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The Loreley's Grasp

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When the Screaming Stops is the American release of the Spanish film Las Garras de Lorelei (Grasp of Lorelei), a 1974 film directed by Armando De Ossario of Blind Dead fame. The American release, as I understand it, has seemingly had some of the original gore and nudity of the original film edited out (boo, censors), but you still get to see some nudity and the gore factor is certainly acceptable in my opinion - if your monster rips out victims' hearts, you pretty much have to show a little bit of that. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, exactly, since this is an American release of a Spanish film set in early 1900s Germany, but I came away rather impressed with what I saw. When the Screaming Stops has some problems, but De Ossario did some good things here.

Lorelei is a legendary monster said to guard the treasures of the Niebelungen somewhere on the Rhine River. In order to live indefinitely inside her wonderfully curvy body (supplied most appealingly by Helga Line), she has to come up and eat a number of human hearts every so often. Unfortunately, she doesn't just walk the streets swaying her hips to attract victims; instead, she takes the form of some giant reptilian monster with really long claws. Well, you know how people are - a few folks get ripped apart and have their hearts jerked out of their chests, and all the nervous nellies in town start complaining. A professor at the nearby school for girls asks the mayor for protection from the killer, and he obliges by sending them Sirgurd (Tony Kendall), a hunter with (supposedly) a lot of experience. Now things start to get interesting. For starters, all of the girls at the school are apparently double majoring in wearing two-piece bikinis and having fun in and around a swimming pool. I don't have a problem with that. Then we see the professor who came to town asking for help in a brand new light, and immediately I forgave the director for killing off the attractive lady featured in the opening scene. Gone is the wet noodle professor with the hair in a bun, replaced by a vision of loveliness (Silvia Tortosa in all her glory) with the silkiest, shiniest hair I've ever seen. Sirgurd isn't much of a hunter, if you ask me, but he does bear a resemblance to Elvis - I lost count of how many Elvis impersonations that spontaneously came out of my mouth as I watched this guy operate. Naturally, the monster keeps killing, and the idea that the myth of Lorelei might actually be true starts to gain credibility. Sirgurd has some close encounters with Lorelei along the way, but he seems to possess an incredible talent for ignoring the obvious for extended periods of time. The ending isn't all that bad, really, although it left a couple of subplots dangling.

Let's talk about the monster. It's obviously just another guy in a rubber suit, but it is hard to get a good look at the thing's face because the camera jumps around continuously from the victim's perspective. One of the most talked about features of the film is the inclusion of a red flash immediately prior to each deadly attack - that seems sort of wacky and counter-intuitive to me, but I honestly didn't notice a single one of these red flashes anywhere. The whole Lorelei myth is a little far-fetched, but I can go with it. The filmmakers did make a mistake, in my opinion, when they threw in a wacky scientist who "proves" that normal human tissue can be mutated to an atavistic reptilian form (and thus "proves" that the Lorelei myth might be true). There are also a few weaknesses in character development, particularly concerning the lovely professor and Sirgurd, but there is certainly no denying the fact that Silvia Tortosa is a beautiful woman; if her character wants to bounce back and forth between schoolmarmish conservatism and coquettish sensuality, that's OK by me - as long as the monster doesn't slash her lovely face up the way it does a number of its victims. And you get to see human hearts torn out of people's chests, as well. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe any film with a beautiful woman and a monster ripping people's hearts out is well worth watching. Honestly, though, I found When the Screaming Stops to be a pretty darn good film, much too good to be classified as a "bad movie."

I still have one of the barf bags they handed out before I first saw hs at the drive-in in the 80's. There were also red flashes to warn people with "weak hearts" of the gore scenes. It doesn't quite live up to the hype,but it is pretty gory for 1974. Most of the gore consists of hearts getting torn from peoples chests by a monster that comes out on full moon nights. If youy're like me,you'd love this film just 'cause of the hype. I think this is better then many of the early to mid 70's horror films out there,if you're a true horror fan,this is worth checkin' out.

Introduction: From Armando de Ossorio the writer/director who gave us the cult classic series known as "the Blind Dead" comes the '73 release `The Loreley's Grasp.' This low budget effort follows similar lines of the Dead series; ancient legend comes to life to disturb a quiet German community nestled along the shores of the Rhine.

Synopsis: Lorelei, a beautiful mythological siren has returned from her long slumber and demands nourishment. Turning into a lizard-like creature when touched by moonbeams, her appetite is for human hearts which she tears out of her victim's chest with her claw like appendages.

Lorelei's favorite feeding grounds happens to be an all girls' college on the outskirts of the village. When Sirgurd (Tony Kendall), a local hunter is hired to guard the premises he soon finds himself romantically involved in a love triangle which includes the monster and its prey.

Critique: As one would expect from such a low budget, foreign, horror film; the storyline is inane, the monster cheesy, the dubbing absurd, the soundtrack badly dated and the 70's fashions laughable. However Helga Line (Lorelei) and Silvia Tortosa (Elke) are extremely easy on the eyes and because of their presence you just might keep watching until the end.

