La noche de Walpurgis

The Werewolf versus the Vampire Woman (1971)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A couple beautiful women go looking for the tomb of Countess Wandesa (Patty Shepard) who was believed to have been a vampire. They happen to end up staying with werewolf Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) and sure enough one of the women (Gaby Fuchs) falls for him while the other falls victim to the Countess when she returns to life. The uncut version of this, under the title WEREWOLF SHADOW, features a few extended scenes involving one of the women's boyfriends but I've always found this to be the lesser version. The American one features bad dubbing but overall I've always found it to be more entertaining. There are several reasons why this here was the best Daninsky picture up to this point. One is that there was a bigger budget, which at least allowed the make-up of the werewolf to look terrific. The biggest reason this picture turned out so much better is that director Leon Klimovsky managed to bring some terrific atmosphere to the picture. The Gothic feel of this picture is without question the highlight because the director really makes you feel and sense an evil presence throughout the picture. This is especially true during the scenes involving the werewolf as well as those were the Countess is brought back to life. The screenplay itself is a few notches better thanks in large part to there being some interesting characters but also because it manages to move at a better pace. The werewolf, the vampire woman and the two female characters are all much more interesting than anything in the previous two movies. With that said, there are still some flaws here including the slow pacing. Still, no matter which version you watch, this here remains an entertaining monster mash.