16 April 2024
The Craving (1980)
93 min.
Directed by Paul Naschy.
With Paul Naschy, Silvia Aguilar, Azucena Hernández, Julia Saly, Beatriz Elorietta, Pilar Alcón.
Aside from a spirited finale and some good werewolf makeup, this Paul Naschy-directed Daninsky entry lacks sufficient spunk.

Sentenced to death for satanic crimes and misdemeanors, the evil Countess Elisabeth Bathory is executed along with her friends, family and co-conspirators - including her servant-wolfman Waldemar Daninsky (Naschy).

Flash forward several centuries: Waldemar is revived from the dead by a pair of foppish graverobbers while at the same time the Countess is resurrected by an overly curious devil-worshippin' gal. Soon, it's Werewolf versus the Vampire Woman!

A sort of remake of The Werewolf's Shadow from 1971, this is guilty of an overly meandering plot and more weak acting than you'd see at an Actors Studio graduation (Hernández, especially, is quite dull as Waldemar's sweetie Karen).

As always, Naschy is watchable here - and his love for the genre is ever present - but he alone can't seem to inject enough life into this rather needless offering.

Also known either as Return of the Wolfman or as Night of the Werewolf.

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