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Review
by
Troy Howarth
Film:6
DVD:7
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| Serge
Chekov (Stelvio Rosi) arrives in a mysterious European village
to collect his inheritance, and discovers a bizarre plot involving
black magic and the living dead... |
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Spanish
horror icon Paul Naschy takes a supporting role this time around
—
in a rare horror item he didn't have a hand in originating. Originally
titled La Orgia de los Muertos (literally, "Orgy of
the Dead"), The Hanging Woman
mixes horror and sci-fi into a likeably lurid mix that nevertheless
seems tame and old-fashioned compared to many of the other Spanish
horror films of the period. José Luis Merino directs with an eye
towards mood, but the slow pacing and repetitious scenes of actors
wandering about the scenery may put off many contemporary viewers. |
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The
film chronicles the exploits of an arrogant heir who uncovers
a bizarre plot involving the occult, mad science and the living
dead. The ingredients are there for a wild and woolly exercise,
but Merino opts for a more straightforward approach. Such restraint
may have worked in its favor if it had been executed with more
flair, but ultimately the end result is a bit leaden. Even so,
the film does spring to life at times —
there are some genuinely eerie scenes involving the zombies shuffling
through the graveyard and the catacombs, and a subplot involving
Naschy's character also generates interest. |
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Naschy
is no stranger to puffery and ego-boosting, but his claims that
Merino allowed him to effectively rewrite his own scenes and add
depth to the character seem valid given the surrounding material.
The actor was initially put off by the script and the character
he was offered —
a simple grave digger in the original draft —
but his flair for the perverse manifested itself when he turned
Igor into a full-fledged necrophile. The character bears some
superficial resemblance to one of his most celebrated characterizations,
Gotho in The Hunchback of the Morgue (1972),
though inevitably he isn't able to bring as much shading and texture
to the role given its abbreviated screen time. Naschy plays it
with gusto, something sorely lacking in much of the remaining
cast. |
Italian
leading man Stelvio Rosi (under the pseudonym "Stan Cooper")
is as uninspiring a performer as one can imagine. With his irritating
swagger and mustache-twirling machismo, he comes across as arrogant
and elicits zero audience empathy —
how on Earth anybody could be expected to root for such a jackass
is inconceivable! Rosi's dull performance brings the film down
a notch or two; one can easily imagine it being so much more
entertaining if a more likable actor were in his shoes. Fortunately
both Maria Pia Conte and Dyanik Zurakowska are photogenic starlets,
and Merino is careful to ensure that they both disrobe on occasion
to keep the viewer alert and oriented. Of the two, Conte gives
the more memorable performance as a sultry medium who attempts
to seduce Rosi's character into selling the estate. Apart from
Naschy, however, the best impression is made by veteran character
actor Gerard Tichy (Jess Franco's Justine,
1968), who brings sincerity and intensity to his role.
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The
soundtrack by Francesco DeMasi reuses several themes from earlier
films, including his score for Riccardo Freda's The
Ghost (1963) and a piece that also resurfaced in the cobbled-together
soundtrack for Mario Bava's Kill, Baby...
Kill! (1966); it sets the right mood but inadvertently
makes one yearn for the heyday of Gothic European cinema. |
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Ultimately,
The Hanging Woman isn't among the
best of the Spanish horror cinema of the '70s, but neither is
it among the worst. As time-killers go, one can certainly do a
lot worse. |
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| Troma's
new special edition of The Hanging Woman
represents the film's official DVD debut in North America. It
also presents the film in a longer, more explicit cut than usual.
The good news is that the print is complete; the bad news is that
it's pretty much 'up' to the usual low standard of Troma's DVD
releases where picture quality is concerned. The film is presented
full frame and is not anamorphically enhanced — the framing looks
reasonably on-target, however, so it doesn't appear to have been
lensed with a wider ratio in mind. The transfer appears to have
been culled from two VHS masters — the first 11 minutes look particularly
rough, but they still compare well to the low grade VHS dupes
that have long been on the gray market. Once the main title appears,
it switches to a better looking source, but during the tryst between
Rosi and Conte there are some anomalies (a slight rolling effect,
for example) that confirm that it, too, is a VHS source. If this
sounds pretty dismal, it's not really as awful as all that — true,
the transfer doesn't compare to the gold standard set by BCI in
the best of their Naschy releases (Vengeance
of the Zombies, Night
of the Werewolf, Horror
Rises from the Tomb), but it's still watchable. In this
day of Euro-Cult titles being rescued from obscurity and receiving
the red carpet treatment on DVD, it's easy to forget how eager
collectors used to be to shell out as much as $30-$50 for a poor
quality VHS dupe, just to be able to see the film in any incarnation
whatsoever. That's not to suggest that this gives companies the
right to issue shoddy transfers — far from it — but in the case
of a minor title such as this, it does help to keep things in
perspective. Picture quality is far from pristine, it's true,
but it is passable and at least the film is fully uncut and presents
the alternate 'unclothed' takes for the skin connoisseurs in the
audience. The mono English soundtrack is flat as one would expect
from a dubbed film of this vintage, but apart from some minor
background hiss in some sections and a patch towards the end that
sounds a bit tinny, it's in pretty good shape; it's to be regretted
that Troma didn't include the Spanish track and optional English
subtitles. |
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Troma
can't be criticized for skimping on the extras, however. In addition
to a bonus feature film —
The Sweet Sound of Death (B&W;
1965) —
there's a featurette on Naschy hosted by Shane M. Dallman (entitled
Naschy 101), an interview with Naschy, an interview with
English ADR/dubbing veteran Ben Tatar, an interview with director
Merino, and a commentary track with the director. Naschy is his
usual mixture of charm and chest-thumping bravado, and he displays
some genuine fondness for the film. The commentary and interview
reveal Merino to be a self-effacing journeyman with no great pretensions,
though his assertion that The Hanging Woman
is really an adventure film, not a horror movie, is bound to raise
a few eyebrows. The Merino interview/commentary and the Naschy
interview are in Spanish with English subtitles —
apart from a handful of typos, they're legible and get the job
done. A theatrical trailer and image gallery round out the package. |
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Despite the shortcomings of the transfer, the
abundant extras, the presentation of the complete, uncensored
cut of the film, and a reasonable price tag (online vendors are
stocking this for under ten bucks!) make it a no-brainer for Naschy
enthusiasts. 10/03/09 |
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