Hunchback of the Morgue

1975 "Beware The Hunchback! A freak of nature whose crimes go beyond your wildest terrors!"
6.1| 1h22m| R| en
Details

A hunchback working in a morgue falls in love with a sick woman. He goes berserk when she dies and seeks help from a scientist to bring her back from the dead.

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Reviews

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Konterr Brilliant and touching
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
MARIO GAUCI This popular Paul Naschy title re-unites him with the director and two cast members (Rosanna Yanni and Vic Winner) of COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE (1972); unfortunately, it proved rather a let-down – largely because of its mix of unsavory themes (including necrophilia) and extreme gore (which comes across as unintentionally amusing most of the time). As was his fashion, the writer/star tackles the tragic (but not exactly sympathetic) title role: picked on by everybody (be it village children, morgue attendants and hospital staff), he naturally develops a vindictive attitude – eventually going off his rocker when a seriously ill girl he is infatuated with dies. For obscure plot purposes, a mad scientist (Alberto Dalbes) – driven to work underground – promises to revive her for him…except that the latter's assistants, offended by the ungodly sight and stench of her corpse (having been gnawed at by rats, which Naschy furiously sets on fire in retribution), dump her in the doctor's convenient vat of sulphuric acid (but have obviously reckoned without the hunchback's wrath which comes instantaneously)! Yanni plays the heroine, a young new intern, who somehow finds the misshapen Naschy appealing (for no very good reason, though she had displayed similar traits of nymphomania in the afore-mentioned Dracula film) and also on hand is Maria Perschy (like her, Dalbes and Antonio Mayans a Jess Franco alumnus) as the head of the hospital, whose boyfriend (Winner) happens to be the mad scientist's closest collaborator! Incidentally, what the two are working on – which Dalbes claims will turn all known scientific conceptions on their heads – only becomes evident until the closing reel: the sum total of their labor (to which many a human life has been sacrificed) results in a gigantic slimy creature(?!) not unlike the Swamp Thing of Wes Craven's eponymous 1982 release. As I said at the beginning, the film is generally too grim and the atmosphere too sordid to be readily enjoyed, what with dissections, beheadings, disembowelments, and even a couple of charred, half-dead characters – tied to one another but somehow still standing and able to walk!
Witchfinder General 666 Is "The Hunchback of the Morgue" the greatest film of Spanish Exploitation icon Paul Naschy? One of the greatest without a doubt, and probably my personal favorite, as this highly atmospheric, creepy and incredibly entertaining Gothic gem unites all qualities that we love about Naschy flicks. Personally, I've been a fan of the prolific Spanish Horror deity for years, and while most of his films don't usually qualify as 'good', they are usually immensely entertaining. Javier Aguirre's "El Jorobado De La Morgue" aka. "The Hunchback of the Morgue" of 1973 was a fantastic surprise to me, as this wonderful little film is both entertaining in the typical Naschy-manner, AND an actually very good film of its own right. One of the great aspects about Naschy flicks is that they usually unite the creepy mood and settings of atmospheric Gothic tales with typical exploitation qualities such as gore and sleaze, and, out of all his films I've seen, this one is the greatest example for that. My admiration for "The Hunchback of the Morgue" may seem exaggerated to some, for a film like this that is doubtlessly not flawless. It is, however, a rare film that is so successful in creating a rich and genuinely creepy atmosphere, the intriguing storyline of a classic Horror tale and typical exploitation qualities from an obviously low budget as this one does."The Hunchback of the Morgue" terrifically narrates a traditional Horror story in the delightful form of a Creepy and quite gory Naschyesque Gothic Exploitation flick. In classic Horror tradition, the eponymous hunchback Gotho (Naschy) is a murderous yet tragic, pitiable and almost likable character. A man of low intelligence and ugly appearance, Gotho, who works at the morgue, is despised by most people, except the beautiful Ilse (María Elena Arpón). Driven by his immortal love to this terminally ill beauty, Gotho responds to kindness with kindness, to humiliation with murderous violence. The obsessed scientist Dr. Orla (Alberto Dalbes) decides to use the hunchback for his sinister goals... No role has ever suited Paul Naschy better than that of the eponymous hunchback Gotho. Naschy seems predestined to play morgue employees and gravediggers - in the runner-up on the list of my favorite Naschy-films, "La Orgia De Los Muertos" from the same year, he plays a deranged gravedigger. The role of Gotho here is, in my opinion, the greatest he ever played, since he is truly deranged, yet at the same time pitiable and even likable. Jess Franco flick regular Alberto Dalbés is great in the role of the unscrupulous scientist. The supporting performances are actually also very good for a film of the kind. The ravishing Rosanna Yanni is sexy and lovable in the role of Elke, a woman who, unlike others, treats the hunchback with kindness. The film is terrifically shot in the great setting of a small town in the mountains (in the film, the name is "Feldkirch", but I don't think it is meant to be the town of the same name in my home country Austria). Settings like old houses, dark alleys, castle ruins, subterranean crypts and secret passages give the film a great Gothic mood, which is increased by a very good cinematography and score. The gore is pretty intense, with some truly gruesome scenes. The film isn't actually very sleazy, nudity occurs only once, briefly, by Rosanna Yanni (***drool***). It is undeniable that the plot has holes and sometimes lacks logic - but that has to be expected in a Naschy flick. Overall, "The Hunchback of the Morgue" is, in my opinion, the Naschy film that has the greatest storyline AND the most intense atmosphere. The mood often resembles the style of other Gothic films, such as those by the British Hammer Studios, but, again, with a typically Spanish touch. All things considered, "The Hunchback of the Morgue" is my personal favorite Paul Naschy film, and also one of the most outrageously enjoyable Spanish Gothic Horror productions from the early 70s. No true lover of cult-cinema should miss it!
matt zodiac Paul Naschy is great in this gory and old-fashioned horror flick. He plays the soft-spoken and (initially) gentle morgue attendant who is in love with a terminally ill patient in the hospital. She is the only person in the hospital who is nice to him, and he brings her flowers every day until she inevitably dies, and ends up in the morgue. Naschy loses it, and takes her corpse into a hidden cave. Once a mad doctor discovers Naschy's secret, he blackmails him into supplying bodies for his ghoulish experiments. This film is imaginative and fun. In one scene, Naschy is attacked by lots of (real) rats. There's plenty of gore too, and the ending is outrageous.
floyd-27 This was a great little flick. Paul Naschy (Spanish answer to Lon Chaney) puts in a very convincing role as a hunchbacked morgue attendant. The story was nice and strong with relatively believable acting, to a small degree.The violence also was'nt that bad either. All you gore mongers should take note of this small fact.The only real downer was that damn stock music! It just churned out, over, and over... I was just about ready to scream after hearing the same piece for the 50th time