Nowadays after the death of Paul Naschy suddenly his flicks are becoming available in boxes. Naschy was hated by so many people but it's typically, when you're death you become famous. And so it went for Naschy. Back in the eighties and even the nineties it was almost a conspiracy to keep Naschy as obscure as possible in the US. Been seen in so many European flicks most of them became unavailable or were even rare to find. But once the era of VHS was over slowly his flicks came out on DVD. Still, a lot aren't out but The Hunchback Of The Morgue is out there. It's notorious for one reason, animal cruelty.Coming from Spain and being featured in many Spanish flicks most of those Eurotrash flicks are badly dubbed or are out on expensive Japanese VHS releases full uncut because that's the trouble with Naschy's flicks. Being famous in Spain just like Lee in the UK or Price in the US Naschy's flicks were mostly cut due the nudity involved in his flicks. Most collectors know Naschy from his portraying of the tragic lycanthrope, Count Waldemar. Here Naschy is just a retarded hunchback searching for the girl he loves.Also out as The Rue Morgue Massacres in fact this flick has nothing to do with Poe's story. The release under that title was made by All Seasons VHS label and they just didn't care at all that Rue Morgue had nothing to do with a morgue but was a French street not even mentioned in this flick. He was just a hunchback working at a morgue. He is hated and victim of abuse and insults in his hometown but only one person understands him, a sick girl dying of TBC. He visits her every day in the hospital and brings her fresh flowers. One day he arrives when she just has died and he notices that students are trying to remove jewelery from the corpse. In a fury he kills them. The slaughtering is shown in a rather gory way with decapitation and disemboweling scenes. I was rather surprised by the way it was shown. Even intestines are shown. But the most notorious part comes a few moments later when the corpse is being attacked by rats. The rats were the real thing used in this flick but Goto (Naschy) sets them on fire. And that part made this flick famous for setting rats on fire shown in front of the camera. A thing nowadays is impossible. From there on Goto is provided shelter by a mad doctor who promise him to bring back the girl who died (Frankenstein story). From there on a monster is created with the help of corpses and living girls captured by Goto and the use of a secret lab and of course the bubbling acid bath.What's so weird is that most releases do show the rats running around being burned alive but the love scene being cut out. Be sure to catch the full uncut. Gore 2/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Paul Naschy stars in a version of Frankenstein that features a bit more gore than the original.He is a hunchback in love with a dying girl (María Elena Arpón), who is the only one who treats him decently. After her death, he enlists the help of a mad scientist that promises to reanimate her. He is, however, only interested in creating life a la Dr. Frankenstein, and has Gotho (Naschy) running all over for body parts.The film features decapitation, spilling guts, and rat scenes that are all the more creepy when you know they are real.Fans of Eurohorror will find much to enjoy here.

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!

Paul Naschy plays a hunchback morgue attendant who loves a terminally ill woman. When she dies, he takes her body to a filthy subterranean torture chamber(where rats eat away her face), and implores a nut-case scientist to resurrect her. He agrees, and the two begin an experiment which(naturally) requires various body parts(donated generously by murder victims). Said experiment yields a mushy, growling primordial entity, ever-starved for human flesh.This over-the-top cheap thrill ride plays out like a classic vintage horror melodrama, but is loaded with pretty gross gore spots. A weird and worthy slice of old-school film trash. As they say-- they sure don't make them like this anymore.5.5/10