Customer Reviews

Curse of the Devil

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've always enjoyed Pual Naschy's work. He's especially good as a werewolf and has been playing that character since 1968 in close to a dozen films. I was eager to see this movie and then I read the reviews on here. One person said this movie had "mindless nudity, sex, cheesy werewolf make up etc." and then I was REALLY eager to see it! I got my grubby little hands on it and popped it in the DVD player and settled back and hit play and WOW! This is a fun movie and a great DVD! The picture quality is superb and there are tons of great extras. The promised "mindless nudity, sex, cheesy werewolf make up etc." are indeed all there too! Naschy gives another wonderful performance and the picture quality of this DVD is far superior to all the poor prints we've been forced to endure in the past. Naschy has established himself as a master of macabre cinema and the high quality presentation of this DVD is a great tribute to the man and a true treat for his fans.

Once you get past the obvious setbacks of the film: an unconvincing lead, very bad make-up, horribly choreographed violence, and a pretty [weak]ending--there is some enjoyment to be had from Curse of the Devil. To begin with, the story is actually pretty involving and the plot has some tricky forks in it at times. The idea is very good: an arrogant hero pays for that arrogance through a satanic curse, which seemingly is unbeatable. Unfortunately, you have to make the mother of all suspensions of belief to deal with the actual werewolf. Naschy just wasn't suited (bad pun!) for the job. When you do have close-ups of the creature, there just isn't any menace conveyed-merely a frozen make-up expression. When he attacks, it is almost comedic as, for most of the film, he quickly runs on screen and then off before the viewer has a chance to even register what has happened. The opening sequence, if you're able to not laugh at what must be one of the lamest swordfight scenes ever filmed, is kinda cool with the way the pink tint conveys an otherworldly and othertimely atmosphere. The gypsies in the beginning are very convincing in their vengeful rage. All in all, it's not a bad movie. There just aren't that many werewolf movies out there, so Curse of the Devil will come as a happy expansion on what you are already familiar with concerning werewolves of the screen.

the werewolf series of films that paul naschy did form 1968-2003
is alot of fun and there are 12 of them. this is one of the better ones and it's a mexican and spahish produced film with the lead female parts done by mexican actresses. And that's a good thing. The acting is fine but the transfer is choppy on this bci version. It's like there are frames missing from the print. I also have the werewolf shadow dvd from this company and it's not choppy or at least not so noticable. I don't know what happened by it is a defect that bci should do something about. I hope that someone gets out the rest of the series as well because this is vintage werewolf mania that is directly related in makeup style to the classic wolfman movies from universal. I think Naschy did a great job this time around with his tormented lead character that only a woman who loves him can save him from the curse. The title refers to the curse that is put upon his family line and not that the werewolf is a devil. If you love vintage horror that was done by people who tried to make a decent flick then this may be for you. And bci usually does a excellent job so don't be afraid to get any other of their titles.

I grew up watching "Dark Shadows" and one of my favorite characters was Quentin Collins. He was a victim of a werewolf curse that was placed on him when he accidentally murdered his insane gypsy wife. Waldemar Daninsky of "Curse of the Devil" reminds me very much of poor Quentin. Daninsky accidentally shoots a gypsy (having mistook him for a wolf) and the werewolf curse is placed on him by devil worshipping gypsies. During the full moon, he roams the countryside killing anyone who crosses his path; the superstitious villagers believe a werewolf is prowling the Carpathian woods, but the police believe it's an ax murderer who recently escaped from a mental institute. As a result of having two murderers, the body count is deliciously high, higher than a "Friday the 13th" movie. "Curse of the Devil" is very action packed.

From the interesting liner notes that came with the DVD, I learned that "Curse of the Devil" is the sixth werewolf movie in eleven that stars Spanish horror icon, Paul Naschy. Most, if not all, were written by Naschy under his pseudonym, Jacinto Molina. It is no wonder he has love scenes with all of the beautiful lead actresses. His screenplays are well written; their plots are always complex, almost too complex.

I was overjoyed to discover that "Curse of the Devil" is gothic horror. It is set in the late 1800's. In fact, the prologue is set in the Medieval Dark Ages. The best scenes are in the prologue. Daninsky's ancestor destroys a coven of witches; there is a gruesome decapitation, multiple hangings of beautiful women from a bridge, and the burning of the priestess. The ending is wonderfully downbeat as were many horror movies of the seventies.

Also, from the liner notes, I learned that Paul Naschy did not wear a mask during his scenes as a werewolf. He spent many grueling hours sitting patently while the makeup artist applied the hair, fangs, etc. Never did he look as though he was wearing a mask.

"Curse of the Devil" is highly recommended for those who are fans of Paul Naschy. I have only seen one werewolf movie from Hammer, "Curse of the Werewolf." I thought "Curse of the Devil" would satisfy my craving. Instead, I need to watch more werewolf movies starring Paul Naschy. Fortunately, BCI Eclipse came out with "Werewolf Shadow," which I will be watching soon.

This is another in the set of Naschy werewolf films and it is great. It is cult viewing at it's best and who better to play the werewolf than Naschy himself. If you're a cult movie fan or love werewolf movies then this is a keeper.

Heres one i took a chance on, having never viewed it. Nice atmosphere helps a pretty good Werewolf story. In fact this is a story of a werewolfs origin due to a curse put on an ancestor of the man. Sexy women abound as witches, and the Werewolfs love interests.

This is one of Paul Naschy's better movies thats out there today. Very good film with decent story and Paul Naschy as a werewolf..you cant beat that. If you like cheese in horror this is truly the one to be added to your collection. A true werewolf classic..recommended!!

"CURSE OF THE DEVIL" is a lusty old time spanish werewolf classic! Any real true horror movie fan can appreciate these kind of timeless but out-dated cheesey gems. Perfect for a cold rainy day!

You can say what you will about these types of films, but you must admit that Naschy's passion for them, and his werewolf character Waldemar Daminsky, are astounding. He truly loves this genre and it shows. He brings the tragic and romantic elements of horror to his werewolf films and he gives passionate performances that make these movies great fun. I've enjoyed many of Mr Naschy's films and Curse of the Devil is no exception. Love it!

First of all I would like to [say] that this film is dubbed and that's why it seemed like the characters lips weren't moving at times. Obviously he hasn't been exposed to the european stage because dubious dubbing is
ubiquitous throughout this genre here in North America. Good luck in tracking down the subtitled version. Anyway this film was great. Nice to see a brilliant sumptuous transfer in tact here. Actually the dubbing wasn't as bad in this one either. Make sure to watch Werewolf Shadow as a precursor to this.