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Hunchback of the Morgue AKA El Jorobado de la Morgue (1973)
R2 - Germany - Anolis Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (10th October 2006). |
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The Film
 Spanish born Jacinto Molina is better know as “Paul Naschy”, and along with the other “Euro”-names such as Jess Franco and Jean Rollin, he has a big cult-following among the fans. Naschy is an actor (over 80 movies), a writer (over 30 movies), and a director (over 10 movies), and his contribution to the European horror-genre is quite indisputable. Naschy was known for his abilities to portray many horror-figures and evil villains, and over the years he has played e.g. the hunchback, the mummy, Count Dracula, Mr. Hyde, Jack The Ripper, and of course the werewolf. His “werewolf count” Waldemar Daninsky appeared in over 10 films, and Naschy will be always remembered for that character. Outside that role his “best work” varies - pretty much depending on which fan you ask, but Naschy was a versatile actor (he´s still working, even as 72 year old) and “the king of horror” in Spain. “Hunchback of the Morgue AKA El Jorobado de la Morgue (1973)” was a film directed by Javier Aguirre, and where both he and Naschy were also serving as co-writers. In the film Naschy plays Gotho, the simple-minded hunchback, who has the grizzly job at the morgue of the “Feldkirch hospital”. Among other jobs, Gotho actually has to cut up some of the corpses brought at the hospital, since medical students need body parts for their experiments. The opening scenes of the film already reveal quite a lot; in the night, lonely Gotho watches through the window how young students are having their fun at the local bar. The window between divides more than just the bar and the street outside - it tells us that Gotho has no business to enter into the real world, among the “normal people”. He´s the joke of the town, despised by the medical students and mocked by the local children. When he follows one very drunk student in that same night, the student falls to the ground and kills himself, holding a photo of a beautiful woman. After calmly cutting the dead student back at the hospital (no time to make any death certificates or reports!) and giving the first real shock for the viewers, we find out that the girl at the photo is actually being treated at the same hospital, and she´s dying of tuberculosis. Ilsa (María Elena Arpón - as Helen Harp) is a childhood friend of Gotho, who makes a promise to look after her in her final days at the hospital. Due to a fight against the medical students at the hospital yard one morning, Gotho arrives late to see Ilsa, who has already lost her fight against the disease and passed away. From now on, the film turns darker and definitely gorier, and introduces the very murderous side of our hunchback. While two doctors are making fun of Ilsa´s corpse, Gotho kills them in cold blood, and after that he takes the body of the dead Ilsa to his secret underground catacomb, located under the hospital. Gotho now battles with thoughts of revenge (toward the students who were the cause of him not getting to see Ilsa before she died), love (he´s still in love with Ilsa, and doesn´t accept her death), and hiding (the police is already looking for him). To really stir the already difficult situation, more important characters are introduced; Dr. Orla (Alberto Dalbés - Jess Franco regular) finds out about the secret catacombs and Gotho, and uses the situation to take his evil experiments much further than before - creating artificial life in the laboratory (a bit like Dr. Frankenstein of some sort, but this time the “living organism” is growing a bit by bit, and it needs “food”…). He lures Gotho to help by hinting that Ilsa can be resurrected. Dr. Orla´s assistant Dr. Tauchner (Víctor Barrera - as Víctor Alcázar - AKA Vic Winner) is very hesitant to be involved with this dark experiment, and Tauchner´s wife Frieda (Maria Perschy) becomes also involved. Last (but definitely not least), gorgeous Elke (Rosanna Yanni), the doctor from the “Feldkirch Women´s Reformatory” (this place is “introduced” by showing two woman in bed, where one is whipping the other!), gets romantically involved (!) with Gotho (I guess every man, even a hunchback, has his shot every once in a while). If all this doesn´t keep you at least partly entertained, shocked and amazed for 80 minutes or so, nothing will. “Hunchback of the Morgue” has that certain “gothic”-atmosphere and the obvious influences (Universal and Hammer-horror) can be seen, but when those films created the horror in a more subtle way - relying on the mood, visuals, and strong actors - Aguirre´s film is too often relying on the straight gore to shock his audience. I have nothing against “gore” of course, but sudden bloody scenes like in this film didn´t really help to create the tension, they merely give a nasty shock every once in a while, and that effect didn´t last very long. This was quite obvious during the opening scenes, where the rather interesting setting of the story (very “Hammer-like”) and the main character comes to a sudden