A long time ago, a warlock was beheaded — but before his death, he cast a curse and vowed to return and avenge himself. Fast forward to the present day, a group of curious people have heard the legend and want to know more. Through a séance, they manage to make contact with the warlock — and off they go to search for his grave.
This is a Spanish horror film from the early ’70s that isn’t afraid to throw in a little bit of everything: a bit of Satanism, some sleaze, a few zombies here and there, and a generous helping of gore.
Paul Naschy is Spain’s great horror icon, active in the genre since the early 1960s and still going strong today. In this film, in addition to writing the script, he plays not one but three roles. Why he plays three characters is beyond me — it honestly looks pretty ridiculous, with three people who look exactly alike, the only difference being a beard here and there to tell them apart. Maybe they’re supposed to be related or something, but that’s never made very clear.
The acting in general isn’t much to write home about, although Paul Naschy himself delivers a solid performance. Director Carlos Aured doesn’t do a particularly strong job here either — this was his directorial debut — and some of the scenes come off looking incredibly silly. That said, the score by Carmelo A. Bernaola isn’t all that bad. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s effective in setting the mood.
Visually, the film can be quite graphic at times and features a surprising amount of gore. It’s also not shy about showing off young women’s bodies — every female character in the film has at least one topless scene. The zombie makeup, however, is genuinely impressive and ranks among the better zombie effects I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, none of that can save the film from being somewhat dull and full of logical flaws. The story simply doesn’t hold up, and parts of the film end up just being silly. It might have something to do with the fact that our friend Paul Naschy helped write the scripts for eight films the same year this one was released. It’s safe to say that when quantity trumps quality, the results can get a bit half-hearted.
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