Simply Perfect

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The Mark of the Wolfman (1968) ** (out of 4) Bland but important Spanish horror film is the first to feature Paul Naschy in the Waldemar Daninsky role. In the film, Daninsky (Naschy) is bitten by a werewolf and soon finds himself turning into the creature. With the help of his best friend and girlfriend he's able to locate a German doctor who might be able to help him but Daninsky doesn't realize that the doctor is actually a vampire. THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN really isn't a very good moment but there's no question that it's an important one considering it started Naschy career as well as kick-started the Spanish horror genre. That alone makes the film worth viewing and there's no question that there are a few memorable moments scattered throughout the picture. The most effective sequence deals with a couple gypsies unlocking a tomb and pulling a stake from a man's heart, which has him come back as a werewolf. This attack sequence is actually quite effective and shot very nicely. There's also some very good atmosphere running throughout the film as it's clear that the low-budget at least allowed for a very good fog machine. Another plus is that the werewolf make-up looks pretty good for the most part, although there's no question that the actual transformation scenes are somewhat laughable. Naschy doesn't give the best performance of his career but I think he's good enough in the role and at least makes you feel sorry for his character. The supporting players are decent at best. There are some major problems with the picture that keeps it from being better. For starters, the pacing is pretty bad throughout the picture. Another issue is that the screenplay pretty much just throws everything into the mix and not all of it sticks. When released in America as FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR the film had an added on sequence trying to attach the events to the Frankenstein legacy but this here was pretty stupid so the Spanish version is the way to go.

Count Waldemar Daninsky (a solid and sympathetic performance by Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy, who also wrote the script) gets bitten by a werewolf and subsequently suffers from the curse of lycanthropy. He seeks help from Dr. James Mikhelov (a perfectly sinister turn by Julian Ugarte) and his alluring wife Wandessa (ravishing redhead Aurora de Alba), but things go seriously awry when the duo turn out to be vampires. Enrique Lopez Eguiliz's merely okay direction lets the place plod along at a too gradual clip in the rather laborious opening third, but luckily still manages to develop a fair amount of creepy atmosphere and stages the infrequent werewolf attacks with a reasonable amount of flair. In addition, this movie is a bit too tame and tepid; latter entries in the Daninsky series were much racier, more explicit, and hence better. This film does improve as the enjoyably daft story unfolds, with a rousing climax complete with an exciting fight between Waldemar and Dr. Mikhelov and a poignant and tragic downbeat ending. Moreover, there's a bevy of beautiful ladies on hand to keep things watchable: Besides de Alba, we also have lovely blonde Dyanik Zurakowska as the fetching Countess Janice von Aarenbergand and the enticing Rosanna Yanni as fiery gypsy girl Nascha. Both Emilio Foriscot's sumptuous widescreen cinematography and Angel Arteaga's shivery'n'groovy score are up to speed. While it's not one of Naschy's best, this picture is nonetheless worth a watch for Naschy fans.

While it isn't the best and most fun flick starring the late Spanish Horror Legend Paul Naschy, "La Marca Del Hombre-Lobo" aka. "The Wolfman and Count Dracula" aka. "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" (1968) is the first film in which Naschy played the Werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, and therefore the film that launched his career as an immortal Cult icon. In a way, Enrique López Eguiluz' film is therefore maybe one of the most influential Eurohorror films ever made, as it is not for certain if Naschy's career had been the same, had it not been for this film. It is an interesting detail that Naschy, who (as for so many of his films) wrote the story and screenplay to "La Marca del Hombre-Lobo", only took the role of Waldemar Daninsky because Horror star Lon Chaney Jr. had turned it down. Luckily so! As in the sequels, Waldemar Daninsky is a kind-hearted and likable man, to whom young beauties are magically attracted. Shortly after the ravishing 18-year-old countess Janice (Dyanik Zurakowska) falls in love with Daninsky, unfortunate events lead him to get bitten by a Werewolf, after which the likable man becomes a nighttime Werewolf himself...The 'Waldemar Daninsky' or 'Hombre Lobo' Werewolf films starring Paul Naschy all follow a very similar pattern in which the likable Daninsky becomes a Werewolf (sometimes due to a curse, sometimes due to unfortunate events), and yet each one of them is highly entertaining to watch, even after having seen a bunch of them already. Since this film was made in the late 60s, it is quite a bit tamer in terms of sleaze and gore than its 70s and 80s sequels (though there are some gory scenes), and may therefore be not quite as fun to watch to my fellow Exploitation fans. The storyline, then again, is slightly more logical than in most of the Daninsky flicks, and while the film probably won't make anyone shiver in terror, it has a moody Gothic atmosphere and several genuinely eerie moments. Naschy is great as always and young Dyanik Zurakowska, who would later play alongside Naschy in one of his greatest films "La Orgía De Los Muertos" (aka. "The Hanging Woman", 1973), is lovely in the female lead. Julián Ugarte and Aurora de Alba are nicely eerie as a married couple of very sinister occult scientists.Even though some of the sequels, such as "La Noche De Walpurgis" ("Werewolf Vs. Vampire Women", 1971), "El Retorno De Walpurgis" ("Curse of the Devil", 1973), or "El Retorno Del Hombre-Lobo" ("Night of the Werewolf", 1981, my personal favorite so far) may be even cooler than this one, this is the original Waldemar Danisnky flick, and an absolute must-see for all my fellow Paul Naschy fans. Not to be missed by Eurohorror-lovers. Paul Naschy forever!

This is the film that made Paul Naschy a star. The title is misleading as there is no Frankenstein to be found. Don't let that stop you from enjoying a fine piece of horror. Waldemar Daninsky(Naschy)is bitten by a werewolf and you know what happens next. Two doctors arrive to seek a cure but they're only interested in drinking blood(yes, they're vampires). At the end, the vampires are eliminated and Waldemar is killed by a silver bullet.The werewolf make-up is pretty good and the sets are excellent-almost as good as the ones by Hammer studios. If you get the chance to see this, don't miss it! By the way, this film was very rare but it is now being released on DVD starting 10/25/05 by Media Blasters. The great thing is that they are improving the picture quality so it won't be like the faded transfers on hard to find VHS tapes.