Human Beasts

Director - Paul Naschy (The Night of the Executioner, The Beast and the Magic Sword)
Starring - Paul Naschy, Eiko Nagashima (Battle Anthem, Moon Angel), and Lautaro Murua (The Plague, Poor Butterfly)
Release Date - 1980
Genre - Horror/Crime
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Horror Rises from the Tomb and Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll stand out as my favorite Naschy films so far but I still have two more films in this box set.  The titles alone are enough for me to know that I am really going to enjoy myself.  The next film in the set is the 1980 Paul Naschy directed horror crime film Human Beasts which is more commonly known as The Beasts' Carnival.  This was another new watch for me but if it was anything like HRftT or BEofBD then I knew I would enjoy myself.  I once again want to thank Scream Factory for sending this one over for review.  I really appreciate it.

      The film follows hit man Bruno (Naschy) who takes on a contract to steal a package from a heavily guarded man.  He is able to do so but once he realizes it is full of diamonds he turns on his employers and flees through the woods but not before sustaining some gunshot wounds.  He is able to fight off his attackers enough to flee before passing out.  He is found by a doctor who lives nearby and takes him home where he, and his two daughters, nurse him back to health.  The daughters both find him attractive which causes a ripple between them.  When he finally wakes he divides his attention between the two lovely women before he is forced to protect himself from those seeking the diamonds.

     This film is a hard one to swallow as a horror movie.  It has some horror elements and a couple cool "what the fuck" moments but the movie is more like a gritty crime thriller.  With that being said, this may be my favorite Naschy film to date and reason enough to own this set.  It wasn't flashy, gory, or did anything new but it do everything right!  The acting in this one is damn near perfect.  Naschy takes on just one but damn does her do it flawlessly.  The film starts out with him portraying a hard ass gunslinger who kills on a whim and is after the bottom dollar.  We then see him succumb to his wounds and we see his character in a different light.  He does a great job.  His supporting cast is just as fantastic.  We get some beautiful women that are extremely talented on screen and several characters that stand out.  More than any other Naschy film that I have seen.  The story for this one is more crime thriller than horror but there is several moments throughout where you know its a Naschy movie.  The film begins with some solid action and a little espionage before we move into a game of cat and mouse and end with a fight for survival.  The film does randomly toss in elements of horror here and there but they definitely take the back seat to the hit man's story.  The film does experience some slow periods before moving on to more story oriented scenes.  Finally, this film is bloody and offers up a few memorable deaths but the practical effects fall apart due to the type of kills these are.  I won't go into further detail on that because they are very entertaining and some will even catch you off guard.  The kills are really fun but it is because of these kills and how they are films is why the effects are limited.  Overall, Human Beasts is a fantastic Naschy film.  Horror fans may not be completely sold on it but fans of exploitation and gritty cinema will appreciate it.  Check it out.