Curse Of The Devil (1973)
Directed by Carlos Aured
Anchor Bay DVD
THE FILM
Waldemar D. is back. And, he's a werewolf again. If that surprised you, then you may be the perfect person for Curse Of The Devil. A film that erupts into sex and violence every once in a while. But, it's more likely to erupt into a really long shot with the characters standing or sitting about 10-20 feet away from the camera. Why couldn't we get closer to the characters throughout this movie? I understand that the atmosphere for a movie like this is important but, My Lord, would it kill us to get slightly closer to the people on screen? Sorry...that's no way to start a review.
I applaud Paul Naschy for making the movies he wanted to make. I don't know his story but I see the work of a man who is clearly emulating the movies he loved: the Classic Universal Monster films with a, possible, touch of Hammer. I've seen six or seven of Paul's movies and his enthusiasm and earnestness are extremely visible throughout. He is doing exactly what he wants. Now, a director might let him down or the makeup might not be the best or another factor might sneak in to goof it up a bit but he's doing what he wants. And, yeah, I'm envious.
I would like to ask...Was this film made just for him? Because, I couldn't get in. If this is the seventh werewolf film he made, why do we spend almost a half hour in the movie before he becomes the werewolf? Why are we halfway in before the first werewolf attack? I understand that the setting is lovely. The castles are gorgeous. I get that. I could look at a beautiful shot of a flowing stream all day, but if you point a camera at that stream and say "it's a werewolf movie", I need a little more.
This film takes so long to do everything and anything. Why? Seven films in, these things should be kicking along. And, if he didn't have anything to say, then he should have done something else. Yes, he adds a mad killer roaming the countryside. Yes, there is a "Satanic" beginning (this was 1973). There are talks of curses. Satan and such. But, all that is fal-der-al. Waldemar is infected by a beautiful woman. Then, he meets another beautiful woman. They fall in love. She kills him. That's it.
(When I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of monster films was "How does the monster get killed?" Why did Naschy limit himself in this way? Does everyone of these end with "His Love" killing him? Doesn't that get repetitive and rob the ending of any drama? I mean, I didn't care about Waldemar in this film and I cared less about his lady friend. So, the ending rolled inevitably towards me with little or no drama.)
I didn't get a feeling of where I was, when I was or who anyone was supposed to be in this film. But, I also got the feeling that Paul didn't care about that. What he seems to care about is recreating the steady pace of a film like The Wolf Man. But, we cared about Larry Talbot. I never connect with Waldemar in this film. So, it's a film going through the motions and acting as if all this werewolf stuff is brand-new...But, it's not. It's a regular werewolf movie, with Satan stuff mixed in at the beginning, that acts as if the "Werewolf" is a brand new concept.
I don't want to sound harsh (because, I think, if I found the way into Mr. N's World, I'd be in Heaven). But, this movie drove me a little kooky. Why are we so far away from everyone throughout? Why do things that seem to be sex scenes start and then cut away? Why are most of the werewolf attacks put together in such a strange way? The film keeps taking us up to the edge of sex and violence and then, generally, it goes somewhere else, usually to shots of people walking around. What's with that one shot of the two guys in the woods who are about 30 feet from the camera and just walking towards us? What's the point of that?
Sorry...OK...Here's the way to decide if Curse Of The Devil is for you...
Climax of the film. Waldemar is a cool-looking werewolf storming through the woods and killing. His love follows slowly, relentlessly, with a dagger. A mob of townspeople with torches are out to get Waldemar. Everything s finally beginning to happen. The tension is building...So, what do we do? What happens next?
You got it. We spend 30-60 seconds watching a blind woman walk down a staircase. Every step. She drops her cane, keeps on coming. Step by step. Count them all. When she gets to the bottom, she walks towards the chair that she's spent the entire movie in. But, she's attacked before she gets there. But, why not start her on the bottom or in the chair? She could have heard odd noises and then...WEREWOLF! I just don't think "Old Blind Lady Walks Down Some Stairs Safely" builds the tension. By that point, I was shaking my head...Oh, the Blind Lady. Oh, the Stairs.
I don't mind boring. I can handle boring. But, this shouldn't be boring. There's a difference between this film's boring and the boring found in padding or bad filmmaking. That has its charms. But, this film actually has boredom woven into its fabric. Its structure and set-up makes it boring and it didn't have to be. I know...atmosphere...that Classic Monster Movie feel...I understand...But, if he hasn't learned how to write a great script by the 7th werewolf film, what must the others be like?
My personal comparison: Dave "The Rock" Nelson and Paul Naschy are kindred spirits. Both grew up with the same films and strive/strove to emulate them. But, Paul is missing the slight tinges of madness that make The Rock's films such a joy for me. It also could be the fact that Naschy is redoing the "Classics" while The Rock is redoing all sorts of good-to-awful stuff (from Universal films to Frankenstein's Daughter). At this point, I prefer The Rock, to be honest.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The dubbing was boisterous but occasionally a bit tough to hear. I guess whoever got to the dubbing studio first got the best spot near the mic. It's letterboxed. The director does try some arty shots as we approach the end but they came off as a little confusing. A pan & scan might bring us closer to the characters.
EXTRAS
A very long trailer...And, some other stuff that I didn't watch.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I would never begrudge Paul's ability to do exactly what he wanted. I'd just question why he thought I'd want to watch it. I know he made better films than this. I would, politely, ask someone to suggest the ones I should try.
— Dan Budnik, 12.02.10 |
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