The Loreley's Grasp (1976)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I'd like to start by saying that the print available from Sinister Cinema is in great shape and is in widescreen. The color is very vibrant and most of the night scenes are easy to see. I cannot imagine there ever being a better print than this. It does not have the flashing red screen warnings that are on some of the other releases of the film. That was certainly a plus, for me.The Loreley's Grasp is quite dreamlike, as are so many Euro horror films, from the time period. I enjoyed it very much, for its excesses and its simplicities. A little of the continuity is lost in the dubbing to English, but the viewer will totally understand what is happening, through the entire film. It is quite violent and should not be seen by younger viewers, without an adult first checking it out.I purchased my copy from Sinister Cinema, via Amazon. The price was $8.99 and, after viewing, I would have been happy to pay more. If you are the kind of collector who likes to make his own covers for releases like this, be prepared to have some trouble finding any decent posters or lobby cards from the film. They are out there, but it sure takes a bit of a search.This is the only film by Ossorio that I have seen, besides the Blind Dead series. I love the Blind Dead films (number 2 less than the others) and I loved The Loreley's Grasp. I will be checking out some more of Ossorio's titles, in the future.

In a small town by the Rhine river young women are being savagely butchered by having their hearts ripped out. Macho hunter Sirgurd (nicely played by the hunky Tony Kendall) is hired by the faculty of an all girls school to find and dispose of the killer, which turns out to be a lethal, but alluring sea siren of local legend called the Lorelei (exquisitely embodied by the stunningly gorgeous redhead knockout Helga Line). Director Amando De Ossorio relates the compellingly offbeat story at a steady pace, does an expert job of creating and maintaining a spooky atmosphere, and stages the brutal murder set pieces with ferocious panache. Moreover, the grimly serious tone, Miguel Fernandez Mila's striking, picturesque cinematography, the nasty'n'ugly monster, a bevy of beautiful babes (Betsabe Ruiz is especially delectable as an ill-fated bride), the breathtaking coastal scenery, Anton Garcia Abril's eerie, yet lush and melodic score, the solid acting from a capable cast (the lovely Silvia Tortosa gives a fine performance as uptight Professor Elke Ackerman while Luis Barboo essays the role of the Lorelei's sadistic guardian Alberic with fiendish relish), and plenty of grisly gore further enhance the overall sound quality of this fun and worthwhile fright feature.

Amando de Ossorio is definitely more famous for his excellent 'Blind Dead' series, and while this film is nowhere as good as that series (overall), The Lorelei's Grasp certainly has its moments and the film is mostly fun to watch, although it has to be said that it's a rather long way away from brilliant. The film is very much in the Eurohorror style; although the plot seems to take more influence from classic monster films of the UK and USA (Hammer Horror's The Reptile sprang to mind for me). The story is actually quite a good basis for a horror film and follows the idea of a beautiful woman that turns into a horrible monster known as 'The Lorelei' when the moon is full. She has been living under the Rhine in Germany for centuries, and hunting for human blood at night. However, when The Lorelei decides to kill one too many young girls at the local boarding house, the authorities decide to hire a hunter named Sirgurd to track down and kill the monster.It's obvious that this film was made with a low budget, but even so; the director manages to create a fabulous Eurohorror atmosphere, and not even the special effects are all that bad. There's a fair amount of gore, and while the monster itself looks silly - that is both to be expected, and kind of fun in its own way. The plot itself is a little choppy, and the film definitely isn't very well paced. Certain plot points seem forced, while others seem more than just a little bit silly - the section with the scientist, for example. I have to say that this film could have been better; I'd have preferred something more along the lines of a Giallo style monster movie. It's odd, considering the nature of the plot, that the film appears to be pretty much humourless; but its serious tone only really comes off as being inappropriate when it comes to actually showing the monster. Overall, The Lorelei's Grasp is a good cheesy little horror film, and comes recommended to Eurohorror fans...just don't go in expecting too much.

