User reviews

There were 13 films in which Paul Naschy played Waldemar Daninsky, who was turned into a werewolf. This film is fourth in the series.

Known as Werewolf Shadow or Shadow of the Werewolf, as well as the original title, La noche de Walpurgis. It is a Gothic horror. Very slow moving with plenty of creepy music.

Those used to copious amounts of nudity and gore in the series will be disappointed with this entry.

The final battle between the wolfman (Naschy) and the vampire woman, Countess Wandesa Dárvula de Nadasdy (Patty Shepard) was quick and anti- climatic, but they are both gone for good.

Paul Naschy again with his classic character and frightening to viewer. It deals with Elvira (Gaby Fuchs) and her friend Genevieve (Barbara Capell) travelling through the French countryside in search of the lost grave of a medieval vampire, Countess Wandesa (Patty Shepard) , then things go wrong . The Blood Flows Like Vintage Wine ! . Things happen that have never been seen by human beings ! . The blood flows like vintage wine ! .

Jacinto Molina or Paul Naschy , who recently passed away, was actor, screenwriter and director of various films about the personage based on a fictitious character, the Polish count Waldemar Daninsky. The first film about Waldemar was ¨The mark of the Wolfman (1967)¨ by Enrique Eguiluz , after that ¨Night of Walpurgis¨, ¨Fury of the Wolfman¨ , ¨Doctor Jekill and the Wolfman¨ ,¨The return of the Walpurgis¨, ¨Howl of the devil¨, ¨The beast and the magic sword(1982)¨ that is filmed in Japan and finally ¨Licantropo(1998).

It's a B series entertainment with abundant sensationalistic scenes and a Naif style. The movie has a bit of ridiculous gore with loads of blood similar to tomato . This time Paul Nashy/Jacinto Molina exhibits little breast but he was a weightlifting champion. Here Waldemar takes on Countess Wandessa played by Patty Shepard in some unforgettable slow-moving scenes . Brief nudism and erotic situations in charge of Gaby Fuchs and Barbara Capell . Good cinematography by cameraman Leopoldo Villaseñor is accompanied by a correct remastering . Eerie and atmospheric musical score by composer Anton Garcia Abril .The motion picture was professionally directed by Leon Klimovsky , a slick craftsman who directed all kind of genres, as Terror for Paul Naschy (Marshall of hell, Rebellion of dead one , Orgy of vampires , Werewolf shadow ,Dr Jekill vs. The werewolf) , Warlike (June 44 attack force Normandy , A bullet for Rommel, Bridge over Elba) and Spaghetti/Paella Westerns (Badland drifter , Some dollars for Django , Death knows no time , Two thousand dollars for Coyote). Carlos Aured's assistant direction, who directed the following sequel titled, ¨ The return of the Walpurgis ¨. The flick will appeal to Paul Naschy fans and horror genre enthusiastic. Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and entertaining.

AKA La Noche de Walpurgis, aka Shadow of the Werewolf, aka The Werewolf's Shadow etc. It wasn't until reviewing this afterwards that I realised that I had already seen it many yeas ago but under a different title. Countess Waldessa is revived when a girl cuts herself during an excavation of her tomb & the blood drips on to her skeletal remains. How clumsy! And so begins a battle of werewolf (Naschy) versus sexy looking vampires. There seems to be a lot of full moons here & these vamps must be immune from sunlight but this film drips Gothic horror. It is also a tale of doomed, tragic love. Not a patch on Universal or Hammer horror but good fun none the less. I believe that some prints are cut.

Although this movie obviously suffered from a lack of budget and resources, it is pretty well done by a crew who made the best of what they did have. I saw this as " The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women " and despite the ridiculous title there actually were some effective and artfully done scenes, especially with a slow motion, day-for- night cloaked figure lurking in some windy ruins. Also very interesting are the last few scenes, shot in slow motion, of the title's vampire women (who are both really hot and reasonably talented) running from the rising sun.

"The Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman" wastes lots of great Gothic elements in plodding through it's (too long) running time. The ideas are there, but thoroughly unrealized by Director Leon Klimovsky, as one boring scene follows another, generating little or no tension or interest. Scenes from this flick look great as stills; when moving, they leave a lot to be desired.

