Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) travels to Tibet and is bitten by a yeti, which causes him to become a werewolf. He is accidentally killed after he attacks his cheating wife and her lover, and is later revived by a female scientist, Dr. Ilona Ermann, who uses him in mind control experiments. Daninsky later discovers an underground asylum populated by the bizarre subjects of the doctor's failed experiments.

Upon hearing of Naschy's death from colleague Jon Kitley, I rummaged through my collection for a suitable film to watch. In my scramble, I found I own not one but three(!) copies of "Fury of the Wolfman". The film is of questionable video quality, the sound is dubbed in a mediocre fashion, the cinematography is sort of slapstick style at times. And the American versions have two love scenes removed. Quite frankly, without a remastered, uncut copy, I wasn't really getting the proper movie in all its glory.

This film claims to be the fourth in a long series about the werewolf Count Waldemar Daninsky. I suspect this is true, but you wouldn't know this from the film itself. The plot is confusing at times, and there's really no indication that this is a sequel. If you read the plot summaries on Wikipedia and compare them to what is printed on the box, you'll see that I'm not alone in my confusion.

Perhaps the film's shortcomings can be forgiven if we understand the production hell it went through. While floating around for years, it was only released in 1973, due to problems involved in finding a distributor. And Naschy said in his autobiography that the director, Zabalza, was an incompetent alcoholic, and that he hated working with him. Those really aren't light accusations, and I have no idea what Zabalza had to say on his own behalf.

Chances are, sooner or later you'll come across a low-grade version of "Fury of the Wolfman". It appears in a variety of three-packs and box sets, so you might accidentally acquire it and not even know. What really needs to happen is an American uncut version, with a decent sound and video mix, and the love scenes thrown back in. As far as I know, this does not exist. Let us honor Paul Naschy's legacy and get his films to a wider audience in a level of quality he deserves.

Shot in 1970 but not released until two years later, THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN is one of the entries in the long-running Spanish series of 'Waldemar Daninsky' werewolf movies starring Paul Naschy. Unfortunately, it's one of the lesser affairs, mainly down to dodgy direction that results from a drunken director being allowed full control of the proceedings. As a result, the film is badly edited; has often risible dialogue; uses copious footage from earlier Naschy films and is generally poorly-filmed, especially in the action scenes. Compare this film with WEREWOLF SHADOW, by the reliable and eminently stylish director Leon Klimovsky, and you'll notice a world of difference.

Still, as a film it has plenty of interest, especially for the increasingly ludicrous plot ingredients. Not content with merely having a werewolf as the film's central character, the elements of this film's brew incorporate a mad female scientist (shades of LADY FRANKENSTEIN here),a cellar full of freaks and weirdos; a crazy killer guy who wears a Phantom of the Opera mask; a guy in a suit of armour (!) plus the usual torrid adultery and werewolf rampage. The film's nudity was cut for the American market, but the gore remains, including a nasty bit where a victim is burnt alive and bleeds to death at the same time (actually nicked from an earlier flick).

There's some fun to be had from the 'monster team-up' moments, especially the climax, where Daninsky tackles his undead-cum-werewolf wife, but Jose Maria Zabalza's shoddy direction even makes these moments less than enthralling. It's a shame, because Perla Cristal is an icy villainess, Veronica Lujan is a lovely love interest, and Paul Naschy is as commendable as ever. Best to give this one a miss and check out some of the better entries in the series; the two films after this one, WEREWOLF SHADOW and CURSE OF THE DEVIL, are a good place to start

This is quite a graphically violent and explicit film. It's much more graphic than I expected. It's not really a werewolf movie. There are violent attacks where throats are ripped out, but it doesn't really have the supernatural element we might expect. This is a case study of a woman who has been so badly abused that she loses her sense of self and strikes out against all men. Even when things begin to go well, it's as if she has been singled out for some kind of demonic punishment. Unfortunately, many others suffer her wrath, some deserving, others not. The scenes are pretty explicit and ugly. This is one of those movies that kind of grabs you but it's more like going to an auto wreck than something desirable. It's not badly made and moves pretty well. Be forewarned, however, that it isn't for all tastes. Once again, with a little budget and some better editing, it could have worked better. The werewolf transition scenes aren't too bad.