Dr Jekyll vs the Werewolf

Paul Naschy - now there's a name that will probably strike fear into the hearts of many older horror fans. You see, Spanish genre veteran Naschy is renowned amongst some circles for churning out some of the most unintentionally hilarious grade z horror movies, most famously for his many offshoots of the old traditional monsters (werewolves, vampires and so on) and even having a go at the giallo genre (with the amiable 'Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll') Having last watched a Naschy film some 15 years or so ago, it was with some wary anticipation that with Mondo Macabro's release of 'Dr Jekyll vs the Werewolf' that I reintroduced myself to the old hams work...

The film opens in London at the get together of newlyweds Imre and Justine. Imre is proudly showing off his collection of mounted wolf heads to his gathered friends and when the conversation slides onto werewolves and the mental stability of such folk poor Henry Jekyll (yes, descendant of 'that' Dr Jekyll) is harangued about his illustrious descent. Henry storms off in grumbling dissatisfaction leaving the newlyweds to prepare for their honeymoon journey to Imre's hometown in Hungary. Their choice of honeymoon spot is very quickly noted not to be the best of choices, as the town of Baliavasta is not only renowned for its bandits and climbing crime rate but it also double as what looks like the location for just about every old Universal monster movie ever made (complete with supporting tales of werewolves, witches, the undead and more!)

After being warned 'not' to go to the old cemetery, Imre drags his wife along anyway as he's determined to visit the graves of his long dead (and mysteriously murdered) parents. Not long after reaching the graveside though, some local bandits arrive and after stabbing poor Imre to death they grab his lovely wife Justine for some forced carnal fun. But all is not lost for our poor femme as from out of the shadows comes everyone's favourite Spanish horror celebrity Paul Naschy and with the powers of a mean bear hug and a polystyrene rock (in Santo stlyee) he takes out two of the mercenaries allowing the third to run away swearing vengeance for what he's done. Carrying the beautiful Justine off in his arms, Naschy returns to the safety of spooky old homely Castle where he resides with his old mentor (and erstwhile witchy) gran.

Justine soon discovers that there's more to Naschy than muscley demeanour and deep soulful eyes as he is in fact Waldemar - werewolf by night and lover by day! So yes, Justine and Waldemar soon fall deeply in love and Justine persuades Waldemar to return to swinging London with her, which they do once poor old granny loses her head (quite literally) and the villagers (in true Universal movie stylee) head to the house sans torches looking to add Waldemar's head to their witch hunt collection.

On returning to London, Justine hooks up with old friend Henry Jekyll once again - this time though seeking his help in the hope that he may be able to help Waldemar be cured of his wolf-like tendencies. Luckily (or should that be unluckily?) for her, Henry still likes to dabble in his ancestral hobby of contentious experiments so can the young Dr Jekyll save the day? Or will the film degenerate welcomingly into yet another grade z vintage monster movie gem?

Well the short answer is yes and no. But before we get down to the nitty gritty of the movie I'd just like to say that rediscovering the work of Paul Naschy after so many years was both a welcome delight and a highly entertaining experience.

First off, I hope I don't sound too harsh here (as it's meant as a roundabout compliment), Paul Naschy is not the best of 'actors' but he does what he does in his own amiable way. Very much the Spanish horror equivalent of William Shatner, Naschy is entertainingly hammy and although at times awkward in his performance he never ceases to entertain. When he's not pouting in his tight polarneck jumpers in sultry style he's lovingly hamming it up in his monster roles and you can help but grin with amused pleasure at his obvious love for the sinister roles he's portraying. His first onscreen wolf transformation is pure unadulterated Shatner but his portrayal of Mr Hyde is worth the price of admission alone. See Hyde complete with full original vintage costume hit the streets of swinging 70's London, cruising the strip bars and grooving clubs for wenches to play with in his own devilish way - simply brilliant and lots of fun!

Also adding a welcome edge to the proceedings is the flowing direction of Leon Klimovsky, whom readers may be familiar with from Pagan's earlier release of the fun 'Vampires Night Orgy'. Strangely it is oft discussed that Klimovsky was never renowned for his work in the horror field but both this and the aforementioned Vampire flick (as well as his other Naschy productions) actually do give valid merit to his solid contribution to the genre scene. The ambience of the movie throughout is actually splendid, the locations sets and general atmosphere captures the whole feeling of those old classic monster movies (the old castle, the fog swept streets of London et al) perfectly. Outside of Naschy's deliciously over the top performance the bulk of the cast are pretty straight with their performances. That said though, Shirley Corrigan (Justine) is simply beautiful throughout and the ensemble Spanish cast deliver a solid enough show.

Naschy fans, both new and old, will be absolutely thrilled with Mondo Macabro's presentation here. The anarmorphic widescreen print looks simply stunning, crisp and sharp with no flaws visible whatsoever. The remastered print is faultless throughout making this the definitive presentation of any Naschy film on DVD to date. Also of great interest is the bonus material which includes an exclusive new interview with the great ham himself, where Naschy discusses his work in general and our main attraction itself. Fascinating stuff and essential viewing for fans of Naschy's work. Also included is a brief text overview of the Spanish horror scene by Macabro main man Pete Tombs which efficiently covers the history of this particularly undermined but cool corner of the genre scene. Finally, there's also a nice selection of bio pages for all the key players in the production that covers any details that you'd ever need to know.

Admittedly I was somewhat doubtful whether or not I would enjoy revisiting the crazy world of Paul Naschy, but with Mondo Macabro's release of 'Dr Jekyll vs the Werewolf' I've found a new appreciation for this mans determined contribution to the genre. Forget 'American Werewolf', get your retro kicks from the original 'Spanish Werewolf in London' with some devilish Jekyll antics thrown in for good measure! A cracking disc from Mondo Macabro and groovy fun horror romp too! Check it out!

Review by Alan Simpson

'Dr Jekyll vs the Werewolf' can be ordered direct from Mondo Macabro by clicking here.