Paul Naschy's acting talents never advanced beyond "high school play status" in any of his filmic endeavors. He reacts to most of the outlandish goings-on with his usual impassiveness, as though his scenes were for blocking purposes only. When his character, Waldemar Daninsky, transforms into the werewolf of the title, Naschy employs body slams, punches and arm-swipes as though he were on the undercard of a poorly rehearsed wrestling match. The climatic battle between Vampiress and Werewolf is underwhelming in its embarrassing lack of action. Naschy's slavering drool, however, provides one of the few highlights.

The soundtrack plays like one of those "Halloween Sounds" tapes offered every season, littered with ghostly wails, shrieks, and assorted bumps. That, along with some haunting (but oft-repeated) musical motifs, offer some pleasant diversion. Unfortunately, the werewolf's growls sound like a guy with serious indigestion and leave alot to be desired.

Definitely a reminiscense for those who fell in love with drive-in & grindhouse fodder in the 60's & 70's. Given the relatively short life span of homo sapiens, why waste valuable hours of your lifetime on this dreck?

I have to agree with others that this film is much better than "Fury of the Wolfman" - in fact it's one of Paul Naschy's best films - specifically his werewolf films. I didn't expect a whole lot from this movie (I expected it to be so-so) but it came as a pleasant surprise - it's good and I like it!

To some, this type of film is considered Euro-trash, tasteless and bad - well the film might be all those things but it's so bad it's good. If you like werewolves and/or vampires then this one is worth watching if you happen to see it on TV or acquire it in a film pack as I did.

The copy that I have came from the Legends of Horror 50 Movie Pack. It's a fairly good copy - but not digitally corrected. The voice dubbing into English is good enough for me to enjoy.

7.5/10

Noche de Walpurgis, Nacht der Vampire, Blood Moon, Werewolf Shadow ... the amount of alternative titles that this movie has, annoying as it may be, is a testament to it's international success.

So why is it that the world cared so much about some Spanish horror movie? Well, the fact is, it was simply better than most of what everyone else was doing at the time. But like "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" did in the late fifties, this movie sparked off a whole new generation of similar werewolf movies such as "The Beast Must Die", which attempted to emulate it's atmosphere precisely.

But has it stood the test of time? Lead actor and writer Jacinto Molina certainly thinks so. Others are less certain. For instance, it's easy to put off by the cheesy soundtrack, complete unsuited to what the mood of the movie should be, and the script definitely has it's dull moments. There's a whole sequence towards the end of the movie, when a policeman comes to investigate the murders and seems to spend half an hour in pointless conversation with the villagers. Oh, and the 'romance' aspect of the film feels both rushed and forced. The blood often looks fake, and the clearer the picture is, the less convinced you are by the makeup. It's one of the few movies that fails to benefit from a restored DVD version.

However, there's still plenty of good stuff here that help it to rise above the 'trashy horror' category for some parts at least. There's only a small amount of nudity in the film, gratuitous though it may be, and the dialogue isn't half as bad as most horror movies of this period. The historical sequences are surprisingly good, and the vampires are particularly creepy -- thanks to Molina's insistence that they should be filmed in slow motion. His performance is easily the most notable, and it's likely that if he'd been given more creative control over the production of these movies, they would have been much better.

All in all, this movie may well be for genre fans only. Most will probably find it dull and dated, but at the time it was definitely something pretty special.

I think it's obvious that no one in his right mind would expect a movie like this to be a masterpiece or anything remotely academic. From the very beginning, it should be clear to anyone that a movie with Paul Naschy and under the English title of "The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women" is not going to be precisely the kind of horror movie anyone would take seriously. Not because Mr. Naschy cannot be taken seriously. As a matter of fact, I acknowledge him as a Latin horror legend and he has been in some of the finest horror films in Spanish I have seen, such as "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll", for instance. On the other hand, this multifaceted actor, is also well-known for being in some of the most bizarre and random horror movies throughout the 60s and 70s. With this cute little horror flick, I mistakenly anticipated myself to a little bit of tasteless amusement that in the long run, was going to earn my reverences. If there wasn't any good gore, then at least I would have expected unintentionally humorous results, but sadly, this film fails to deliver the expected elements of entertainment that a horror fan would imagine in a film of this kind.

