El retorno de Walpurgis (1973)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Carlos Aured

Writers:

Edward Mannix (American dialogue)
Paul Naschy (story)

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Prepare yourself for the HORROR of PSYCHO! The TERROR of EXORCIST!

Plot:

A man whose ancestors executed a witch is turned into a werewolf by modern-day descendants of the executed witch.

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Severed Head | Decapitation | Sequel | Female Nudity

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Waldemar Daninsky / Irineus Daninsky / Werewolf
Fabiola Falcón	...	Kinga Wilowa
Maritza Olivares	...	Maria Wilowa
José Manuel Martín	...	Bela (as José M. Martín)
Eduardo Calvo	...	Laszlo Wilowa
Mariano Vidal Molina	...	Roulka (as Vidal Molina)
Ana Farra	...	Malitza
Fernando Sánchez Polack	...	Maurice, Waldemar's valet (as Fernando S. Polack)
Inés Morales	...	Ilona
Santiago Rivero
Pilar Vela
José Yepes
Ana Maria Rossie
Sandalio Hernández
Jorge Matamoros
Felicidad Nieto
María Silva	...	Elizabeth Bathory
Eduardo Bea
Elsa Zabala	...	Gypsy Witch

Directed by
Carlos Aured

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edward Mannix		American dialogue
Paul Naschy		story and screenplay (as Jacinto Molina)

Produced by
Ramiro Meléndez	....	producer
Luis Méndez	....	producer

Original Music by
Antón García Abril

Cinematography by
Francisco Sánchez

Film Editing by
María Luisa Soriano		(as Maruja Soriano)

Production Design by
Gumersindo Andrés

Costume Design by
Antonio Muñoz

Makeup Department
Fernando Florido	....	special makeup effects artist
Dolores García Rey	....	assistant makeup artist
Esther Gutiérrez	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Miguel Ángel Bermejo	....	production manager
Julián Esteban	....	production manager

Special Effects by
Pablo Pérez	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Francisco Bermejo Miranda	....	assistant camera (as Francisco G. Miranda)
Laureano López	....	still photographer
Félix Mirón	....	second assistant camera
Alberto Vega	....	intern camera operator

Editorial Department
Amalia Azcuaga	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Roberto Alcocera	....	intern director
Consuelo Alfaya	....	secretary
Ángel Parrondo	....	production assistant
Juan M. Rogriguez	....	production intern

Production Companies

• Lotus Films
• Producciones Escorpión

Distributors

• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1975) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Goldstone Film Enterprises (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Sofradis (1975) (France) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Limited (????) (UK) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Dark Dreams Video (video)
• Deimos Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Eclipse (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Empire Video (????) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Seven Sept (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (video)
• United American Video (video)

Also Known As:

Curse of the Devil (USA)
La noche del asesino (Mexico)
Return of the Werewolf (International: English title) (informal literal title)
The Black Harvest of Countess Dracula (USA) (video title)
The Return of Walpurgis (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

USA:73 min | Spain:81 min (original uncut version)

Country:

Spain | Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (uncut version) | France:-12 | Germany:16 (video) | Spain:18 | West Germany:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Lotus Films

Movie Connections:

Follows Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo (1972)

And a Happy "Night of Walpurgis" to Y'all!

Paul Naschy – the living and already legendary icon of Spanish exploitation cinema – once again suffers from overabundant body hair growth in this entertaining and very gory episode of the "Hombre-Lobo" cycle. These fun movies don't exactly follow each other, but they all star Naschy as Count Waldemar Daninsky; a noble and honorable man but with the misfortune of transforming into a bloodthirsty werewolf whenever the moon is full. In "Curse of the Devil", all the events revolve on the Night of Walpurgis. This holiday is kind of like Christmas but exclusively for witches, Satanists and everyone else who's up to no good. On this night, poor Waldemar is struck by a terrible curse that was placed upon him several centuries ago, when his Witchfinder-ancestor single-handedly wiped out an entire coven of devil worshipers and burnt their leader. Following a series of macabre events (a bizarre hunting accident, a bloody ritual performed by a sexy witch…), Waldemar becomes a werewolf and kills a lot of people (preferably gorgeous women) in the forest surrounding his land. This is not the type of movie you watch for its unbearable suspense or the masterfully written dialogues. It's a simple European exploitation effort from the 70's in which a lot of girls get fully naked and even more poor souls have their throats bit open. The gore is plentiful but never really shocking and the acting performances vary from bad to…very, very bad! Naschy's transformation into a werewolf is hilarious instead of creepy and the sub plot about an escaped murderous lunatic is just too implausible. Recommended…but only to Euro-horror fanatics and fans of Paul Naschy. PS: the indicated running time of 73 minutes must be taken from a severely cut version. The DVD I watched (Dutch release) runs 82 minutes and shows every butchering in great and tasteless details. Go for that one!