The curse of Siniestro
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The curse of Siniestro |
| Original title | The Curse of the Werewolf |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1961 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| script | Anthony Hinds |
| production | Anthony Hinds Michael Carreras |
| music | Benjamin Frankel |
| camera | Arthur Grant |
| cut | Alfred Cox |
| occupation | |
| |
The Curse of Siniestro is a horror film by the British Hammer Film production from 1961 and is loosely based on the novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore . The main roles were played by Clifford Evans and Oliver Reed .
action
Spain in the 18th century. A beggar seeks the Marqués Siniestro in the hope of a charitable gift. The Marqués, however, is a cruel sadist who treats the poor wanderer like an animal and has him thrown into dungeon.
After many years of imprisonment, the beggar has really degenerated into an animal-like beast. He rapes a young, mute maid who has been locked up with him because she did not want to give herself to the Marquis voluntarily. That same night she murders her cruel master and flees into the woods, where she hides for the next few months until she is found by the doctor Don Alfredo Corledo.
She is well looked after in Don Corledo's house. She is expecting a child who will probably be born on December 25th. A bad omen if the child is unwanted. In fact, she gives birth to her son on time for Christmas, but dies as a result of childbirth. Don Corledo takes care of the boy and has him baptized in the name Leon Corledo.
A few years later, sheep are repeatedly found dead and with their throats open. On the next full moon night, the hunter charged with entrusting the sheep shoots a small, dark figure that growls and howls. The next morning, young Leon is found in his bed with a gunshot wound to his leg. He is plagued by nightmares in which he dreams of being a wolf. The village priest confirms to Don Corledo that under certain circumstances it is possible for an evil spirit to take possession of a living person and turn him into a werewolf and that it takes true love to be redeemed.
More years pass and Leon has grown into an attractive young man. He has not changed since then and can no longer remember it. Now he wants to get to know the world and takes a job with a rich winemaker . His daughter Cristina and Leon fall in love, but she has already been promised to a wealthy nobleman, which is why they have to meet secretly.
On payday, his friend and work colleague persuades him to come to a pub. But he is frustrated because he cannot be with Cristina and the prostitute society does not appeal to him either. When the full moon rises, he transforms into the beast for the first time since childhood, killing three people, including his friend. He can't remember anything in the morning. Don Corledo finds him in his bed with no clothes and blood-stained hands, shaken by bad nightmares. When he and the village priest confront Leon with the terrible truth, he initially refuses to admit it. He runs to Cristina to run away with her, but is arrested and locked up by the police for the murders.
Leon now begs Don Corledo to shoot him with a silver bullet in order to prevent him from further crimes. Before he found one, cast from a silver crucifix, night fell and the werewolf in Leon woke up again. The beast kills a cellmate and the guard and tries to flee over the roofs of the small town.
But a raging mob has already got together on the street and wants to make short work of the werewolf. After a bitter chase across the village, he finally takes refuge in the bell tower of the church, where Don Alfredo Corledo can do nothing more than redeem his foster son with a shot in the heart with a silver bullet.
Reviews
- Lexicon of international film : “A horror march of a Spanish boy in the 18th century who - half human, half wolf - murders under demonic coercion and has to be shot“ out of mercy ”. Bright horror from the 'Hammer' production. "
- Contemporary reviews received the film controversially. The US trade journal Variety wrote that "the level of representation for a film of this character is exceptional." It also said that "the film is a triumph for all the craftsmen involved. Under director Terence Fisher's unmistakably clever direction, these specialists have put together an atmospheric production that, purely visually, belongs to the best that the horror film has to offer. "
- On the other hand, the film-dienst took a completely different opinion in 1961 , since the "absurd story [...] not only calls into question the God-given unity of body and soul in favor of unsavory horror entertainment" , but "also in a clear demand for euthanasia Thought please ” . The evangelical film-observer rated the film as "horror confection" as usual.
Others
- Two James Bond veterans appear in The Curse of Siniestro , Anthony Dawson as the sadistic marqués Siniestro and Desmond "Q" Llewelyn in a tiny supporting role as a house servant.
- The film should give rise to the fiercest dispute between Hammer and the British Board of Film Classification . The curse of Siniestro was only released after almost all scenes with the werewolf were cut. In addition, some murder scenes have been shortened or darkened or completely removed.
- Hammer was planning a werewolf film, but was originally working on a film under the working title " The Rape of Sabena ", a historical story from the time of the Spanish Inquisition . The project was canceled due to concerns of the BBFC regarding the age rating and some protests from the Catholic Church about the script. But since the setting had already started, these were simply used for The Curse of Siniestro and the story was moved to Spain.
- Due to the intense friction between the film production company and the censorship authority, The Curse of Siniestro Hammer's only werewolf film remained.
Web links
- The Curse of the Werewolf in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Curse of Siniestro. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c cf. Ronald M. Hahn & Volker Jansen: Lexicon of Horror Films , Bastei-Lübbe, 1985, page 146/147