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Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

jadavix Paul Marnac, descendant of the 16th century warlock Alaric de Marnac, takes his sick wife back to his family home where she will be looked after by two maids in the family's employ: one, old and faithful, the other, young and beautiful.Before the married couple even arrive at the house events transpire to threaten the wife's fragile health. There is an attempted robbery on the road, thwarted by the powerfully-built husband, but when the pair arrive at the de Marnac family estate rather than quieting down things take a turn for the bizarre and the gruesome.This is a delightful Naschy horror romp in which the character of Alaric de Marnac makes his second and only appearance after the classic Horror Rises From the Tomb. Naschy keeps you guessing with constant surprises as the supernatural aspect of the story, generally a Naschy mainstay, is played down in favour of good old fashioned human iniquity. Indeed, the story makes you wish Alaric de Marnac could have made further appearances, but this was the last we ever saw of the character.

ferbs54 The character of necromancer/Satanist Alaric de Marnac was first introduced by screenwriter Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy) in Carlos Aured's 1973 film "Horror Rises From the Tomb," with Naschy playing both Alaric and his hapless descendant of five centuries later. A decade would pass before Naschy, now director as well as scripter, would revisit the character in "Panic Beats," but with some changes in Alaric's biography. Whereas in the first film he had been beheaded in 1454 by his own brother (and stayed dead...until modern times, at least), in the latter, he is said to have died in 1565, a ghostly figure who would return every 100 years to take vengeance on all cuckolding de Marnac women. In "Panic Beats," Naschy the actor does double duty again, playing the demon and his descendant. In modern-day Paris, we meet Paul, an architect who is having major-league women problems. His wife, Genevieve (played by Julia Saly, a beautiful actress who resembles the young Eleanor Parker), has such severe heart troubles that he is compelled to bring her to his ancestral estate in the country for a rest cure. His mistress, Mireille (the luscious Silvia Miro), is putting all sorts of pressure on him. And once ensconced in his country estate, he falls hard for the charms of the housekeeper's niece, Julie (gorgeous Pat Ondiviela). And then the murderous fun begins....More a companion piece than a sequel, "Panic Beats" features, by necessity, all-new characters (virtually no one survived the carnage of "Horror Rises"!) and is a truly wild ride. Naschy, an admitted fan of the Universal horror films of the '30s and '40s, has obviously taken in many other scary pictures over the years as well, as "PB" brings to mind, in sections, such wonderful classics as "Gaslight," "The Spiral Staircase," "House on Haunted Hill," "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and, of course, "Diabolique," to which he adds black-gloved giallo elements AND the supernatural. But the point at which Clouzot's "Diabolique" ends is just the halfway point for this truly remarkable film, which, for this viewer, is superior to the initial Alaric outing. Naschy does a wonderful job behind the camera, the production values are very high, the acting is superb across the board (indeed, Julia Saly's death scene is one of the most convincing I've ever witnessed), and the shocks and surprises just keep coming. This is the type of film in which virtually every character is either plotting against someone or being plotted against, and, as in the first film, the body count is extremely high; practically total. And if some sections are a tad predictable, watching the picture go through its paces still remains great fun. What's more, this Mondo Macabro DVD looks just fantastic, and is packed, as usual, with extras. In one, the late Naschy is interviewed and exhibits a remarkable memory and pleasingly self-effacing demeanor; an enormously likable gentleman. Bottom line: All horror fans should certainly pounce on this one. And, oh: The film's best line belongs to Ms. Ondiviela, when she chucks that space heater! Look out!

Lee Eisenberg Having seen a number of the late Paul Naschy's flicks, I expected "Latidos de pánico" ("Panic Beats" in English) to have no shortage of gore. It didn't disappoint. I also knew in advance that this is one of the movies in which Paul Naschy - whose real name was Jacinto Molina - does not play werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. The plot has a man and his infirm wife moving to his childhood estate, which was also the residence of his bloodthirsty ancestor. There is a legend that his ancestor rises from the dead to get revenge on anyone who wrongs his descendants. When mysterious things start happening at the estate, the wife begins wondering if the legend is true.I do prefer the movies in which Naschy grows fur and fangs, but this one was still cool. There's plenty of nudity, and even a see-through nightgown! There was something else. Usually I think that Paul Naschy resembles Quentin Tarantino. In most of this movie he did, but while wearing a hat, he looked like Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", and in the photo he looked like John Belushi in "Animal House". And this is in a horror flick! Anyway, it's some real fun. In the first scene with the snake, I blurted out "I've had it with these mother***king snakes on this mother***king grave!" PS: It's too bad that Paul Naschy never collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar on a movie. THAT would have been something cool! Probably a story of a werewolf having to deal with a damaged relationship.

Coventry Paul Naschy was quite an important contributor to the industry of European horror films, and I'm an unusually big fan of his work and persona, but he undeniably never accomplished anything major or classic during all his years of film-making. The titles in his repertoire provide large portions of gore and sleaze (thumbs up for that!) but his screenplays are generally uninspired and too often revert to the same old and repetitive basic premise. Apparently, Mr. Naschy just loves to play his own descendant in stories that revolve on ancient folklore legends and family curses. The entire "Hombre Lobo" cycle is based on this principle as well. "Panic Beats" is sort of like a re-telling of Naschy's earlier film "Horror Rises from the Tomb", as both films feature a murderously mad 16th Century knight - Alaric de Marnac - who supposedly returns from the grave to slay unfaithful women. In this film, 20th Century sleaze-ball Paul uses the petrifying myth to scare his wife to death, inherit her family fortune and marry a young & viral beauty. But, unfortunately for Paul, there's a lot more treason going on behind his back and he also never took into consideration that the myth of his malevolent ancestor might have some truth in it. The plot of "Panic Beats" is overall very dull and it doesn't feature a single story-element or twist that you can't see coming from several miles away. Every dire cliché and stereotype you can think of regarding isolated country mansions and medieval curses is predictably processed into the script, including the loyal old servant and the knight's armor that seemingly moves all by itself. But hey, as usual it was the high gore & sleaze factor that eventually convinced me to reward "Panic Beats" with a positive rating after all. There are a handful of truly nasty murders, committed with axes and other typically medieval armory. Beautiful feminine nudity is provided by luscious women such as Silvia Miró and Paquita Ondiviela, who both go full frontal without hesitating. I just wished Paul Naschy didn't insist on showing so much of his own naked and unusually hairy torso. Oh well … Recommended to all fans of trashy euro-horror, and the Mondo Macabro DVD is a real treat full of phenomenal extras!