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Hunchback Of The Morgue
[Mya]
1973; color
Directed by Javier Aguirre
Starring: Paul Naschy, Rosanna Yanni, Víctor Alcázar, María Elena Arpón, Manuel de Blas & Antonio Pica
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Part gothic romance, part gory horror flick, part regular ol' '70s era Eurotrash (which is anything but regular by Hollywood standards); at the risk of making an obvious statement, Hunchback Of The Morgue is one kooky movie! Of course, I could - and likely would - make the same assertion even if the entire film consisted of the scene where our hunchbacked hero fights off a rogue group of leaping rats he finds gnawing on the face of his recently deceased lady friend by setting them on fire. (According to some stuff I read on ye olde internet, unlike today's filmmakers who spend their time off set kissing PETA's ass, Aguirre & co. didn't think twice about harming animals while making this film; or at least setting rats on fire for the sake of art. A rumor I totally believe. Because, you know, who likes rats anyway?) But, as usual, I'm getting way ahead of myself. As you may imagine, the story revolves around a fellow with a hunched back who works in a morgue. As if that's not bad enough, in addition to the day to day anguish of his physical deformities and depressing job, Gotho - played with typical aplomb by BMB fave Paul Naschy (RIP) - also must suffer the indignities of being scorned and set upon by the local townsfolk on a seemingly daily basis, especially the men and children. Before you start up a full on pity party on his behalf though, there is one bright light in Gotho's otherwise grim existence as it would seem what the cruel drunken men and cruel presumed sober children don't know the lovely lusty ladies of the village totally understand. Well... I suppose the options for the terminally ill chick who becomes his live-in girlfriend after she passes are pretty limited, but the hot blond doctor could have easily found a more appropriate match, both in the looks and status department, and still inexplicably volunteers to sexually soothe Gotho's savage beast. Again, I digress but I think you can see how, just between the flying flaming rats and the girl-on-hunchback sex, it's easy to get distracted by one particular scene or another with a flick like this. Fortunately, to that end there is oh so much more to see and be seen before we get closure on this odd anecdote so I haven't really spoiled anything for you. (Plus any Naschy fans in the audience probably stopped reading this a few sentences ago to go rent or buy it.) Just in case you were wondering though, other highlights include but are not limited to multiple fight scenes where Naschy kicks the ass of many a non-deformed man; a fair amount of goopy red stuff; one really great beheading; a crazy doctor who has an acid pit in his underground lair and collects body parts in a jar; oh, and wait 'til you see what happens to the contents of the jar! Needless to say, highly recommended.
—Bunny
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