On paper, Howl of the Devil looks like it would be a real treat for monster movie fans, with Euro-horror legend Paul Naschy playing loads of different roles, including Frankenstein's monster, The Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, My. Hyde and even his own classic character, wolfman Waldemar Daninsky. Throw in several attractive young women willing to bare all for their art, Euro-horror icons Howard Vernon and Caroline Munro, and some bright red gore, and an entertainingly trashy time is surely guaranteed. Except it isn't: the plot for the film is very weak and frustratingly repetitive for the most part, at least until the ending which makes no sense whatsoever. And Munro keeps her clothes on, which is just a tad disappointing.
Naschy stars as Hector Doriani, a failed stage actor whose brother Alex (also Naschy), a horror movie star, supposedly committed suicide. Hector spends his days trying to seduce his gorgeous home-keeper Carmen (Munro), with little success, and bedding pretty waifs and strays picked up by his manservant Eric (Vernon), a necrophiliac who holds seances with his previous master, Alex. Meanwhile, Hector's young nephew Adrian (Sergio Molina) holds conversations with imaginary friends - a range of classic monsters, all played by Naschy - and a mysterious killer slices up Hector's conquests once he has sent them packing. It's sex, murder, monster, repeat, which - as fun as that sounds - actually gets really boring. The monsters are particularly dull, not doing any proper monstery stuff, just chinwagging with the kid.
Check out this film for the gratuitous nudity from the lovely ladies, the gore (the juicy highlight being the evisceration of a female robber), and the totally insane ending, which features a zombie that makes Eric explode, before revealing Adrian to be the Anti-Christ, but don't be surprised if you find yourself struggling to keep your eyelids open.
3/10. Dedicated to the memory of those who made the Universal horror classics so memorable, this is has none of the style or atmosphere of those movies.
