Human Beasts (1980 Review)
NOTE: All of the research I have done says that the movie came out in 1980 while the DVD says 1972. I believe what I read on the internet, so I am going with ’80.
aka Carnaval de las bestias, El
Writer/Director: Paul Naschy
Cast: Paul Naschy, Eiko Nagashima, Lautaro Murúa, Silvia Aguilar, Azucena Hernández, Julia Saly
Deimos / Not Rated / 84 min / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) / NTSC Region 1 / Spanish Audio / English Subtitles / PURCHASE
Bruno (Naschy) falls for Meiko, a Japanese woman who works for a criminal organization that wants to hire him to steal a large shipment of diamonds. During the heist, Bruno double-crosses the Japs and takes off with the loot. During the chase he is shot and falls unconscious in the middle of the desert. He awakens in a bed after being rescued by a doctor and his two hot ass daughters who both seem to want to get “Naschy” with him, if you know what I mean (re:”nasty” if you don’t).
During his lengthy recovery we meet some very, um, interesting people living in the house and friends that visit. Including, but not limited to; the black maid who likes to be whipped and groped by anyone and everyone, the perverted veterinarian, the gassy priest and the apparent ghost of the deceased Lady of the house. Strange things are afoot as people begin dying at the hands of a black-gloved killer, Bruno is haunted by the ghost and the criminals that are still looking for him and the pigs… OH THE PIGS!
This is my first Paul Naschy outing and I have to say, I wasn’t impressed. Human Beasts has all of the elements that I love in a movie, but somehow managed to bore me. It wasn’t very graphic save one scene of a vicious pig attack. There wasn’t really any sex other than a couple of short sorta naked rolls in the hay. I don’t know, it just didn’t stick with me.
It was also strange because there were elements of lots of different genres in here; giallo, action, exploitation, slasher, supernatural horror. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work. There were so many tries at goodness that it just got watered down. I waited so long to see a Naschy flick because it never sounded very interesting to me. They look good on paper, but just didn’t sound… I don’t know, graphic or dirty enough.
The ending was insane and out of left field but if the rest of the movie would have had that tone, I would have loved it. So, I’m conflicted on whether I should try any of the rest of the his hundreds of other movies. Some of them sound good and a lot of genre fans and critics that I respect seem to love the guy, so who knows. If any of you want to offer up any gems, shoot me an email or leave a comment.
