The Werewolf Shadow – La Noche de Walpurgis (1971)

Directed by: Leon Klimkovsky | 87 minutes | horror | Actors: Jacinto Molina/Paul Naschy, Gaby Fuchs, Barbara Capell, Patty Shepard, Andrés Resino, Yelena Samarina, Julio Peña, José Marco, Betsabé Ruiz, Bernabe Barta Barri, Luis Gaspar, Ruperto Ares, María Luisa Tovar, Eduardo Chappa

On the DVD cover of ‘The Werewolf Shadow’ the informal subtitle is also mentioned: ‘The Werewolf versus The Vampire Woman’, which covers the load better than the official title. Two legendary movie monsters, the werewolf and the vampire, for the price of one. Unfortunately, so little work has been done that there is hardly any horror at all. The film is one of a long series of werewolf films, which can also be seen separately and are quite variable in quality. At the end of the previous part, the werewolf, alias Waldemar Daninsky (played by Paul Naschy, whose real name is Jacinto Molina) is shot dead.

This film begins with two coroners who come up with the disastrous idea of ​​removing the silver bullets at night under a full moon. This brings the werewolf back to life and kills the two. Outside he also manages to bite a woman to death, whereby her outer clothing is torn loose and her breasts are exposed. Elvira (Fuchs) and Genevieve (Capell) soon turn up, two students writing a thesis about a vampire countess from the Middle Ages. The ladies act as if they share one set of brains – which doesn’t make the whole thesis story particularly believable. They find the grave, take the silver cross that killed the vampire and of course the dangerous Countess Wandessa (Shepard) comes back to life and the dolls are dancing.

Directed by the Argentine dentist León Klimovsky, who took up his hobby at a later age, the film is quite disappointing. The Kijkwijzer issued a recommendation of 12 years and older and that is far too tame for horror. So nothing particularly shocking happens. A good number of people die, but it doesn’t want to be really convincing and bloody. The werewolf is closer to the Lon Chaney Jr. films about the ‘Wolf Man’ from thirty years earlier than the ‘American Werewolf in London’ from ten years later due to poor special effects. Actually, he might as well have been called the extremely hairy man and have been at the fair. The human variant, the tormented and unhappy Waldemar, is indeed portrayed by Naschy. The other actors serve as future victims or as image fillings. For example, Wandessa, the female vampire, has nothing to do but drink goblets of blood and laugh maniacally. Fortunately, Wandessa doesn’t have to wander alone for long on the moor, soon she manages to lure Genevieve (in a very open dress) to her to threaten Elvira. Funny thing is, the werewolf is actually the hero of the story. In his usual guise, he helps the students in their “research” and protects them in case of danger. He also comes to their aid as a werewolf.

For a film that lasts less than an hour and a half, there are too many parts in which nothing really happens and there is only talk. Preferably in Genevieve and Elvira’s bedroom, which is an opportunity to let the ladies hop around in as few clothes as possible. The story is if possible even less, because even the inside of the DVD cover openly gives in. The equally acclaimed surrealistic touch and dreamy atmosphere are hardly noticeable. Unless the dreamy atmosphere refers to the time in which the story was written and with the surrealistic touch the completely unrealistic course of events. A well-crafted plot is not a requirement for a strong horror film, but in the absence of the elements that should make this a strong horror film, the lack of a plot is even more noticeable. There was a lot more potential in ‘The Werewolf Shadow’ than was taken out. A missed opportunity.