Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror

Watching this film, even with some of the embarrassing instant love and doey repertoire between the characters of Waldemar Daninsky and Countess Janice von Aarenberg, one sees that it is a unique horror film—ornate, well-directed, making splendid use of the castle at San Martín de Valdeiglesias and other Spanish exteriors (though the story is not set in Spain), with some standout, memorable performances.

Seen today, La marca del Hombre Lobo has all the signs of a film made by people who were still finding their way. At times, it comes off as a bit stilted. … For all its weaknesses, La marca emerges as a stylish and very enjoyable film and its status as a major classic of Spanish genre cinema simply cannot be denied.

In July 1968 Spanish audiences were presented with a film that would manage what Jess Franco’s Dr Orlof had so far failed to do…initiating a bona-fide boom in Spanish horror — and for introducing an actor-writer, Paul Naschy, who was to become synonymous with the genre. … For a homegrown product, the colourful production gloss and concentrated Gothic imagery of La marca del Hombre Lobo was quite new to Spanish audiences, though it retained a link to Franco’s Gritos en la noche by using the same subterranean Valdeiglesias interiors.

The first Waldemar Daninsky film is a fun introduction to the long-running series that made Paul Naschy a star. Colorful and exciting, the film is an homage to the Universal horror films of the ’30s and ’40s with a great bit of ’60s eroticism thrown in. … Everything that an exploitation audience could be looking for is found here, and the action moves quickly enough to not allow boredom to sink in. Naschy makes a great anti-hero and his affection for his character is evident from his opening moments. This is the beginning of the true Spanish horror-exploitation era, making this film a must-see!