I have to agree with others that this film is much better than "Fury of the Wolfman" - in fact it's one of Paul Naschy's best films - specifically his werewolf films. I didn't expect a whole lot from this movie (I expected it to be so-so) but it came as a pleasant surprise - it's good and I like it! To some, this type of film is considered Euro-trash, tasteless and bad - well the film might be all those things but it's so bad it's good. If you like werewolves and/or vampires then this one is worth watching if you happen to see it on TV or acquire it in a film pack as I did.The copy that I have came from the Legends of Horror 50 Movie Pack. It's a fairly good copy - but not digitally corrected. The voice dubbing into English is good enough for me to enjoy.7.5/10

Two pathologists carry out an autopsy of a man shot by silver bullets . One warns the other of dark supernatural forces if the bullet is removed from the body . His colleague tells him not to worry and the corpse will remain dead . He removes the bullets and .... do I need to draw a diagram ? Yes Daninsky is back and after this opening pre-credits sequence we get a series of postcards of Paris landmarks . Knowing the rest of the franchise this could set the scene anywhere but I'm guessing we might just be in Paris and two girls talk to a man in a discoteque and their voices are dubbed in to English . Not just the voices but the background music too which is composed of a few solitary notes on a piano which renders the scene of the hip young cats getting down somewhat laughable This sums up the problem of the film - the dubbing is inappropriate . Certainly the lip synch is good enough but the voices don't go with the cast . Of the two female protagonists Genevieve is dubbed by an much older woman while the older woman Elvira is dubbed by someone younger and is rather distracting . Perhaps the voices should be swapped around ? But at least they're dubbed because in a couple of other scenes characters talk in Spanish even if their characters are supposed to be French And that's all the characters mainly do in this film - talk , and talk and talk where nothing much really happens. With a premise of a female Vampire rising from the dead and curses werewolf Daninsky having to combat her the Alas bonkers but imaginative premise isn't utilized to its full potential . People who don't like horror won't be drawn to it and horror fans will be rather bored by it

My first ever exposure to the world and works of the late Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy), "Werewolf Shadow" made quite an impression on my younger self, due to its heady cocktail of Wolf Man, hot Euro babes, sexy vampire chicks and needless gore. I was around 13 years old, and thought that i had discovered the greatest movie ever made by the hands of mortal men. Perhaps not, but it sure is good fun.Molina / Naschy here portrays the eternal werewolf Waldemar Daninsky for around the third or fourth time - not that these movies have any real continuity between them at all - reanimated by a foolish pathologist removing the silver bullets from his heart. Our hairy hero this time round gets involved with a pair of hot French girl students (who can blame the guy? Elvira and - especially - Genevieve could bring out the growling beast in any man) who are searching for the grave of an 18th century vampire, Countess Wandessa (flagrantly based upon Elizabeth Bathory). Wandessa is revived, and rises from the grave to do battle with heroic lycanthrope Waldemar, but not before putting the bite on the lovely Genevieve in a decidedly Sapphic deadly embrace. Sadly, our furry friend has to dispatch this newly created Gallic ghoul, as well as his own vampirised sister in a gruesomely fun scene of staking and beheading. It's hard to feel sad at this fraternal strife however, as said sister was partial even when human to a spot of incoherent rambling and lesbian rape. It takes a lot to make your werewolf brother look like the acceptable sibling.After slashing up a forest-dwelling hobo, and eating the throat of handyman Pierre who does kidnap and rape on the weekends, Waldemar has his final showdown with Wandessa: the "Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman" battle of the movie's less than subtle US title. These twin titans of terror engage in a fight to the (un)death in the final reel. I advise any sensible viewer to stop the tape or disc before Genevieve's annoying cop ex-boyfriend (I think he's called Marcel, but he's known in our house as "Sneb") is magically released from his chains. I prefer to think he was left there chained to the wall of the tomb to rot.

Paul Naschy, the Werewolf Prince of European cinema, portrays the tortured Waldemar in this film of many titles. The movie kicks off with Naschy resting on a medical table - preparing to be autopsied. Two silver bullets are removed from Naschy's chest, thus reviving him. He changes into a werewolf and slaughters the two doctors performing the autopsy.Afterwards, we are introduced to a redheaded student, Gaby Fuchs, who takes her friend Barbara Capell out to the countryside to search for the tomb of a fabled governess. Away from modern convenience, the girls meet Naschy who is hiding out in a castle with his depraved sister. He takes the girls in and looks after them while his demented sister takes a liking to each of the girls - physically. The following day, Naschy leads the two girls to the tomb and they dig up the corpse of the governess - Capell cutting her arm and having droplets of her blood fall into the governesses open mouth. Then, the fun starts.The main draw for this film is the stellar direction. I enjoy horror films of the 70's because they relied more on atmosphere rather than blood and guts to convey terror. Any director can slop red paint on a wall or pull fake entrails out of a plastic dummy, but only the great directors can convey dread through atmospheric methods. The scenes where the governess (Patty Sheperd) and Barbara Capell stalk about the woods at night in slow motion makes for a film-goers delight. Their flowing gowns, slow-moving steps and pale makeup make for true dread. There isn't a single vampire film I would recommend over this treat.VIOLENCE: $$$ (There is a spattering of violence in this film but nothing on the level of the tasteless trash that Hollywood churns out nowadays. The opening scene is the most violent when Naschy kills the two doctors and then snacks on a damsel in the countryside. The vampires weren't used in the violence department - just the eerie department).STORY: $$$ (Rather routine, but fun nonetheless. A werewolf, tortured by his curse, tries to keep his new flame (Fuchs) from the clutches of the vampires as well as himself. When he turns, he can't control his bloodlust, thus placing Gaby in a perilous situation. The plot line of students staying in an abandoned castle while on academic furlough is a bit too overused but it works here).ACTING: $$$ (As with most of these European horror films, it is difficult to tell how good of an actor the thespians are because their lines are dubbed in English. However, it is obvious that Naschy can portray self-inflicted torture with the best of them. Patty Sheperd, who I can't recall having any dialogue, was creepy as the governess and Barbara Capell is tantalizing and sensual in any language).NUDITY: $ (Very little - of the blink-and-you-missed-it variety. Naschy tears open the blouse of the girl he kills in the country and Capell gets her blouse ripped open by Naschy's twisted sister. It isn't sleazy and you see very little, but it is gratuitous).