Las garras de Lorelei (1973) Reviews

• Scary and eerie horror movie by Amando De Ossorio , dealing with a German legendary myth called Lorelei

  ma-cortes2013-04-20

  According to ancient tradition of seven moons , a horrible creature called Lorelei emerges from river Rhine to eat human hearts . Every night when the moon is full, she turns into a reptile-like monster craving for human blood and begins her criminal rampage . Lorelei is attended by a bouncing and tall servant called Alberic (Luis Barboo) . The monster appears causing wreak havoc on the village , horrifying and torturing the rural population . She makes a brutal massacre in the little town and the protagonists are surrounded in a house . Later on , one girl after another of a nearby boarding school is being killed by her . Then , the Mayor (Luis Induni) and the Doctor (Sergio Mendizabal) hire a hunter named Sirgurd (Tony Kendall who recently died at age 73 from cancer) who is engaged to kill the monster . Meanwhile , the starring attempts to save the damsel in disgrace , the boarding school ruler (Silvia Tortosa) , and falls in love with Lorelei. This atmospheric horror movie contains terrifying scenes when appears the monster and takes place the brutal killings . Based on legendary Lorelei , a known German legend dealing with a monster that has been living for centuries in a grotto beneath the river Rhein in Germany and in which rises from undersea to wreak havoc upon some beautiful Euro-babes and unfortunate victims . Plenty of lots of blood and gore , including repellent images when Lorelei removes hearts to feed herself . The fable is sometimes silly and laughable ,though the effects and action are well made . It's a slight fun with acceptable make-up , special effects , passable set decoration and functional art direction . In the film appears known Spanishtrash actresses as Helga Line , Loreta Tovar , Silvia Tortosa and uncredited Barbara Rey . Creepy and frightening musical score especially when the Lorelei appearance , being well composed by Anton Garcia Abril, author of the four eerie soundtracks of Templars living dead and composed in similar style . Colorful and evocative cinematography filmed on location in El Carcán, Madrid, Torrelodones , river Alberche, Madrid, Spain and Rhine, Germany . The motion picture was professionally directed by Amando De Ossorio . Amando began in films as a writer and assistant director and continued his career by making short films and industrial documentaries . He was one of the main directors of the Spanish horror boom in the 70s, specially for his quartet of films about the living dead templars which started with his first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a trilogy : ¨Return of evil dead¨ , ¨Ship of Zombies or Blind dead 2¨ and ¨Blind dead 3 or The night of the sea gulls¨ . Amando owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . He displayed a varied career and specialized on all kind of genres as Western in "Rebels in Canada" and "Grave of the Gunfighter" , Historical as ¨Los Cantabros¨ , Monster movie as ¨Serpent of sea¨ and , of course, Terror as ¨Malenka¨ , The possessed¨ and ¨night of witches¨ . Ossorio also studied painting and photography , moreover, he also made his living as a painter of creepy images of the Knights Templar in his later years.

• Monsterfest from the 1970's

  adriangr2006-07-21

  "The Lorelei's Grasp" is sadly hard to find at the moment. The awful re-release "When The Screaming Stops" makes a mockery of the heart of the film, dressing it up as drive-in trash. In it's original version, it's still a bit cheesy, but I think it's a pretty good horror film. The plot centres on beautiful girls at an exclusive school who are being terrorised by a killer...some of the girls are already dead and so the school calls on the help of a handsome bodyguard called Sirgurd to protect the rest of them. Sirgurd has his hands full as all the schoolgirls soon develop a crush on him, but he also has to work out who is responsible for the gruesome murders. Although the English version has terrible dubbing and most available versions are bootleg copies with a poor picture, it's possible to see that there is a good film hiding in here somewhere. The Lorelei creature itself is a bit hokey, but it doesn't hold back on the violence, with lot's of gory chest ripping shots(the Lorelei likes to rip people's hearts out). It also features some beautiful actresses of the period, notably Silvia Tortosa as the heroine, and the fabulous Helga Line as the mysterious beauty who seems connected with the murders somehow. It also has a poetic ending of sorts, and a great dreamy musical soundtrack. This film could gain a lot more appreciation if it was given a re-mastered DVD release. As they have recently done a make-over for the director Amando De Ossorio's "Blind Dead" series, maybe this one could be next?

• This movie is so good!

  tomas2082003-01-28

  This movie is almost as good as Ossorio's blind dead movies (I must add it's even better than Ghostship of the blind dead). It is interesting that it consists of only one man, among many girls. Unusual in films of any genre (except porn). The two best things about this movie are: The monster and its attacks. You really get the picture that the monster is VERY aggressive, and the attacks are FURIOUS! Later on, you will also see a kind of sad twist to the monster's entity. The atmosphere and the setting. There are many intriguing scenes with dreamlike landscapes; a magic and mysterious counterpart to the violence at the mansion. I give this 10 out of 10.