Armando de Ossorio, Director of the Blind Dead series, made this silly but fun horror film. The movie, originally titled "The Lorelei's Grasp", is about a siren-like monster that resembles a man/lizard that is attacking young woman at an all girls school in a small village. The gore is average, and the monster is clearly someone in a rubber suit, but the movie does have alot of nudity, and has a gimmick where the screen flashes red before each killing to "prepare you for explicit horror". Not the best movie ever made, but fun to watch, especially if you like monster movies.

Apparently just a quickie movie, from the man behind the more successful "Blind Dead" films, this Spanish horror sees young ladies being murdered by a mysterious monster from an ancient legend. The film doesn't do anything particularly adventurous or outstanding. Although the premise is interesting, the use of it is a bit low on atmosphere but there are good moments.

The story begins with a young bride-to-be being nastily hacked to death by a ...something, with razor sharp claws. more murders follow, and each time the victim's heart is removed. An ancient legend tells of a creature called the Loreley, which eats human hearts. Could it be that the monster really exists? Watch it and see!

Sadly, the film reveals a wearisome predictability by setting the action in a boarding school for girls who are all played as nymphomanicas by 20-something starlets, with no subtlety whatsoever. Although the lead actresses, Silvia Tortosa and (my favourite 1970's Euro beauty) Helga Line look gorgeous and can act, the rest can't be said for the rest of the cast, which includes the very wooden Tony Kendall as the hunky hero.

Effects wise, things fall pretty flat. The Loreley's heart-extractions are startlingly graphic, but the makeup for the creature is diabolical, it looks like a joke shop pair of rubbber scaly gloves were used to stand in as beast's claws. What I did enjoy though, was the rather supernatural element that become smore prevalent towards the end of the film. Saying that, I lost all respect for the film during the climactic scenes set in a cave (the bit with the jealous hand-maidens was dire), but things perked up again with a dreamlike ending, that really surprised me by it's tone.

So, it's a mixed bag. Lots of different things going on, quite a silly story, some good and bad effects, some lovely ladies, but put together, it's a bit unsatisfying, however still enjoyable.

Amando de Ossorio steps away from his BLIND DEAD series momentarily to deliver this frightful creature feature in 1974's THE LORELEY'S GRASP! Legend tells of a hideous beast, the Loreley, that must set out to kill seven young women and consume their hearts during each full moon in order to return to her youthful slumber. When the legend comes to life in a small village off of the Rhine, it is up to a local hunter to destroy the beast before it disappears once more! Ossorio taps into Lovecraftian lore and mythic tales from the sea in order to bring his seductive siren to life. Unlike in his undead features, which focus on building a terrifying mood and thrilling suspense, LORELEY relies far more heavily on its shocking gore to set up its scares. The beast shreds its victims' skins and rips their beating hearts from their rib cages in graphic detail! One cannot overlook the artistic touch that Ossorio instills in each of his shots, a skill he uses to create a number of atmospheric moments along the riverbanks of the Rhine. Unfortunately, the creature's costume appears to be very cheaply made, and would have been far more effective if it had been left in the shadows. Fans of DAGON and THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM are sure to enjoy this lost Spanish gem!

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

this film was my horror movie of my childhood together with my sister she even refused to watch it with me when i baughet it becoz of fear

"The Loreley's Grasp" is a monster movie from Spanish director Amando De Ossorio who brought us the popular Blind Dead series. It stars Tony Kendall (Mario Bava's "The Whip and the Body") as a big game hunter; he is hired to protect the residents of an exclusive boarding school for young women. Every full moon, a hideous creature, half reptile and half man, has attacked a student or villager and ripped out their heart. The creature must devour seven hearts so that it can hibernate beneath the nearby lake for many years. This film must have influenced episodes of "The Night Stalker" and "The X-Files" and movies such as "Jeepers Creepers." All of them involved creatures that were forced to devour certain body parts so that they could hibernate.

The plot for "The Loreley's Grasp" was extremely linear. It was devoid of suspenseful twists and turns. The identity of Loreley was made clear from nearly the beginning: A beautiful, bizarre woman who seeks vengeance on anyone who knows her identity or comes between her and the hunter with whom she has fallen in love. The film would've been much better if Loreley's identity had been kept a secret until the end. Perhaps it could've been one of the professors at the school - someone you would never guess was the killer. Furthermore, a Victorian setting would've lent it credibility and gave it the look of an old-fashioned gothic horror.

Each killing became more gruesome and horrific as the movie progressed. However, the special effects were amateurish. The destruction of the underground grotto where the Loreley lived was silly. "The Loreley's Grasp" was not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. The films in De Ossorio's Blind Tomb series are superior. Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy has written and starred in a slew of movies that are more entertaining.

If turn of the century boarding schools are your cup of tea, watch the uncut Spanish version of "The House that Screamed," directed by Narcisco Ibanez Serrador. Young girls are being stalked and slashed as they try to escape from the oppressive school. What the killer has been doing with the corpses will shock and horrify you. If you like Italian gialli (murder mysteries) that are set at private schools for girls, seek out "What Have You Done to Solange?" and "Naked You Die." The identity of the killer is kept secret until the end in all of these movies.

I first saw this in the mid 80's on video and have always thought this movie was a total kick. There's good looking chicks, gore, crazy 70's duds, and a really cheap looking monster. What more could anybody want? This is just another perfect movie to watch late at night when your getting drunk.