The Werewolf vs The Vampire Woman (1971)

 

La Noche de Walpurgis (translated as Walpurgis Night) is a 1971 Spanish horror movie starring Paul Naschy that is the fourth in a series about the werewolf Count Waldemar Daninsky. The film was directed by León Klimovsky and written by Naschy and Hans Munkel.

 

The film has been issued in many different versions, and is also known as Werewolf Shadow, Blood

Moon, and The Werewolf Vs. Vampire Woman.

   

 >>Plot: The corpse of Waldemar Daninsky [Paul Naschy] bears the mark of the werewolf (a pentagram on his chest), so two disbelieving coroners remove the silver bullets to prove to themselves that there are no such things as werewolves. Of course, the werewolf is immediately revived and kills the two coroners on his way out the door.

 

Back in Paris, college students Elvira [Gaby Fuchs] and Genevieve [Barbara Capell] are completing their "final thesis." They've tracked down the tomb of the a 15th century Countess Wandessa d'Arville de Nadasdy, a supposed witch and vampire. The Countess's tomb is said to lie near a small village somewhere in northern France, so the girls load up their car and go in search of the place. Short on gas, daylight, and directions, however, they accept an invitation to stay at the rustic (meaning 'no lights, no phone, no motorcar') countryhouse of writer Waldemar Daninsky. Over a dinner of cold cuts and wine, Waldemar reveals that he's writing a book about the history of gothic churches and monuments, but he falls silent when Elvira mentions her search for Wandessa.

 

The girls retire for the night, but Elvira is awakened from her sleep when Waldemar's sister Elizabeth [Yelena Samarina] steals into the room, feels her up, attempts to strangle her, and warns her to leave before the night of the full moon. The next morning, Waldemar explains to Elvira that Elizabeth lost her mental stability after the death of their father but that she is harmless. Meanwhile, Genevieve explores the manor and comes across a shack with blood on the walls and shackles hanging from the ceiling. Then Genevieve is attacked by Elizabeth, but Waldemar explains that the shackles are used to hang game, so the girls decide to remain. In private, Waldemar warns Elizabeth to leave the girls alone because they are his "last hope." Armed with papers, documents, and maps, Elvira, Genevieve, and Waldemar go in search of Wandessa's tomb. They find and open it uneventfully but Genevieve cuts her arm when she pulls the silver Mayenza cross from the chest of Wandessa's cadaver, and some of Genevieve's blood drips on Wandessa's lips. Later that evening, of course, Wandessa [Patty Shepard] rises from her coffin and calls Genevieve to join her in the garden where she wets her whistle on Genevieve's blood and returns later for a nightcap on Elizabeth. Genevieve, now a vampire, pops in for a bite on Elvira, but Waldemar chases her away with the Mayenza cross. With Genevieve and Elizabeth out of the way, Elvira confesses her love for Waldemar (forgetting Marcel, her policeman boyfriend back in Paris), and the two vow to fight Wandessa together, although Waldemar must first take "certain precautions" to ensure Elvira's safety because tonight is a full moon. Waldemar wants Elvira to take the cross and spend the night in the village, safely locked in a lodge there. 

Elvira goes to the village. The full moon rises. Waldemar turns into a werewolf and kills a camper. The next morning, Elvira finds Waldemar wandering about in tattered clothes, so he tells her how he became a werewolf while exploring Tibet and how Elizabeth would chain him to a wall during full moons. Only being stabbed in the heart with the Mayenza cross by someone who loves him will release him from the curse. But first things first. First, they have to destroy Wandessa. While Waldemar is out hunting for her hiding place, Genevieve sates her thirst on Elvira. Waldemar doesn't find Wandessa, but he does run into Genevieve and destroys her, which releases Elvira and heals the bite marks on her neck. Because it's another full moon tonight, Elvira places Waldemar in shackles, but he escapes just in time to save Elvira from being assaulted by Pierre [José Marco], the handyman.  

 The next morning, while Elvira is in bed with Waldemar, her Parisien lover Marcel [Andres Resino] drives into town. He starts asking around about Elvira's whereabouts and hears strange stories about Waldemar Daninsky, black magic, vampires, and young girls dying. Marcel finally gets a lead from Pierre's old girlfriend and decides to pay Waldemar a visit. When Marcel shows up at Waldemar's house, Elvira greets him with a less than exuberant kiss, and Marcel realizes that something is going on between Elvira and Waldemar. Marcel threatens to launch a fullscale investigation into the rumors surrounding Waldemar, so Waldemar talks Elvira into leaving with Marcel. Tonight is Walpurgisnacht, the night when Satan rules the earth and Wandessa will have all her powers. Thinking Elvira safe, Waldemar steps up his search for Wandessa. However, Wandessa is holding Marcel and Elvira in her lair while she prepares to make Elvira a blood sacrifice to her Lord and Master, Satan. Just as Wandessa is about to plunge the knife into Elvira, however, Waldemar wanders in and rescues Elvira. But the full moon is on the rise, and Waldemar transforms into a werewolf. As Elvira and Marcel watch, vampire and werewolf battle it out. The werewolf ultimately reduces the vampire to a bony shroud crawling with waxworms. Elvira suddenly grabs the Mayenza cross and, with all the love in her heart, plunges it into the werewolf's heart. The werewolf turns back into Waldemar, and Elvira and Marcel leave the tomb with their arms around each other.