May contain some small spoilers.I vaguely remember the German folk story about the Siren that lures sailors to shore only kill them and take all their treasure. To say That I vaguely remember it means that I have heard of it in passing. It is an intriguing story and to make a horror movie out of it is a pretty good idea. You have all the settings for a typically frightening shock fest with intangibles like a small sleepy town located on the Rhine River. The nights are mist-filled and fog covered. And since there has been something about small ghost towns like this one that have captivated a horror audience, I have to say that this adds nicely to ambiance and potential of the film. Also typically present in this film is an all girls school that feels threatened by a murder of a young girl and needs protection from the beast that is on the prowl. In short, there are some very powerful elements working for this film and it has all the ingredients to be a great entry in the horror genre, but ultimately it falls short of achieving greatness and that has to be attributed to the flimsy story, amateur directing and a conclusion that ultimately lets you down.The english translation to this Spanish film is When The Screaming Stops, when really the film is titled Las Garras de Lorelei, which I can only assume means the legend of Lorelei or the revenge of Lorelei or something to that matter. It was wise to give it a different english name but as I stated earlier, the legend of Lorelei is a very intriguing story and it should be been better than this. As it stands, the film begins with a young woman brushing her hair, alone at night. We see a large, scaly hand envelop the screen. We hear heavy breathing and soon the creature attacks the young woman and tears her apart quite well. Blood splatters everywhere and her skin is literally excoriated, in quite a gory fashion. There is little editing here to preserve the appearance of non-violence. In other words, the Ontario Film Board has not gotten their paws of censorship into this one. Many times various other films have been hindered because the OFB has deemed the scenes too violent for our fragile little minds to embrace. And although I have to admit that my wife was looking away in disgust, I was quite impressed with the amount of gore and the quality job they did of making it seem like a heart was being ripped out and that skin was being torn from the body. So on that level the film is worth seeing. There are not many films that remain intact--from the directors view-- and straight to us. Most of the time ( take many of the later Friday the 13th's ) films are cut and then pasted back together, but not this one.Back to the story: So now the all girls school hires a hunter to hunt down this animal and to protect them. This is one of those 70's porno-girls schools where the girls don't ever go to class, get giddy at the site of a man, run around in the skimpy bikinis, laugh for absolutely no reason (all of the time) and behave like sex starved kittens from hell. The only thing we don't have in this film is lots of gratuitous sex. There is a fair bit of nudity, but only when someone is getting filleted. Now the hunter finally meets a mystery woman that shows up in strange places, first with hooded men that act as body guards and then as a half naked gorgeous looking "siren" that sits on the beach and then flees when he approaches. Soon enough she reveals to him that she is Lorelei and that she is here to eat people's hearts so that she can survive. That is all you need to know about the film because as I said, what starts out as an interesting idea is wasted by the inneptitude of all involved. The direction is amateur at best. To build tension, there is nothing but bushes that shake everytime someone is about to be mangled. There is no build up and ultimately no pay-off. You know who is going to die and by the second killing you know that you are going to see the same manner in which it is done everytime. I have seen some excellent gore in my horror days so watching eight or ten people get their hearts ripped out grows cumbersome and a little boring after the first two or three.As I said, the denouement is absurd and silly. The film could have been saved had the ending been a little better. Our fearless hunter has fallen for Lorelei's pulchritude and this has been disguised as love. And although he has to kill her, he is finding it increasingly difficult to do so, even though she has promised him a life of enslavement and the fact that she has gone onto kill a multitude of towns folk. Maybe the film can be forgiven because it is Spanish ( no disrespect to Spanish people) and maybe the whole culture and legend of Lorelei is above my comprehension, but lost in all of this is the fact that this is first and foremost a horror film and beyond the blood and gore and dripping hearts, there is nothing horrific about it.5.5 out of 10-- If you come across this film at your local video store, it may be worth a look. It is, as I said, not the greatest horror film but if you are hoping to one day make a good one, this will show you what not to do. Anyone can make a model of a human and fill it with blood and organs, but not everyone can emulate John Carpenter ( when he was making Halloween).