The ninth movie in the saga of Count Waldemar Daninsky — as always played by Paul Naschy —  wasn’t released in the United States until 1985, when it was retitled from its original title, El Retorno del Hombre Lobo (The Return of the Wolfman). The last Naschy movie to play the U.S. theatrically as The Craving, it’s also been released here on DVD and Blu-ray as Night of the Werewolf.

Naschy has gone on record saying this was his favorite Hombre Lobo film and that it was a remake of his 1970 effort, La Noche de Walpurgis (Walpurgis Night).

The film opens with a brutal, atmospheric prologue set in the 16th century. Waldemar Daninsky is sentenced to death alongside a coven of witches led by the “Blood Countess” herself, Elizabeth Bathory (Julia Saly). Because Daninsky’s curse makes him virtually unkillable, the executioners resort to a multi-layered failsafe. It starts with a silver cross dagger pushed into his heart, an iron mask bolted to his skull and a subterranean tomb where his grave is hidden from anyone who wants to bring him back to life.

Fast forward to the modern era, where three female scholars arrive at the ruins of the Daninsky estate. When tomb robbers—ignoring every red flag in history—pull the silver dagger from Waldemar’s chest, they don’t just resurrect a man; they unleash the Wolfman just as Bathory’s disciples succeed in resurrecting their mistress. One of the women that Daninsky meets in our time — Karin (Azucena Hernández) — will become his great love, but if you’ve watched any Spanish werewolf movies, love is often doomed to mutual death and funeral flames.

This higher-budgeted effort — produced by Naschy’s own Dalmata Films — failed to score in foreign markets and spelled doom for the studio. That’s a true shame, as it’s probably the best-looking version of Naschy’s werewolf vision.