In "La Noche de Warpugis", Elvira and Genevive, go to the French countryside, with the intention of making some enquiries about a wicked Countess named Wandessa, who lived through the 13th century and who was recognized for devoting herself to Satan, among other things. When the journey is about to come to an end, Elvira's car runs out of gas and the girls finds themselves lost in the middle of the French nowhere with no one else in the area to give them a hand. Luckily, Elvira and Genevive find relief when a mysterious man named Waldemar appears out of the blue, to offer them a place to stay before the night falls. However, Mr. Valdemar is actually a really enchanting little werewolf who lives with his crazy sister hidden inside the house and while he intends to be a normal person with good manners, his ferocious nature forces him to be wild and dangerous to be friends with. As if this wasn't already enough, Countess Wandessa who has been sleeping for centuries, suddenly revives and goes back to her old tricks again, without expecting an equally strong rival like Waldemar, who won't let her get away with the same wicked behavior she once had. In "The Night of the Walpurgis", the werewolf and the vampire women find themselves battling in a dull and banal encounter, in which the viewers are the only ones who actually lose.

Too bad this film was so below my expectations. Like I said before, I expected at least some decent childishness to amuse myself. There's basically no gore whatsoever and the few death scenes, are rather effortless and insipid. Several films with Paul Naschy are well-known for having a little bit of everything, so I supposse I should give a friendly warning to anyone who thinks "La Noche de Walpurgis" is also going to be like this. Honestly, I got so bored watching this film, that in the end, the only reason why I didn't leave it incomplete, it's because I wanted to see if something would save it during the last minutes. Unfortunately, the silly opening sequence is about as good as it gets all the way trough.

The first thing I noticed about this film was the completely inane dialogue, and unfortunately; there is a streak of ineptitude running throughout Werewolf Shadow, and this is a shame as without it; this film actually isn't bad at all. The principle positive element is without doubt the atmosphere, as León Klimovsky's film features a surreal dreamlike ambiance, which bodes extremely well with the fantasy-horror elements of the rather unoriginal plot line. As the title suggests, the film handles the stalwart horror monster 'the werewolf', and it does it in an almost fairytale like manner. This again ensures disappointment as films like Suspiria have shown what a great effect a fairytale plot line can have on a film; although this film proves otherwise. The plot centres on two girls; Elvira and Genevieve, who find themselves travelling through the French countryside in search of a medieval tomb, believed to that of a murderess. However, they happen to run into Waldemar Daninsky, a Count with a secret, who invites the girls to stay at his castle.

The film is probably most notable for the fact that it stars prolific Spanish horror veteran, Paul Naschy. I have to admit that I've only seen a handful of Naschy's films; but they've ranged from bad to worse and personally, I'm not a big fan of what I've seen thus far. In this film, Naschy doesn't get to do much more than chew the scenery anyway. The acting isn't the best overall and the special effects leave a lot to be desired also. The gloomy Gothic atmosphere is definitely a treat, however, and it really is a good job as if it wasn't for that, the film wouldn't be worth watching at all. Werewolf Shadow isn't a very long film, lasting just over eighty minutes, but it really does drag as the plot simply moves along without ever being too interesting. Director León Klimovsky does pad his film out with some very nice imagery, however, and the film does look very nice on a number of occasions. Overall, I really can't recommend going out of your way to find Werewolf Shadow; all of its elements have been done better in other films, and despite some nice aesthetics; this is a sadly lacklustre effort.

This Spanish-German production with a French setting looks like it was rivaling some of the gorier British Hammer films of the time. In terms of blood and breasts it succeeded.

Gaby Fuchs a researcher into the occult and her friend Barbara Capell are on a mission. It's to find the grave of a woman killed in the 14th century who was reputed to be a witch who through her experimenting with the black arts became a vampire.