end when the gory details are shown. At least that happened to me as a viewer, and I felt that they simply showed too much - too early. A similar pattern can be seen throughout the movie, meaning that you have some good tension, and then the sudden images of gore and blood - some working better and some worse. One quite questionable and nasty scene involves rats, which are eventually set on fire. These are live rats from the sewers, I might add, which makes the scene very unnecessary in my book (I mean, how hard is it to make a phony rat to put on fire?), even when those animals are not very pleasant in the first place. There´s also one scene with a live corpse (!), but don´t worry, they don´t cut him up for real (those crazy times during the 1970s). The underground catacomb (a real location, btw), cloister ruins, and the “evil scientist”-aspect improve the film visually (there are the usual lab instruments, along with devices such as “Iron Maiden” and the pool full of acid!) and one truly great and memorable scene involves the half-dead victim wandering in the catacomb, barely alive and carrying his dead companion tied to his back. Those type of scenes are what “horror” is all about. I kind of like Alberto Dalbés as an actor, so Dr. Orla was an interesting character, and the very important one. In the end, he´s the true “villain” of the film, abusing everyone to achieve his goal and ready to sacrifice his closest people if necessary. This gives a good parallel to Gotho, who at least has some dignity and sense of caring under his naïve and often murderous mind. Make no mistake about it, though - Gotho is not the nice guy in the film, far from it, and I had some problems of connecting to the part of the story showing Elke´s affection towards him (since eventually they end up in bed). The film partly shows Gotho as a sympathetic character, but Naschy gives a fairly one-dimensional performance, and I would´ve liked more “divided Gotho”, a bit like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, showing more clearly which one is the “dark side” and which is the “good side”. This doesn´t mean that Naschy is “bad” in the film (far from it), but for my taste his performance was lacking something, some “edge”. Since I don´t want to reveal too much, I won´t go into specifics, but Dr. Orla´s experiments take the story to that “next level”, and the ending scene is well worth seeing. Perhaps it takes some interest away from the Gotho´s character and moves away from the “mysterious hundback”-story, but in the end the film is a stronger “horror-ride” when there are several storylines and all kind of strange things going on. “Hunchback of the Morgue” has its flaws, but in the end it´s definitely enjoyable, and surprisingly gory, Euro horror.
Video
The transfer presented by German “Anolis Entertainment” is not the easiest one for the DVD-reviewer, when you consider that the fans have seen the film in English via bootlegs and VHS-tapes (Spanish DVD is in Spanish only). Anamorphic 1.85:1-transfer looks good (apparently taken from the German theatrical print, not from the original negatives), but it´s not fully pristine, including some “issues” in various departments. The print looks a bit worn out and especially darker scenes can look washed out, even partly murky (you have some detail level, but it could be better). Colours are not looking fully natural and often a bit on the “brown-ish” side, so I´m not sure how faithful the image is to the original transfer (based on Anaolis, the transfer is “re-mastered and colour corrected” and in the Audio commentary Naschy seems to like the colours). A certain amount of grain and film artifacts can be seen, and some softness is present. Even with these minor gripes, the fans most likely will be very happy to see the film in such a decent condition, and even when the transfer could be better, there are no serious complaints (it pretty much depends how high you raise the bar in the low budget films like this one – who knows if we´ll ever see the film in a better shape?). Perhaps you could say that the transfer looks probably similar to how it did in the small theatres in Europe back in the days, which used the print that was already a bit worn out. IMDB seems to be wrong about the OAR, and list it as 2.35:1. I didn´t see any evidence that the 1.85.1-transfer would be “cropped”. The film runs 78:52 minutes (PAL), and is technically the uncut “Export/International version”. What has caused some confusion is the fact that based on Naschy in the audio commentary, Spanish censors cut the “full nude”-scene between Gotho and Elke (meaning that also Gotho is naked) and that the scene was destroyed. There´s also a lobby card of the scene found in the extras (it looks a bit “artificial”, so not sure if that is taken from the set). We still get the “semi-naked”-scene included in the film (where Elke is naked), and not the “clothed scene” found on the extras. With all these different versions, it´s not easy to keep track, but since the “full nude”-scene seems to be gone forever, the version on the DVD is the next best thing and fully acceptable. The “dual layer” disc is coded “R2” and it has 20 chapters.
