Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf

The fifth entry in the Waldemar Daninsky series is actually the eleventh Paul Naschy movie I have watched; for the record, I have four more titles featuring the Euro-Cult icon lined-up for this Halloween challenge. This is one of his better vehicles that I have come across, though still essentially flawed; in it he plays no less than three roles (though all inhabit the same body) i.e. Daninsky, his werewolf alter-ego and, in a bizarre turn-of-events, R.L. Stevenson's famous evil 'creation' Mr. Hyde! The copy I watched – culled from Mondo Macabro's R2 DVD – presents the film in its clothed variant prepared for Spanish consumption; still, the level of violence is considerable, with the werewolf seen munching on torn flesh and similarly gory effects. Jess Franco regular Jack Taylor appears as Dr. Jekyll and rather than have him turn into the primitive Hyde, he injects Daninsky with his grandfather's notorious serum in an attempt to cure his lycanthropy! The film is colorful and generally fun (clichés and all) but director Klimovsky does not quite take full advantage of the possibilities set out by the premise at hand: for one thing, his Hyde (amusingly bringing to mind John Belushi!) is nowhere near the monster he is depicted in most other versions of the tale, while a transformation from man to wolf inside a London discotheque (the setting for the film's latter half is present-day i.e. 1970s London) is completely thrown away as he not only fails to attack anyone but is himself almost trampled in the commotion that ensues! The plot also involves a couple of good-looking girls: a blonde, with whom both Naschy and Taylor are in love (though she opts to marry a third – and much older – man), as well as a brunette, who is Dr. Jekyll's vindictive and deranged assistant.

While it is fair to say that Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf' isn't the most successful collaboration between writer Naschy & film-maker Klimovsky its central premise, while spectacularly lurid, is a good one, and the venerable Naschy applies his singular vigour to the dual roles of his iconic Waldemar Daninski and by portraying an especially feral-looking, golden-eyed Hyde!

Both the script's lack of invention and the bizarre anachronistic quality to 'Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf' hinder it from being a Gothic schlock classic. While wealthy hard-headed Hungarian businessman Imrie Kosta(Jose Marco)and his bombshell wife Justine (Shirley Corrigan) visit his parents final remains in an especially spooky, dilapidated cemetery situated no less spookily very close to the greatly feared Castle home to anguished, romantically-inlined Lycanthrope, the tight roll-neck sporting Waldemar Daninsky, and in the grisly gnashing of his brawny bicuspids the action returns to swinging London where urbane Dr. Jekyll (Jack Taylor) heir to his infamous ancestors malevolent serum stoically attempts to cure the beleaguered Waldemar but inadvertently encouraging a diabolical metaphysical battle of primordial wills between Daninski's relentless Lycanthropic tendencies and the indomitable will of the preternaturally evil Mr. Hyde!

While Naschy once again delivers another hair-raisingly haunted performance as the diabolically-inclined Daninsky, it is his howlingly hideous transfiguration into the hateful Hyde that engenders the greatest frisson of fear in Klimovsky's uneven monster mash up, but for all its absurdity it remains a fitfully fun movie with another credible, blissfully boisterous werewolf workout for the hirsute Naschy and once again ace composer Antón García Abril creates a marvellously moody score.

"Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo," directed by León Klimovsky, is a monster mash-up that pits the infamous Count Waldemar Daninsky, a werewolf played by Paul Naschy, against the grandson of Dr. Jekyll, portrayed by Jack Taylor. This 1972 Spanish horror film is the sixth installment in the Count Waldemar Daninsky werewolf franchise and offers a unique twist on the classic monster mythos.

The film's premise is intriguing: Daninsky, plagued by his lycanthropic condition, seeks a cure and finds himself at the door of Dr. Jekyll's grandson. In a desperate attempt to end his full moon madness, Daninsky injects himself with the Mr. Hyde formula, hoping that his evil side will battle and overcome his werewolf curse. This sets the stage for a battle of monstrous proportions.

Naschy delivers a committed performance, portraying not just Count Daninsky but also embracing the dual roles of the Wolf Man and Mr. Hyde. His physicality and dedication to the transformative nature of the characters are commendable. The makeup and special effects, while paying homage to the classic Universal monster movies, fall short of the impeccable standards set by their predecessors. The Wolf Man design, in particular, while creepy and effective, lacks the refinement of Jack Pierce's iconic creations.

The film's pacing is uneven, with some scenes dragging and others feeling rushed. The plot, though creative, fails to fully explore the intriguing implications of its premise. The potential for a thought-provoking exploration of good versus evil within the context of monstrous identities is sadly underutilized. However, the film does deliver on its promise of a monster mash-up, and fans of over-the-top horror will find some enjoyment in the film's more outrageous moments.

