El Aullido del Diablo aka The Howl of the Devil
Release date: 1988
Cast:
Paul Naschy as Hector Doriani/Alex Doriani/Frankenstein Monster/Mr. Hyde/Waldemar Daninsky/Phantom of the Opera/Quasimodo/The Devil
Caroline Munro as Carmen
Howard Vernon as Eric
Fernando Hilbeck as Father Damien
Sergio Molina as Adrian
Written & directed by Paul Naschy
Plot:
A forgotten actor is luring women into his home for sex games while his nephew lives in a fantasy world created out of tragedy.
My Thoughts:
It seems whenever I get into a string of Paul Naschy films, there’s always one that is the proverbial bump in the road. So, we’ve come to that time in this particular journey and the film is The Howl of the Devil. Let me be the first to say that I’m glad this movie exists on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro as it absolutely should be available. I’ll also say that I don’t regret watching it. However, this one really is a bit of a mess.
It’s not unusual for Naschy films to go all over the place. He’s always trying to squeeze in as much as possible because he never knew if the chance would be there to make another film. Unfortunately, the end result here is a film that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It’s definitely part slasher but also has elements of a classic giallo. There’s all of the obligatory nudity that’s ever present in a Naschy film. In fact, I’d say it’s ramped up to 11 in this effort. And yes, Caroline Munro plays a key role (and does so well) while, ultimately, falling prey to that Naschy charm.
However, there’s also a lot more. You have a rather random revengeful and horny priest, some black magic and satanism, lots of blood and gore, a disturbed orphan and monsters. A note at the beginning would seem to promise that Naschy is going to pay a loving homage to the Universal monsters. He tries but the makeup is definitely lacking. There’s the Frankenstein Monster (store masks are better) and the Phantom of the Opera (looking too much like Freddy Krueger), among others, that are revealed (spoiler alert) to be in the mind of a deranged little boy. It feels like we’ve been cheated. We’re also treated (?) to a weird dream sequence channeling the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween (again, done way too cheaply) that seems out-of-place. We can’t forget Nashy’s makeup used for his sex games that seem to get worse as the movie plods along. And let’s not forget that other reveal in the film’s final moments…(another spoiler alert) the boy’s revived dead feather is actually Satan and the boy is actually the Anti-Christ! What???
I’m fairly certain we have more than one kitchen sink full here. My podcasting partner-in-crime Jeff Owens reviewed The Howl of the Devil on November 20 at his Classic Horrors Club blog and he summed it up so well, I’m going to unashamedly borrow his sentiment here. This is one giant bowl full of random ingredients that individually are good but simply don’t go well mixed together. It all comes across as too random and too long. I was also annoyed by the score, which seemed to channel a poor TV soap opera from decades past.
Again, I’m thankful The Howl of the Devil is available for all to see. Unfortunately, it’s not one of my favorite Naschy films nor can I really recommend it. However, if you must, add it to your list but place it lower as there are much better Naschy films out there to enjoy.
Trivia:
This film is sometimes referenced as one of the Waldemar Daninsky werewolf films. However, his appearance here is merely a cameo and, technically, a vision in the mind of a deranged boy. So, it doesn’t officially count as one of the official 12 films in that series.
Availability:
The Howl of the Devil is available on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro.
Recommended Reading:
Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy written by Troy Howarth is available on Amazon. Highly recommended!
Blog recommendation:
My podcast partner-in-crime wrote about Howl of the Devil on his Classic Horrors Club blog. Check it out and tell him Monster Movie Kid sent ya!
Monster Movie Kid 