They do find her and pulling the cross/stake from her skeletal remains and a cut from one of the women which drips blood into the skeletal mouth is all that's needed to loose this evil on the 20th century. Seeking some aid they go to the ancient castle of Paul Naschy, but he's got some issues of his own. Like he's a werewolf and you know what a full moon means to those folks.

The Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Woman makes some nice use of some ancient medieval ruins. On the other hand it's nothing we haven't seen before.

Where is Lawrence Talbot when you need him.

Despite the low budget of this 1971 Spanish film, Wolfman vs. The Vampire Woman (Noche de Walpurgis) is a stunning and marvelous film to watch. The color and shot composition are amazing (along the lines of Bava or Argento) and the main charachter (played by Paul Naschy) is THE most ferocious wolfman I have ever seen. I am not necessarily a fan of werewolf movies, but Naschy's performance is truly gifted.

The sex appeal of the movie is perfect for the time. Breasts are exposed at the drop of a hat, and it actually adds to the tone of the film. Wolfman vs. The Vampire Woman esily competes with all but the best of the seventies Hammer Films, and surpasses most horror movies that have ever been made.

~Michel

This barely keeps afloat and is so slow in parts that when one of the characters falls asleep at the table we think for a moment she has dropped off in a state of boredom. And it is such a shame about the pacing because there are decent moments, lovely girls, lots of nudity and blood, even a little gore. The slo-mo gliding of the lady vampires is good too and there are a few minutes somewhere in the middle where it looks as if the film is rising to some altogether different level. But no we are soon back to a plodding Mr Naschy and the plodding script. It's the extras on the disc that tip the scales and the interview with Mr Plod is welcome and goes some way to helping one understand his popularity!

A werewolf is brought back to life and goes off to the country is search of a safe hiding place and food as well. meanwhile two young girls have the misfortune of their car breaking down while they are in search of a legendary vampire queen's tomb. the girls find refuge in an old castle of the revived werewolf and that is where they will uncover the vampire's final resting place,, and re awken her and unleash all of her powers... not a bad "b" movie,, could have been better, could have been worse.. best part about the movie is of course without a doubt is the ever so sexy Elvira ,, queen of the night,, the darkness and everything else in between,, she never looked so good,,, I will have to watch again to catch up on the finer points of the movie,, but all in all not a bad b flick.

but unfortunately anyone else would find this to be what is it, a really quite boring and stupid horror wanna-be that is full of really bad writing and stupid coincidences. Now I didn't see this in it's original Spanish but I wouldn't go out of my way to now I've seen it. The werewolf make up looks like it came from 'fake beards and boot polish r us' and has acting to match. The worst bit of dialogue in the whole movie I thought was 'I love you with all my heart' WHAT?! you met the bloke about a day ago and thought he was lying to you before. Don't bother to go near this unless you have a real hunger for a Vampire Vs Werewolf movie with a really unclimactic climax. Oh look the devil is rising tonight, oh wait no he's not, oh well let's have a bit of a wrestle instead. Really, Really bad! 3/10 (Cause it's not the MOST boring film I've ever seen, and there's a little bit of flesh about but not nearly enough to make it worthwhile)

This movie has apparently been turned down by other commentators, but I guess I have a totally different approach.

Accepting the typical romantic flavour of spanish culture I find this movie one of the greatest of Spanish horrors, with all its blood, violence, romance,strings etc . Of course its low budget and looks a bit trashy, but the atmosphere is there.

The psychedelic soundtrack helps building up this dreamy story towards the climax as one of the two girl students visiting the home of Valdemar becomes vampirized. The scenes of the two vampires moving about in slow motion is stunningly beautiful. The whole film reminds me in mood and imagination of some of the great horror comics of Warrens Eerie and Creepy (late 60s) and is actually one of my favorites among surreal monster flicks, and one of the most enjoyable werewolf movies. The short opening where the transformed and snarling Valdemar attacks a local woman in the woods is truly fantastic and nightmarishly raw. I recommend this title for all of you who still have your youths imagination free from over rationalism and technocratic thinking.

