As detailed in the included featurette on actor/writer Paul Naschy (a.k.a. Jacinto Molina), Naschy became smitten with the lure of werewolves as a child, and after several years as an art director, architect, award-winning weight-lifter and bit-part actor, Naschy launched his film-writing career with this effective werewolf shocker that made good use of vampirism, sex, and plenty of dripping violence. When a suitable lead couldn't be found, Naschy was drafted into the role that would establish his cult-status fame - Waldemar Daninsky, a cursed man in search of peace as a tortured werewolf, and lousy lover on brightly lit, full moon nights.

Released over the years under several titles ("The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman," "Blood Moon," and "Night of the Walpurgus") and in shorter versions, Anchor Bay presents a gorgeous transfer from near-pristine elements, with natural colour levels and decent blacks for the film's numerous nighttime sequences. The widescreen compositions are quite attractive, and the production makes superb use of mountainous regions and an eerie, ruined cathedral.

In fact, in watching these scenes, there's a curious similarity with the 1971 Templar Knights shocker, "The Blind Dead," partly because "Werewolf" producer Salvadore Romero had an executive hand in that film's production, and ported over the inspired, graceful slow-mo scenes as well. Both films also share the same composer: though less dramatic than "Blind Dead," Anton Garcia Abril's score contains similar percussion and guttural chants, enhanced by echo effects made to pass off this straightforward mono mix (with minor distortion in loud musical passages) and billed as "Hi-Fi Stereo 70" - the same nonsense moniker the producer adopted for his previous period epic, the infamous "Mark of the Devil," made in 1970.

Heroine Gaby Fuchs, who had her footsies branded in Romero's "Mark of the Devil," has better survival odds with Naschy's Lon Chaneyesque werewolf, and staves off sexy vampire Paty Shepard in several naughty attempts that were reportedly trimmed for American release. With more nudity and runny blood (fiery red in this transfer), Anchor Bay's restored version also includes two scenes previously included in the Spanish version: dialogue sections that detailed the Fuchs' police boyfriend, as he searches the small town where love Fuchs and the beefy Naschy have been living together. The scenes are smoothly integrated into the print, though one master shot in the second scene has minor light leakage. Whereas "Werewolf Shadow" was shot with the actors speaking in English and dubbed in English by a separate set of actors, the extra scenes are presented with Spanish voices, and much like Anchor Bay's disc for Dario Argento's "Deep Red," these scenes have optional English subtitles (which some players may not automatically load).

For genre aficionados unfamiliar with Naschy's work, Blue Underground has prepared an excellent featurette, "Paul Naschy: Interview with the Werewolf," framed at something close to (1.75:1), and uses extensive Spanish interview footage of Naschy who touches upon several important aspects of his film career: including working with director Leon Klimovsky, playing werewolves over the years, and the bizarre censorship rules of a "post-Franco 'soft dictatorship' Spain." (Fervently against depictions of sex, violence, and religious/political criticism, Naschy's script had little difficulty getting approved once the setting was moved to France, the werewolf's extraction changed to Polish, and naughty sex became part of the occult.)

The only flaws in this otherwise excellent featurette is Blue Underground's consistent, rapid-fire editing that becomes frustrating when Naschy's English-subtitled responses are briefly played over complex graphics or still photos with identifying text; there's no way anyone can read both in the allotted time, and a split-screen sequence - demonstrating the differences between American (clothed, sacrificial babe) and European (naked, sacrificial babe) versions - can't be understood when the shot and subtitles flow by at such a hyper pace.

Also included on the DVD are the film's original theatrical trailer (in excellent condition), and a high-contrast and slightly scratched TV spot (billed as "Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman") with some of the film's shocking gore and boobery.

The dual layer DVD also contains an excellent Paul Naschy bio, concisely derived from his autobiography ("Memoirs of a Wolfman," published in 2000 by Midnight Marquee Press), and lengthy still gallery that features 50 posters, 16 lobby cards, and 5 VHS videotape covers.

© 2002 Mark R. Hasan