Escalofrío diabólico (1972)

movie

(35)

Country: Spain
Genres: Horror
Release: 1972-06-27
Director: George Martin
Writers: Daniel Ceballos , José María Elorrieta , George Martin
Language: Spanish
Stars: George Martin , Patty Shepard , Mariano Vidal Molina , Cris Huerta , Blanca María Guete , María Salerno , José Villasante , Rosario Royo
Runtime: 85 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Diabolical Shudder , Escalofrío diabólico , Frissons diaboliques (France, French Republic) , Escalofrío diabólico (Spain)
Plot: Hey - it's a rare Spanish Gothic horror! All the elements are in place: We have a huge creepy castle with appropriately creepy staff. Strange going on in the basement. And er...devil worshippers with machine guns?Crazy Alex lives in a huge castle with his also crazy mother, who claims that her dead husband and dead stepson come to visit her every night. Alex just wants her to shut up and die and leave him the inheritance, but at least in the mean time he can try and hit it off with his dead brother's lover, who has come back to the castle for some closure (Now's not the time, Alex!). Alex actually tells this to his lover, who is also his maid. She's not chuffed, to say the least.It's not just banging the maids and chasing tail that Alex does in his spare time. He also runs the local Satanic cult who are planning on sacrificing a young lady in the basement of the castle. Alex and the local doctor, Dr Batman (?) know that the satanic stuff is all a lot of crap, but they sure make a lot of money out of it. Dr Batman, by the way, has arranged for a young nurse to arrive at the castle under the pretence of looking after Alex's mother. This is all your run of the mill Gothic horror stuff, but there's some weird editing going on throughout the film that drags the plot into the seventies. My favourite bit was the mute butler and his love for a mannequin he's got buried in a grave out the back. When the nurse spurs his advances, he murders the mannequin. If only the rest of the film was that stupid. Things only really pick up near the end where all the satanic worshippers get together to murder the nurse and Patty (Alex doesn't like being knocked back). It is only then that the guns come out and things pick up a bit. This film spends too long on the drama and too little on the horror. I'm guessing that's why it's been left to obscurity!Oh, and Patty Shepherd wears the biggest pair of glasses I've ever seen.
IMDB:tt0067063