The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman

Although this movie obviously suffered from a lack of budget and resources, it is pretty well done by a crew who made the best of what they did have. I saw this as " The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women " and despite the ridiculous title there actually were some effective and artfully done scenes, especially with a slow motion, day-for- night cloaked figure lurking in some windy ruins. Also very interesting are the last few scenes, shot in slow motion, of the title's vampire women (who are both really hot and reasonably talented) running from the rising sun.

"The Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman" wastes lots of great Gothic elements in plodding through it's (too long) running time. The ideas are there, but thoroughly unrealized by Director Leon Klimovsky, as one boring scene follows another, generating little or no tension or interest. Scenes from this flick look great as stills; when moving, they leave a lot to be desired.

Paul Naschy's acting talents never advanced beyond "high school play status" in any of his filmic endeavors. He reacts to most of the outlandish goings-on with his usual impassiveness, as though his scenes were for blocking purposes only. When his character, Waldemar Daninsky, transforms into the werewolf of the title, Naschy employs body slams, punches and arm-swipes as though he were on the undercard of a poorly rehearsed wrestling match. The climatic battle between Vampiress and Werewolf is underwhelming in its embarrassing lack of action. Naschy's slavering drool, however, provides one of the few highlights.

The soundtrack plays like one of those "Halloween Sounds" tapes offered every season, littered with ghostly wails, shrieks, and assorted bumps. That, along with some haunting (but oft-repeated) musical motifs, offer some pleasant diversion. Unfortunately, the werewolf's growls sound like a guy with serious indigestion and leave alot to be desired.

Definitely a reminiscense for those who fell in love with drive-in & grindhouse fodder in the 60's & 70's. Given the relatively short life span of homo sapiens, why waste valuable hours of your lifetime on this dreck?

I had this film on one of the cheapo Brentwood DVD sets but didnt watch that version opting to buy the Anchor Bay restored version so I could see the complete film. DOH!

Don't bother spending the extra $$ on the complete film. Definately not worth it.

I heard some buzz about Paul Naschy and I'll admit that I enjoyed Horror Rises from the Tomb.

Werewolf Shadow on the other hand is really really lame. The plot is as deep as a Scooby Doo episode. The pacing is mindnumbingly slow. Naschy is a truly awful actor. He doesn't do a lot of line intensive "acting" in Horror Rises from the Tomb, so in that film he is easier to take. In Werewolf Shadow though - his scenes are ENDLESS....After about the half-way point in the film the very sight of him was triggering fits of yawning. The scenes where he turns into a werewolf are particularly embarassing - just him roaring like a 4-year-old pretending to be an angry dog - while they do the most rudementary special effects. His make-out scenes are even worse. Dreadful.

Only for the compulsive completist. The Brentwood print is dark and scratchy and 10 minutes shorter than the complete Anchor Bay version, but after seeing the complete film, darkness, and brevity are good things. Go with the Brentwood version.

This barely keeps afloat and is so slow in parts that when one of the characters falls asleep at the table we think for a moment she has dropped off in a state of boredom. And it is such a shame about the pacing because there are decent moments, lovely girls, lots of nudity and blood, even a little gore. The slo-mo gliding of the lady vampires is good too and there are a few minutes somewhere in the middle where it looks as if the film is rising to some altogether different level. But no we are soon back to a plodding Mr Naschy and the plodding script. It's the extras on the disc that tip the scales and the interview with Mr Plod is welcome and goes some way to helping one understand his popularity!

I have to agree with others that this film is much better than "Fury of the Wolfman" - in fact it's one of Paul Naschy's best films - specifically his werewolf films. I didn't expect a whole lot from this movie (I expected it to be so-so) but it came as a pleasant surprise - it's good and I like it!

To some, this type of film is considered Euro-trash, tasteless and bad - well the film might be all those things but it's so bad it's good. If you like werewolves and/or vampires then this one is worth watching if you happen to see it on TV or acquire it in a film pack as I did.

The copy that I have came from the Legends of Horror 50 Movie Pack. It's a fairly good copy - but not digitally corrected. The voice dubbing into English is good enough for me to enjoy.

7.5/10