10 December 2024
The Hunchback of the Morgue (1973)
82 min.
Directed by Javier Aguirre.
With Paul Naschy, Rosanna Yanni, Maria Perschy, Victor Barrera, María Elena Arpón, Alberto Dalbés, Manuel de Blas.
Anything with Naschy in it is always a hoot on some level, but this Spanish monster flick has got a slightly nasty bent.

Here, Paul plays soft-spoken Gotho, a blue collar hunchback who worships his sick girlfriend Ilsa (Arpón) with boundless affection.

When she dies, Gotho can't bear his grief. So, he takes her corpse to strange Dr. Orla (Dalbés) and asks that the doc bring her back to life.

Orla agrees, but only if Gotho will steal fresh cadavers from the village morgue and bring them to him for his 'experiments.'

And what exactly are Orla's experiments? Turns out, he's created a blob-like organism that feeds on human flesh. And this monster needs more with each passing day...

Also known as Rue Morgue Massacres, this kooky 1973 horror from Spain benefits from having been made during Naschy's working zenith.

Filmed during the same period as his own Horror Rises from the Tomb and Vengeance of the Zombies, this is a maelstrom of terror cliches, spiked by over-the-top performances and gooey helpings of gore.

But the infamous 'burning rat scene' - where Naschy sets fire to a group of real, live rats - crosses the line into pointless sadism, and is too mean to be called entertainment.

Spanish title: El Jorobado de la Morgue.

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