Face of the Screaming Werewolf

I'm sorry, but I have a totally different opinion on this movie - if you can name it a "movie". If you want to see Lon Chaney Jr in his last Wolf Man theatrical appearance, it's better for you to catch the original version of this film, LA CASA DEL TERROR, Mexico 1959, directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares. As usual, Mr. Warren totally destroyed an excellent film in cutting about one-third, mixing it with elements of a Rafael Portillo mummy film totally unrelated with the other, and (always as usual) putting his name on a film made by others. Not only the original LA CASA DEL TERROR is an excellent film, but the comic elements (with Tin Tan) are well integrated with the horror segments, as it was the case in ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, also with Chaney...

This is not a Mexican movie. It contains footage from two films made in México, but the concept, butchering of the original material and lousy additional scenes are the work of L. A. film peddler Jerry Warren. It is better to find good copies of the first entry of the Aztec Mummy trilogy directed by Manuel Portillo and the comedy "La casa del terror" starring Tin Tan and Lon Chaney under the direction of Martínez Solares. Both movies were very popular in their time, and with a bit of creative marketing they could have made a little more money for Warren than whatever he got from this horrid junk.

This film begins with a young woman by the name of "Ann Taylor" (Rosita Arenas) being hypnotized by a scientist named "Dr. Edmond Redding" (Ramon Gay) in order for her to recall a past life involving an elaborate Aztec ceremony in which she is soon to be sacrificed. Also being sacrificed at that time is an Aztec warrior whose body is subsequently mummified. Not long afterward, Dr. Redding organizes a field trip to that exact Aztec pyramid described by Miss Taylor. Once inside one of the secret chambers, however, they are attacked by an ancient mummy who they manage to subdue and subsequently transport back with them. Likewise, they also transport another mummy which appears to be more modern in appearance as well. Naturally, quite pleased with their discovery, Dr. Redding immediately calls in various members of the scientific community to show off his findings. As it so happens, however, another scientist named "Professor Janning" (Yerye Beirute) has managed to infiltrate the meeting and, after killing Dr. Redding, has his men steal the more modern mummy on display. Once the mummy is in the lab, Professor Janning tries to revive the mummy--but he is unsuccessful due to the lack of enough electricity needed for the procedure. At least, that is what he thinks. So, in his eagerness to continue his research, he hires a man to steal the ancient mummy while he and his associates deal with other matters outside of the laboratory. Meanwhile, a lightning burst from a thunderstorm reinvigorates the first mummy who then turns into a werewolf and begins to terrorize the town. At the same time, the ancient mummy is also revived and heads directly toward the home of his long-lost love--Ann Taylor. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie essentially spliced two previous films of Mexican origin titled "La Momia Azteca" and "La Casa del Terror" together in order to come up with something entirely new and different. Unfortunately, the result turned out to be quite bad as the two films simply didn't mesh well together at all. That being said, if the viewer is curious, I would recommend the two original films in question over this particular one as--like I said before--it is quite bad.

Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964)

** (out of 4)

Scientist make a major discovery when they uncover a mummy (Lon Chaney) but their joy soon turns to frustration when a gang of thieves steal it and turn it over to a mad scientist. The scientist then does some experiments on it, which soon has the mummy returning to life and turning into a werewolf!

This Jerry Warren mash-up takes footage from the 1957 film LA MOMIA AZTECA and the 1960 film LA CASA DEL TERROR and blends them together for one cheap and quick sixty-minutes. Obviously adding subtitles to a horror film wasn't the popular thing to do back in the day so producers like Warren would buy foreign movies and then dub them or add narration.

I've seen both of the original movies that this was taken from and they're both decent for what they are. You really can't give Warren any credit for what's in this film because he was more or less just an editor trying to mix up some footage and release it as something new. For the most part the film will remain interesting to monster fans as it gives you a chance to see Chaney play a mummy and werewolf for one last time.

For the most part it's easy to rip this film because it is another hack job from Warren but I thought it was one of his better pieces of "work," If you're a fan of Chaney then this will be a must see since it allows you to see him in action one last time. Another problem is that LA CASA DEL TERROR is still unavailable in an English subtitled print so this is one of the few ways to understand the film (unless you know Spanish of course). FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF, at the very least, is a quick and fun monster romp that shouldn't be taken too serious.

If you read Rudolph Grey's excellent "nightmare in ecstasy", you will find a passage that refers to Edward D. Wood Jnr. directing Lon Chaney Jr. as a wolfman climbing up the outside of a building for promotional reasons. Is this a previously uncredited entry in the Wood CV?