Audio
The disc includes 3 audio tracks, all Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono: English, Spanish and German. Optional German subtitles are included in the film, but sadly no English ones, meaning that the English speaking fans have to stick with the somewhat inferior English track. The dub (meaning the dialogue) is not perfect, but it´s not all bad, nor taking much away from the general enjoyment. Some clear hiss and minor distortion on the dialogue can be heard (it´s also a bit of a lower level than e.g. the music), but I have heard much worse than this one. Spanish and German-tracks could be a bit better, but the difference is not huge to my ears (nor significant).
Extras
The first ”extra” appears when you click ”Play” on your remote and before the actual film begins. We have a brief introduction, which shows Paul Naschy taking the German “Super-8”-version of the film from the shelf, and starts watching it via a projector. He speaks something in German every once in a while, but there are no subtitles. You can´t fully skip the intro, only “FF” it. The disc kicks off with a quite exclusive audio commentary from actor/co-writer Paul Naschy, moderated by Ivo Scheloske. The commentary is in German, but has optional English subtitles included (very nice!). I believe this is the first proper audio commentary from Naschy, and it´s very interesting throughout. What you have is a very mature and calm commentary, which sticks to the facts and leaves Naschy to the main talking. Moderator Scheloske doesn´t really interfere or make “funny jokes”, but there are moments here and there (also silence) where a few helpful questions would´ve been in order. “Hunchback of the Morgue” was the second collaboration with director Aguirre and Naschy, and was actually shot during the break from their first film, “Count Dracula's Great Love AKA El Gran amor del conde Drácula (1972)” (which was finished after “Hunchback of the Morgue” was completed). Naschy has a good memory, and he gives plenty of information about the locations (“Feldkirch” was actually the village in Spain called “Viella”, bar and catacombs were real locations in Madrid, and the hospital and morgue were also real), as well as actors (he points out different actors from the film, and tells something about them). Naschy also comments to the infamous “rat-scene” (they didn´t give the rats any food on purpose, so they launched a fierce attack towards Naschy for real!), the scene involving the real corpse (the man on the morgue was telling them that they can “cut the head” if they want (!), but Naschy didn´t want to do it - not even after a few shots of whiskey), and says that he didn´t meet Jess Franco during those “golden days” of European horror/exploitation-films (“He never called me”). He also talks about his influences, and although Universal horror was one of them in the background, the real influences Naschy got from German expressionists and Spanish painters. He also gives some selected comments about the few known horror-figures he has met along the way, e.g. Peter Cushing (“very nice man”), Christopher Lee (“cold man”), Terence Fisher, and Boris Karloff. In the end, Naschy could´ve given more anecdotes of the particular production of “Hunchback of the Morgue”, but this was a very enjoyable and informative commentary, and should please both his fans and the newcomers. Good job. After that we have a wide selection of more minor extras, which don´t have subtitles: - German theatrical trailer runs 2:48 minutes. - Alternate Spanish opening and end credits (2:44 minutes). - Alternate US opening and end credits (2:54 minutes). These don´t include any new material, credits are just different. - Next are two Super-8 -versions of the film; “Die Stunde Der Grausamen Leichen” (16:22 min), and the second part “Der Nervenhammer” (16:32 min). Both are in 1.85:1, and with German audio only, and they´re basically just edited and shortened versions of the film, to which people watched at home before there were formats like