If “giallo” could be translated to Español, the term applies to 7 Murders for Scotland Yard, a Spanish-language film set in London, but primarily shot in Italy — home of the violent whodunits whose formula director José Luis Madrid wishes to replicate. His star is Paul Naschy (who co-wrote the screenplay) as Pedro, a former … Continue reading 7 Murders for Scotland Yard (1971)→
Exorcismo may not have existed without The Exorcist, but it’s hardly a rip-off. Only in the final minutes does it feel like an imitator, with Paul Naschy’s Father Dunning tossing streams of holy water and Scripture at the babe in the bed amid smears of puke, but he actually spends more time battling a German … Continue reading Exorcismo (1975)→
As Gilles in The Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, Paul Naschy finds himself in the middle of every hitchhiking ex-con’s dream: being hired as caretaker for three neurotic, not-ugly sisters living together in a huge estate. The one with the bum legs (Maria Perschy) is hot, the one with the gnarled monkey hand (Diana … Continue reading The Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974)→
In this odd but enjoyable thriller (aka The Beasts’ Carnival) from Spanish hyphenate Paul Naschy, he plays Bruno Rivera, who’s hired by an organization affiliated with his Asian girlfriend (Eiko Nagashima) to snag some diamonds. Syke! He double-crosses them and takes the jewels for himself, but the ruse is not without bloodshed. Injured, Bruno awakes … Continue reading Human Beasts (1980)→
That damned Alaric de Marnac! He’s the 16th-century knight who caught his wife in flagrante delicto, so he beat her to death with a mace. Not content with that act of revenge, he rises from the tomb every 100 years to kill any Marnac woman. Or at least that’s the legend told to Geneviève (Julia … Continue reading Panic Beats (1983)→