Horror Rises from the Tomb

Paul Naschy plays a medieval warlock, beheaded for his crimes, whose severed head is revived centuries later to possess his descendant and resume his reign of terror. Naschy, naturally, also plays the descendant, and wrote the whole thing himself. It is one of his most atmospheric and blood-soaked vehicles.

The disembodied-head-directing-evil premise is pure gothic pulp, and Naschy commits to it completely, doubling as hero and villain. The Spanish countryside stands in for a suitably doomy nowhere.

Naschy at his most enjoyable, and a good example of the fantaterror boom.