• She'll eat your heart out!

  Coventry2006-10-06

  When the screaming stops?!? The screaming NEVER stops, baby! This sadly obscure and obviously cheap-produced gem is an authentic Spanish exploitation highlight and it's about time it gets the appreciation of real horror fans it deserves! Even though more than 30 years overdue, director Amando de Ossorio finally received the much-earned respect for his "Blind Dead" quadrology and I hope that "Lorelei's Grasp" follows soon, as it's as least as fascinating and memorable as the saga of the Templar-zombies. The basic premise of this film is inspired by a terrific ancient myth and centers on a beautiful girl living in a cave underneath the Rhine. When the night falls, Lorelei mutates into a hideous watery creature and sets out to maul defenseless people, as she needs to eat the hearts in order to prolong her own existence. Considering the brutality of the first killing, the concerned teacher of a nearby girls' school insists on hiring a watchman to protect her students and he – the hunky Tony Kendall – quickly becomes obsessed with the mysterious Lorelei and, of course, romantically involved with the beautiful teacher. As said, "The Lorelei's Grasp" is a magnificent film! Amando de Ossorio masterfully combines old-fashioned tension with stylish eroticism and really graphic gore. The build up to when the Lorelei-monster mangles another victim is atmospheric and creepy, yet the actual kill is nasty as hell! The decors and filming locations are often breathtaking and every woman that walks through the screen is a genuine beauty, especially Silvia Tortosa in her role as the teacher. There's not a single boring moment in the entire film and even the slightly disappointing finale didn't bother me that much. The monster design and some of the bloody make-up effects will probably seem ridiculous to nowadays CGI-horror fanatics, but they won't be searching for this rare film, anyway. To any other fan of vintage 70's euro-horror, "The Lorelei's Grasp" comes with my highest possible recommendation!

• Loreley's Grasp

  Scarecrow-882008-03-21

  "According to the legend of the seven moons, Loreley will come out of the river in the form of a filthy beast to devour human hearts that will return her to her sleep of centuries." The film opens with a scaly monster exploding through the windows of a bride-to-be ripping her flesh with it's claws in gory splendor..making no bones about it director Amando de Ossorio sets the viewer up with what his film has in store for those who continue watching. A mythic beast, who takes shape from the Amazonian goddess Helga Liné(wearing nothing but a lizard green bikini the entire time on screen, which was fine by me), rises from the river to rip the hearts from victims to feed on while an all-girl's school calls on the skills of master-hunter Sigurd(Tony Kendall)to protect them while trying to find and kill it. What eventually occurs is that Sigurd falls in love with the beast in female form, Loreley, as well as the school lovely Professor, Elke(Silvia Tortosa, one of the most beautiful women I've ever laid eyes on), an uptight and proper disciplinarian. Elke, at first, resists her attraction of Sigurd, but eventually lets her hair down. But, Loreley is a jealous "Siren of the Rhine", which will put Elke in jeopardy as Sigurd begins to express his feelings for the professor. Meanwhile, a scientist(Ángel Menéndez)has studied the myth of Loreley and understands her "condition" from a completely realistic way..with a "radioactive" blade, the doc hopes to "destroy Loreley's cellular mutations and send her back to the dark night of legend from which she has emerged." When Loreley begins attacking in the village nearby the girl's school, the citizens pick up their lighted torches and rifles ready for action. But, under the river is an underground cavernous dwelling which houses the "Treasure of the Nibelungs", taken by Loreley's father Wotan for her to guard. Loreley has plans for Sigurd..he will live with her eternally. Sigurd is torn between killing the beast responsible for mutilated bodies left in it's wake and the love he has for the woman behind the monstrous shell. John Stanley, behind the horror review book CREATURE FEATURES, proclaims that Ossorio utilizes the "kitchen sink" theory in "Loreley's Grasp", which actually is what appeals to me. Plucking elements from various horror films and mythological tales, Ossorio creates this smörgåsbord of ideas packed in 80 minutes. Filled with eye candy(..lots of lovely ladies to feast our eyes on, including three water nympths who live with Loreley and her guardian grunt, Alberic, portrayed by Franco vet Luis Barboo)and nasty flesh ripping(..including the removal of hearts from torn wounds) Ossorio knew the crowd he was catering to, and delivers a fun exploitation flick using fantasy and the supernatural in a sexy, bold, graphically violent way. Might appeal to fans of "Humanoids of the Deep." The monster is rubber suited, but Ossorio wisely uses mostly point-of-view shots allowing the camera to be it's eyes, only showing the creeping reptilian clawed hands as they prepare to strike their victims.