Two pathologists carry out an autopsy of a man shot by silver bullets . One warns the other of dark supernatural forces if the bullet is removed from the body . His colleague tells him not to worry and the corpse will remain dead . He removes the bullets and .... do I need to draw a diagram ?

Yes Daninsky is back and after this opening pre-credits sequence we get a series of postcards of Paris landmarks . Knowing the rest of the franchise this could set the scene anywhere but I'm guessing we might just be in Paris and two girls talk to a man in a discoteque and their voices are dubbed in to English . Not just the voices but the background music too which is composed of a few solitary notes on a piano which renders the scene of the hip young cats getting down somewhat laughable

This sums up the problem of the film - the dubbing is inappropriate . Certainly the lip synch is good enough but the voices don't go with the cast . Of the two female protagonists Genevieve is dubbed by an much older woman while the older woman Elvira is dubbed by someone younger and is rather distracting . Perhaps the voices should be swapped around ? But at least they're dubbed because in a couple of other scenes characters talk in Spanish even if their characters are supposed to be French

And that's all the characters mainly do in this film - talk , and talk and talk where nothing much really happens. With a premise of a female Vampire rising from the dead and curses werewolf Daninsky having to combat her the Alas bonkers but imaginative premise isn't utilized to its full potential . People who don't like horror won't be drawn to it and horror fans will be rather bored by it

Continuing my reviews of werewolf movies in mostly chronological order, this is my first time on one with Paul Naschy as Waldemar Daninsky. In this one, he lives in a castle with his sister. A couple of women from college arrive interested in the tale of a vampire woman from medieval times who previously lived in that castle. I'll stop there and just say despite the weirdness that prevails-including several uses of slow-motion-and the fact that this Waldemar also has a romance with one of those ladies, this was quite a fun flick to watch. The version I saw on YouTube was an English-dubbed version of a Spanish film and maybe had some cuts. Anyway, I recommend The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman or La noche de Walpurgis.

Paul Naschy plays Waldemar Daninsky – handsome, heroic and more than a little hairy during the full moon. Yes, Daninsky is a werewolf and, once again, the curse can only be broken by the one who truly loves him.

Enter two Euro-hotties – Elvira and Genevieve – searching for the fabled tomb of a powerful witch/vampire, Countess Wandessa. Daninsky offers them refuge when they become lost, and it is not long before he becomes romantically involved with Elvira (convenient, eh?). They find the tomb and stupidly remove the cross embedded in Wandessa's rotting corpse. Before long, the vampire arises and attacks Genevieve, who becomes one of the undead herself.

With a full moon on the way, bloodsuckers on the loose, and a werewolf for a boyfriend, can Elvira save the day? The Werewolf Shadow lacks the gore and gratuitous nudity that usually make these affairs bearable, and despite some unintentionally chuckle-worthy moments, the film is rather slow and uneventful. There are some nice atmospheric scenes and the ladies are pretty easy on the eye, but this is still not reason enough to recommend this lacklustre effort.

Definitely one for Paul Naschy completists only.

Any one who calls themself a horror fan should have this in their library. It is a true classic. While it is painfully slow, It place as a low budget flick and the devotion of Paul to the old-time horror feal makes this more of a labor of love, than a b-movie. It was made to have an old-time Lon Chaney feeling and I think that works. You just cant find a movie of the same calibre as this anymore. Anyone patient enough to sit through it with out pushing fast forward will definatly find a new favoraite. Waldamar isn't your average hell's-fire werewolf. He's been isolated too long. He's tragicly desperate to be around people to the point where he takes an almost subservant demeranor to the cop. He beleaves that he is damned and somehow less than human, when he is infact, much much more.

The title of this film caught my attention and I was not disappointed. I have seen some of the Paul Naschy films in which he has played vampires, werewolf and other evil beings but I really like his werewolf films. In this film, he plays Waldemar Daninsky, a man of some wealth but also a man with a secret. This is not a secret that he would like to live with but must. A tortured and depressed man that cannot beat this secret, a man cursed to be a "werewolf." Naschy usually plays a wolf with much panache and does not disappoint an battling an evil vampire. The ending doesn't make sense but I will let you decide on that.