Las ratas no duermen de noche (1976)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Juan Fortuny

Writers:

Juan Fortuny (writer)
Marius Lesoeur (writer)

Release Date:

19 September 1976 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A mad doctor performs a head transplant on an injured criminal, which results in him being even more dangerous and murderous than before. |

Plot Keywords:

Head Transplant | Transplant | Lesbian | Murder | Female Nudity

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Jack Surnett
Silvia Solar	...	Ana (as Sylvia Solar)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gilda Arancio	...	Ingrid (as Gilda Anderson)
Pierre Biet	...	André
Claude Boisson	...	Paul (as Yul Sanders)
Monique Gérard	...	La Bouquetiere
Alain Hardy	...	Villageois
Víctor Israel	...	Karl
Richard Kolin	...	Willy
Antonia Lotito	...	Emmy
Olivier Mathot	...	Henry (as Oliver Matot)
Roberto Mauri	...	Le Sadique / the Sadist
Carlos Otero	...	Doc Ritter
Ricardo Palmerola	...	Professor Teets (as Richard Palmer)
Jaume Picas	...	Criado
Muriel Renaud	...	Natalia
Jean Roville	...	Le Maire
Evelyne Scott	...	Barbara (as Evelyn Scott)
Guy Verda	...	Marcel

Also Known As:

Crimson (USA) (video title)
Crimson, the Color of Blood (International: English title)
L'homme à la tête coupée (France)
Le viol et l'enfer des X (France)

Runtime:

France:87 min

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-18 | UK:18 (cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Company:

Eurociné

Goofs:

Continuity: Karl is shot by one of the Sadist's henchmen through an upstairs window. However, in a later shot the window is intact.

Weird mix of a crime flick and Frankenstein-style horror

What we have here is an example of what happens when a crime film meets horror - it's a bungled heist, and the result is not jail time or dead gang members, but a transplanted head! Yep, that's the premise of Juan Fortuny's weird little horror film that features the talents of the ever-popular Paul Naschy as the lucky recipient of a radical new operation. Obviously the major inspiration for this film is Mary Shelly's all-time classic horror story 'Frankenstein' as we've got a mad scientist, a 'monster' and some new medical breakthrough. The main story focuses on the fortune of Jack Surnett, played by Paul Naschy. He and his gang decide to pull a jewel heist, but when one of them cocks up, the alarms start ringing and the cops turn up. This is bad news for Jack as he gets shot in the head and it looks like his time may be up. However, his gang aren't ready to just sit back and watch him die so they take him to their own doctor and soon it transpires that the only way to save him is a brain transplant, and the only brain available used to belong to "The Sadist"...

It's probably obvious from the plot summary, but Crimson really is a bizarre film. Quite how anyone thought these elements could come together well is beyond me, but actually the result isn't as bad as thought it might be; although it's not really as fun either. It's clear that this film was never really meant to be taken seriously and it's a good job it doesn't take itself seriously. The best thing about most of Paul Naschy's films is Paul Naschy, although that's not really the case here as he spends most of the film lying in bed. However, when he finally does get up the film really takes a turn for the better as we get to watch Naschy with a bandage round his head running all over the countryside getting up to no good. The film isn't especially gory, but there's a fair bit of that cheap looking bright crimson blood to keep horror fans happy. It's clear that the film is never really going to go anywhere, and it really doesn't...but I only saw this for a fun time and it just about delivers that much. I wont call this brilliant or a must see, but its decent stuff and I can recommend it.