VHS. Both have also cover-art included. - “Nackt Oder Nicht Nackt” is a scene comparison of the making love-scene between Gotho and Elke. First we see the take where Elke is naked (not much to be seen, though) and this is how the scene was presented in the film also (0:52 seconds). Next is the same scene as it was portrayed in the Spanish “clothed version”, and this time Elke is dressed (0:53 seconds). - Next are 3 slightly different photo galleries: *First one (“Bildergalerie”) runs 3:51 minutes, and includes 7 posters, 13 German lobby cards, 11 German press material, 2 VHS-covers, 10 stills, 3 US lobby cards, 1 Spanish lobby card and 9 B&W stills. *”Filmprogramm” runs 1:13 minutes, including 3 screens, but is using the “zoom”-function for picking details from the photos and text included. *”Werbeflyer” runs 3:01 minutes. First part includes 6 screens from the US/Spanish press book, but again uses zoom to pick up nice details. Second part includes 2 screens from other US press book of some kind. -“Reise Nach Feldkirch” -featurette runs 4:14 minutes, and shows how Naschy and his family visit the “real” Feldkirch, the German town in 2002. This is a featurette that could´ve been a lot better, but the sausage looks good and people are having a good time. -“Paul Naschy Zu Gast Heim Buio Omega” -documentary runs 60:50 minutes, but sadly doesn´t include any subtitles. It´s from the “Buio Omega filmclub” event - 19.10.2002, where Naschy was an invited guest. We first hear some comments from the fans, and then we see Naschy at the stage to talk to the audience. Since there are no subtitles, this is a bit of a “missed opportunity”. - Extensive Paul Naschy filmography includes 70 pages, and includes some very nice posters. Also English language titles are included, which is nice. -Some Easter eggs are also included: 1) From the “Main menu”, highlight “Extras”, and press “left”. The eyes of the skull are highlighted. Now press “enter”, and you´ll get a photo gallery, including 33 photos from the “Buio Omega filmclub” event, Naschy in the different timeframe, and also photos of him playing different characters. 2) From the “Filmography” section, you´ll find several bonus trailers (just press “up” once you´re at the page, and then “enter” when the “red dot” is highlighted): *Page 09/70: “Frankenstein's Bloody Terror AKA La Marca del Hombre-lobo (1968)” (German - 2:05 min) *Page 12/70: “Dracula vs. Frankenstein AKA Los Monstruos del terror (1970)” (German - 2:58 min) *Page 13/70: “The Werewolf Versus Vampire Women AKA La Noche de Walpurgis (1971)” (German - 3:02 min) *Page 17/70: “Horror Rises from the Tomb AKA El Espanto surge de la tumba (1973)” (German - 3:17 min) *Page 20/70: “Vengeance of the Zombies AKA La Rebelión de las muertas (1973)” (German - 2:56 min) *Page 22/70: “Curse of the Devil AKA El Retorno de Walpurgis (1973)” (US - 3:09 min) DVD credits are also included, and finally the DVD is packaged in the “faux-leather” book (when opened) including 34 pages of photos, posters, and liner notes from Mirek Lipinski (in both German and English) - the man behind “The Mark of Naschy”-web site, and from Christian Kessler (in German).
Overall
“Hunchback of the Morgue” has horror, gore, drama, a glimpse of sexuality, great locations, and a fair share of just pure strangeness to keep the fans happy (just beware of the “rat-scene”), and even when the film is no masterpiece, it´s fairly easy to recommend it. DVD-release from “Anolis” offers plenty of goodies, so I can´t see any real reasons why Naschy-fans should pass this up (first audio commentary from Naschy should make it a “no brainer” almost). Sure, the transfer could be a bit better and some extras subtitled in English, but “nobody's perfect”. The film can be found under the German title “Die Stunde der grausamen Leichen”, and is apparently limited to only 3000 copies. The release is rated “FSK 18”, so you have to use the import stores such as… This DVD is available at Xploited Cinema.
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