Thanks to the nostalgic "Hombre Lobo" series I have always been a fan of Paul Naschy, but it's only since I discovered his obscure but far more personal and delightfully absurd efforts that I consider him as one of my favorite people of the horror/exploitation of all times. The werewolf movies occasionally aired on late night television or in Halloween specials, but it took specialized DVD-labels to make available Naschy's spectacularly peculiar highlights, such as "Panic Beats", "Human Beasts", "The Hanging Woman", "The Hunchback of the Rue Morgue", and this awesomely entertaining "Howl of the Devil".
The written message at the start of the film demonstrates what a fantastic person Naschy was. He's a cult deity and horror monument himself, and yet he dedicates the film to the idols of his own childhood; - like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, and generally everyone who contributed to the Universal monster classics from the 1930s and 1940s.
The plot of "Howl of the Devil" is absurd, but Naschy can get away with everything, as far as I'm concerned. It's an unbelievably fun homage to classic horror from the Universal period, albeit mixed with typically nasty and sleazy exploitation storylines from the 70s and early 80s. Like he always does, Naschy surrounds himself with gorgeous woman that spontaneously undress for him, and he also arranged that he could wear the make-up of the most legendary horror villains in history. Once more, well-played Paul.
Hector Doriani is an actor frustrated because his sophisticated and elegant career choices never had any success, whereas his twin brother Alex became rich and famous because he exclusively starred in filthy and blood-soaked horror movies. Alex mysteriously died, and Hector lives in his house, together with his brother's loyal old servant Eric, the voluptuous maid Carmen, and his nephew Adrian. The latter has difficulties with his father's death and has meetings with a range of imaginary friends that represent the horror roles his dad used to play. This is how Naschy fixed for himself to play Frankenstein's Monster, Rasputin, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Hunchback, Fu Manchu, the Wolf Man, Bluebeard, the Phantom of the Opera, etc. Etc. Hector orders Eric to bring home beautiful and lewd women, but they all die horrid and gruesome deaths for some strange reason. And if all this isn't bonkers enough just yet, there's also a sexist priest and a Peeping Tom roaming around.
Well, okay, obviously I'm biased ... but "Howl of the Devil" simply offers the most fun you can possibly imagine when watching a horror flick. The nostalgic monsters actually don't do much, but there are plenty of grisly murders committed by a black-gloved killer, tons of gratuitous nudity, insane gore effects, and a phenomenal climax that needs to be seen to be believed. I love Paul Naschy, and I love him even more when he casts the legendary Howard "Dr. Orloff" Vernon and the still stupendous looking Caroline Munro.
