Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1972
Director: León Klimovsky
Writer: Paul Naschy
Cast: Paul Naschy, Shirley Corrigan, Jack Taylor, Mirta Miller, José Marco, Luis Induni, Barta Barri, Luis Gaspar, Elsa Zabala, Lucy Tiller, Jorge Vico, Adolfo Thous

Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 85 Minutes 56 Seconds (Spanish Cut), 88 Minutes 13 Seconds (Export Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish (Spanish Cut), DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English (Spanish Cut)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Quite simply the most crazed and delirious film of Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy’s long career. The trouble starts when our favorite El Hombre Lobo, Waldemar Daninsky (Naschy, of course) goes to the infamous Dr Jekyll (Euro-cult fave Jack Taylor) for help ridding himself of the lycanthropy curse. Things don’t exactly go as planned. The results are some of the most bizarre and entertaining moments of the entire 70s Spanish horror boom." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Spanish Cut), 4.25/5 (Export Cut)

Here’s the information provided about the Spanish cut's transfer, "Brand new 4K restoration provided by the licensor".

Here’s the information provided about the Export cut's transfer, "It appears that Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf was released in at least 4 different versions.

The original Spanish cut, with "clothed" scenes, a version released in the U.S. with some "clothed" and some "naked" scenes, a version released in the UK with some scenes cut and a version available in Germany with all of the stronger scenes intact.

The current owner of the film only has access to the Spanish version. Despite a long search we are unable to locate usable 35mm materials for all of the cut or altered scenes. To recreate the most complete version of the film, as presented here, we had to uses a mixture of 16mm footage and clips from analogue and digital video sources of variable quality."

Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.6 GB

Feature: 18.2 GB (Spanish Cut), 13.8 GB (Export Cut)

The Spanish cut's source is in excellent shape. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. That said, this is Mondo Macabro’s best-looking Paul Naschy film transfer. The bulk of the source, the export cut, is comparable to the Spanish cut’s source, with a few moments where the quality does dip due to using lower-quality sources.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish), 4.25.5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

The Spanish cut comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish-language track. The Export cut comes with one audio option: a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Spanish language track has some instances of background hiss; both English language tracks are in better shape. That said, dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, these two tracks sound good. 

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with actor Paul Naschy titled Paul Naschy on Dr. Jekyll (18 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with Sergio Molina titled Inside Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf with Sergio Molina (22 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), a career profile of actor Jack Taylor titled Jack Taylor, Testigo Del Fantastico (31 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Jack Taylor titled Jack Taylor on "Fantaterror" (16 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Victor Matellano titled Sanatorium Leon Klimovsky, he discusses the career of director Leon Klimovsky (30 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Rodney Barnett and Troy Guinn for the Spanish cut.

Summary:

Directed by León Klimovsky, a filmmaker who frequently worked with Paul Naschy. His notable films are Werewolf Shadow, Vengeance of the Zombies, A Dragonfly for Each Corpse, and The Vampires’ Night Orgy.

The narrative revolves around a man suffering from lycanthropy whose search for a cure leads him to the grandson of Dr. Jekyll.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Paul Naschy showed a kinship for the horror genre, especially films with monsters that were clearly inspired by Universal’s classic monster films of the 1930s and 1940s. With Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf, Paul Naschy once again makes a film that is filled with familiar monsters, albeit with his own personal twist on them. Also, Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf would mark the sixth time that Paul Naschy portrayed Waldemar Daninsky, a character he would portray 12 times.

The premise—a man returning to Transylvania, the place where he was born—sets a solid foundation from which Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf builds. And though Paul Naschy does not appear until around the 18-minute mark, it is clear that his character is the protagonist. His character is given a heroic introduction when he saves a woman who is about to be raped by a gang of thieves who just killed her husband. From there, the woman quickly forgets about her dead husband and falls in love with Waldemar Daninsky. Anyone who has seen a fair number of Paul Naschy films knows that women cannot resist the characters he portrays.

As good as the entire cast in the roles, they all take a beat seat to Paul Naschy, who once again delivers an enthralling performance. His enthusiasm and affection for horror cinema make his performances all the more potent. Mirta Miller's (Eyeball) portrayal of Dr. Jekyll’s grandson’s assistant is a standout performance. Her character is devoted to Dr. Jekyll’s grandson, and when scorned, she unleashes hell. Not to be overlooked is Jack Taylor's (Succubus) portrayal of Dr. Jekyll’s grandson.

Though it is not uncommon for a Paul Naschy film to have multiple classic monsters, Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf is filled with them. Besides Waldemar Daninsky, who is a werewolf, there is a witch named Bela; Dr. Jekyll’s grandson fulfills the role of the mad scientist; and Waldemar Daninsky is also Mr. Hyde. That said, Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf is a mishmash of monsters that is melded into one cohesive thing that somehow works.

From a production standpoint, Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. The narrative’s pacing does a great job of maintaining momentum, and a superb finale provides a very satisfying coda. Also, the visuals create a lot of atmosphere, and Antón García Abril (The Tombs of the Blind Dead) delivers an exemplary score that reinforces the foreboding mood. Another area where Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf has gore effects. Ultimately, Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf is a solid entry in Paul Naschy’s Waldemar Daninsky films, and although it may not be the best film in this series, it is still in the top three.

Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf gets an exceptional release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer