Director: Paul Naschy
Year: 1980
Country: Spain/Japan
Alternate Titles: El carnaval de las bestias; The Beasts' Carnival; Cannibal Killers - Human Beast
Genre: Psychological
Plot:
Hired for a diamond-smuggling raid, a mercenary double-crosses everyone and steals the diamonds forcing his employers to go on a massive worldwide search to get revenge, but when she finds him recuperating at a remote Spanish mansion finds something far darker with the houses' inhabitants.
Review:
This was a decent enough departure from the norm. Among the film’s bright spots is the fact that it manages to bring together plenty of seemingly disparate elements into an enjoyable and unique effort. That the first half here plays as a straightforward action film, from the stolen jewels and his eventual double-cross and then being chased down by the remaining agents which is all loaded with explosive gunfights and fun chasing. The chase through the woods is also quite thrilling, and as it leads into the arrival at the house in the company of the family living alone which is where the recuperation comes into play. Giving the film some fine exploitation sleaze with the seduction of each daughter the very moment he comes to them in need of repair, it’s a solid backbone to base the start of this one on.
From there, the film’s mixture of crime and action gives way to more traditional horror features. Although they come into the film quite late, there’s plenty of striking and somewhat haunting images present here, from the deranged dream of the two being chased through a vineyard only for the hands of the dead to break free and grab him around the ankles. As well, the fleeting images of the ghostly interloper who keeps appearing around the house also gives this one a really shocking streak, and when intercut with the stylish slasher scenes of a figure cutting up various interlopers around the house for some fine gore scenes, there’s a lot to really like here.
The film does have several big problems with this one. The first issue is that there’s plenty of padding that doesn’t go anywhere or do anything but run out the film’s length. The sappy romantic sequences of their romance carried out in flashbacks are undeniably cheesy, especially with their being shot in a different filter that adds a hazy, dream-like tone and feels which are rather distracting. Since they’re frequently placed throughout the film, that they come up when least expected, requiring the film to stop in its tracks and go back on a relationship in the past we don’t care about really halts the pacing here.
That also has the unfortunate effect of halting the pacing to the point that there’s very little actual horror until so late in the running time that it’s not really interesting in the slightest until then. By favoring the recuperation aspects so prominently, the film overlooked the need to inject some more horror along the way resulting in some absolutely banal and lifeless moments along the way. Although there’s a lot of kinky happenings to try to keep the attention during these moments, it’s all for naught as the dragged out and lethargic tempo is rarely appealing until the finale. Otherwise, there isn’t much else really wrong here.
Overview: ***/5
Despite some slip-ups here and there, this one manages to get enough to like that there's enough to enjoy over those minor detrimental areas that hold it down. Give it a look if you're interested in the material or a fan of the creative crew, while those that don't enjoy this type of psychological genre effort should heed caution.
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