Argentine filmmaker Emilio Vieyra has a latter-day following based on his goof-ball horror/porn movies THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP and THE DEADLY ORGAN. But THE NAKED BEAST reveals that he was mainly a hack grinding out mediocre junk for the local market.
Strictly local fare, whether it be from India, Egypt or Mexico, is often typified by low comedy and musical interludes. That's exactly what Emilio delivers here, a difficult to suffer through parade of "colorful" scenes set at a TV show where murders are being committed.
Now one of my all-time favorite movies has a similar premise, Mitchell Leisen's backstage classic MURDER AT THE VANITIES, which alternates sexy showgirls (of Earl Carroll's Vanities), Duke Ellington's orchestra, Kitty Carlisle belting a musical number, and cops Jack Oakie & Victor McLaglen alternately cracking jokes or investigating murders. But this Argentine roadshow version is witless and a bit mean-spirited, just anti-entertainment.
Much of the action revolves around a teen idol starring in a TV show, where weird tableaux are enacted, including a horror/hunchback with bad makeup and mask. This lulls the viewer into thinking one might be getting camp horror a la HUMPP, but it is just boring filler. The leading lady is sort of sexy in a sub-Isabel Sarli way, while it takes many reels until a bustier supporting actress strips to give the fans the requisite sexploitation.
Inspector Ibanez is a plodding character, and the cheap-jack production has very obvious extras walking back and forth backstage to give the impression of more people in the cast than actually showed up. Resolution of the identity of the Quasimodo-masked killer is a yawner. The "guilty conscience" finale (bloody ghosts of all the victims appear as a hallucination to torment the killer) is pure corn.
Vieyra's interesting pictures were shot in black & white, but this one is all gaudy color. I had the same reaction (only worse) that I used to experience watching endless Mexican imports of Sasha Montenegro and other "sexy" comedies, which played at a Spanish-language Times Square house all through the '80s on off-weeks in between high quality Isela Vega vehicles. Not ready for prime time.
