like it's intended form. This first HD presentation of the film shows it at last in it's true glory. One of Naschy's most savage and heartfelt films, it's reappearance is an event worth celebrating
I**I
Buena restauración
Buena restauración, aún quedan granos en la imagen en ocasiones, pero este título es raro de encontrar y la restauración de imagen es bastante aceptable
D**D
Monster Mash
Mondo Macabro has done its usual good work in providing another obscure bit of exploitational weirdness to the world, and all the technical aspects of this BluRay edition are excellent! My reasoning for the, only, 3 star rating is more based on the quality of the plot elements. “Howl of the Devil” was apparently one of Spanish horror auteur Paul Nacshy’s later films wherein he attempted to reprise virtually ALL of the monsters he had previously portrayed in his other movies - especially the ones from the Universal Studios catalog that he adored. Frankenstein’s monster, the wolfman, phantom of the opera, etc. all are represented in brief ‘walk-ons’. The storyline utilized to accomplish this creature parade is where things get sketchy. Not only does Naschy portray all of the monsters - he also takes on the dual role of 2 brothers - one living & one dead! Veteran actors Caroline Munro & Howard Vernon do what they can within the jumbled plot that features ghostly apparitions and raising the dead. There is even a Giallo thread running through the action - featuring a mysterious masked killer who dispatches a variety of hapless women - who all manage to get naked briefly before their demise! Sadly the whole film becomes a meandering mishmash of implausibility that culminates without much conclusion. For Naschy completists there may be some enjoyment here but I think Paul should have left his creatures to RIP and allow his earlier better horror films to stand as his legacy.
S**R
An apocalyptic event; indeed something of a Holy Grail!
Finally got to around to check out my copy of Howl of the Devil and I am overcome with excitement!Paul Naschy's cinema was probably the most weird, psychotronic, far-fetched, colorful, self and budget centered but, most of all, original, in the Spanish horror landscape. Moreover, he was probably the biggest horror freak the world has ever known. This film condenses all of the above to the highest degree! Does it make it his best movie or the euro-cult film to end them all? I would hesitantly say... YES! A bunch of very shady, -real and imaginary-, characters with no redeeming qualities whatsoever make this the formula for the perfect storm, even apocalypse, at a small scale. This is Naschy singlehandedly paying homage to his favorite modern horror and science fiction icons and those of yesteryear, -especially Mario Bava and the Universal classics-, simultaneously showing off all his abilities, -even as a weightlifter-, within the usual financial constraints for which his films are known; maybe even direr, given this was a low point in his career. Caroline Munro shines as the (apparently) miscast Spanish handmaid, whose character provides the most depth and conflict to the affair, by being her usual self at the time. Fernando Hilbeck; Guthrie from Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, and Howard Vernon not only shine while the titles run, but also greatly contribute to enhance the morbid charm at display onscreen. However, if you are looking for a more credible scenario and more "legitimate" look at Naschy's legacy in retrospective, you would be better off tracking down Rojo Sangre; a more recent Naschy effort (directed by someone else), which I highly recommend watching as a double feature with this one. An equally self-centered piece, it makes more "sense" than this one, which is way more surreal and whimsical. Both take on the shadow of the past cast upon the present as a blessing and a curse. In summary, this is Naschy's very personal vision of the Apocalypse and his testament as a filmmaker! He reigns supreme as the key figure of horror, Spanish style!In any case, this is Mondo Macabro's crowning achievement, for several reasons, especially the fact that this one was quite elusive to track down! This is the very first time it sees a release on home media, apparently. I really appreciate the insightful interview with Naschy's son and protagonist Sergio. He talks about Naschy's own take of Horror in the Wax Museum, shot at around the same time and lost for good. After watching El Aullido del Diablo, I can only hope that he's wrong...
S**A
Muy buen edicion
Muy buena edición de una película que hasta ahora, era la única forma de verla en España, adquiriéndola fuera. Está en castellano.
R**H
The Howl of the Devil
Perfect addition to Paul Naschy collection bright and clear transfer. Rachel E Smith.
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