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Richard Daninsky (Jay Richardson), last of the Daninskys, a family that
has long relocated to the USA, learns that he has inherited a castle in
Europe, a castle that is supposed to house a family treasure. Now Daninsky
isn't one to waste an opportunity, but since he has no idea how to look
for a treasure and no money to hire professionals, he persuades a
TV-producer (Don Donason) to supply him with a psychic, Amanda (Stephanie
Bentley) and a camera team to make a TV event out of the treasure hunt. What
Richard Daninsky does not know of course: Centuries ago, his ancestor
Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) sold his soul to the devil in order to
save his wife (also Stephanie Bentley), and was then turned into a
werewolf by Elizabeth Bathory (Michelle Bauer), his direct line to the
underworld, and as a werewolf, the first thing Waldemar did was killing
his wife ... Since then a lot of time has passed of course, but Waltemar's
body lies in the castle's crypt, ready to be revived. And Elizabeth
Bathory? Well, she is the castle's eccentric maid, whom Richard Daninsky
trusts implicitly ... the fool! Of course, soon the killing starts, and
our camera crew is gradually decimated, but most of the guys and girls in
the crew are too preoccuppied with themselves and with sex to notice.
Eventually though, Amanda turns out to be the reincarnation of Waldemar
Daninsky's wife, kills Elizabeth Bathory, then faces werewolf Waldemar,
who attacks her, but she stabs him with a silver blade and kill him, like
only women who love their werewolf lovers can ... Porn stars Evan stone
and Monique Alexander are among the victims of the werewolf, playing,
rather fittingly, a couple that has sex. Many people will shout
sacrilege, seeing Paul Naschy's Hombre Lobo turned into the
monster of a routine American trashy direct-to-video shocker for his last
appearance - and while the argument actually does have some merit on one
hand, it's unfair on the other. It has some merit because the character is
firmly rooted in the past, circa 1960's to 80's, and in Europe (mainly
Spain), and Tomb of the Werewolf does not do that justice, stylistically.
But the argument is also unfair because the wholoe Hombre Lobo-series
was a rather trashy franchise to begin with, so why would it be a
sacrilege to update the film to today's trash standards? All of this of
course says little of the film itself, which is a cheap shocker that
pretty much delivers what you have come to expect from a Fred Olen
Ray-film: An easy-to-follow horror plot with many references to oldschool
horror flicks, a bunch of forgettable youngsters to serve as cannon fodder
framed by a few seasoned performers (Paul Naschy, Jay Richardson, and a
hilarious Michelle Bauer) holding together the thing, plenty of topless
nudity, cheesy special effects, and a tongue-in-cheek approach to the
material that makes you forget at least some of the film's shortcomings. So
is this film a must-see? At least for Paul Naschy/Hombre Lobo-fans? Nope,
quite frankly, it's not even one of the better films in the series. But
somehow it's entertaining still, and if you have a few beers in your
fridge and a few mates around, you might as well put in this one, because
it's got all the tits and all the gore in the right spots ...
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