Despite its shortcomings, "Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo" has its charms. The film's ambition and willingness to play with classic monster tropes are admirable. It offers a fun, if not entirely successful, twist on well-known characters, and Naschy's dedication to his roles is evident.

In conclusion, while this film may not be a masterpiece, it is a serviceable entry in the monster horror genre. It will appeal to fans of Paul Naschy and those with a soft spot for campy, monster-filled mayhem.

While it falls short of a howling success, it offers a few growls and snarls that might entertain those seeking a less-than-serious horror experience.

I think this is the fifth Paul Naschy werewolf film, but who knows. This one starts out with an English fellow heading out for Transylvania to visit his parent's graves, with his cute wife in tow, only for the both of them to discover a horribly burned man lurking about the place. This film details the seventies approach to disability when the wife starts screaming bloody murder and the English guy throws a brick at the guy.

At a local bar, the barman describes the entire area as being full of thieves and cutthroats and says maybe it's a bad idea to go to the old creepy cemetery that's next to the old creepy castle that the local monster lives in, but off they go anyway, which results in three local brothers robbing their car, killing the English guy, and trying to rape the Justine, his wife. I say try because Paul Naschy turns up and brutally murders two of the brothers (one by dropping a huge rock on the guy's face!).

Paul of course is a werewolf with a witch sidekick and when this robber guy starts going on about revenge and involving the locals it doesn't turn out right for anyone, as more villagers end up dead, the rest get out the pitchforks and torches, and Paul has to high tail it to England so the plot can get even more stupid. I also noted that for some reason one villager had a gigantic pitchfork that was much larger than the others. Must have been compensating for something.

Now Justine has quickly got over her husband being murdered and is in love with Paul, so she goes to Dr Jekyll to get him cured. In a plot move that makes virtually no sense whatsoever, Jekyll proposes that they inject Paul with some injection that will make Mister Hyde manifest in Paul (?) so that they can then isolate the evil in him and kill him. So not only has Paul got to put up with the werewolf stuff, now he's turned into a sex-crazed hedonist too!

This might have actually worked out if Dr Jekyll didn't have a jealous female sidekick who wasn't happy with Jekyll trying to help out an unrequited love. Next thing you know Hyde is out rampaging around London, but then again you only get to see that if you have the uncut version as it involves ravaging hookers and whipping Justine.

Best thing about this film (apart from the crazy storyline) was that any time you started to think it would get boring - it didn't! I thought things would slow down a lot once Paul got to London for his cure, but then, in the lift on the way up to his appointment, the lift broke down and trapped him with a nurse until the moon rose, causing a werewolf rampage! I love these films!

It doesn't skimp on the gore and the only thing missing from the Mill Creek version is the nudity*, which you're not going to miss anyway if you watching an endless list of these films. Naschy's Mr Hyde was funny too, including the way he just exits the film without any fuss.

*I'm talking crap - it's also missing the opening credits.

Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf (1972)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) falls in love with the beautiful Justine (Shirley Corrigan) who convinces him to travel to London to see if Dr. Jekyll (Jack Taylor) can cure his curse of turning into a werewolf. Once in London Jekyll's evil assistant injects Daninsky to where he turns into Mr. Hyde. I've now seen three different versions of this film. The Spanish "clothed" version was a highly entertaining gem. The American "nude" version brought a little added sleaze and T&A to the film. Now, the third version from Germany was just recently found and is making its way through various fan boards and it features extended nudity, which just takes this film to a whole new level and actually makes it even better. Even though this print is in Spanish without any subtitles, I've never enjoyed this film more and I think the added dirty bits really makes this one of the sleazier Spanish films from this era.

With this Germany version, the film just contains a very perverted and sinister feel to it that's not in any other version. It really does take the material and gives it a much darker approach, which is very much a positive and especially when we've already gotten some excellent atmosphere from director Leon Klimovsky. Another great benefit is that Naschy is at the top of his game here. No matter which version you watch, the werewolf here is without question one of the best looking in the series and it also features some of the most graphic violence. There's plenty of blood flowing around for fans of that type of thing. The actor also does a marvelous job in the role of Hyde and this is especially more true when you see the darker, more perverted version. Corrigan makes for one of the more memorable leading ladies in the series and it's great fun getting someone like Taylor on board.

The film also benefits from some very effective scenes. One includes the scene where the woman is attacked by three hoods. Another includes her looking down from her window at her new love who is in his werewolf form. Then, of course, there's the werewolf hitting the streets of London. Seeing Naschy running around the swinging style of London in the 1970s is just a wonderful sight. DR. JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF is a "fun" Gothic film even if you watch the non-nude version. You watch the American version and it's just as much fun with the added nudity. However, to get the full impact one really needs to find the German cut as all the added stuff just makes it so much more fun.