Spanish-born actor German Robles debuted on screen wearing the fangs of Count Lavud in "El Vampiro" and "El Ataud del Vampiro" in 1957, clean shaven and wearing a Lugosi tuxedo, going on to do a series of 1959 features as the son of the legendary French prophet and astrologer Nostradamus who died in 1566, here depicted as an alchemist and practitioner of the undead. How the family branched off into Mexico for "The Curse of Nostradamus" ("La Maldicion de Nostradamus") is never explained, setting up the entire series by having this descendant prove his supernatural powers to a professional skeptic who refuses to reveal the truth to his association of non believers. Like his predecessor, this bearded Nostradamus is prone to making predictions, usually carrying out the sentence of death on each victim himself, only met with opposition when he threatens the professor's daughter. Robles lamented how the producers and director Federico Curiel ran a scam on the studio by claiming to be making a 12 part serial (usually reserved for television not movies), thereby depriving him of greater revenue, never again donning the fangs once the new decade dawned on his vampire persona. "Curse" concluded with Nostradamus buried under an avalanche of rubble when platinum bullets don't seem to hit their target; second entry "The Monsters Demolisher" ("Nostradamus y el Destructor de Monstruos") continues along the same vein, the main set of characters the same in all four, Robles himself looking more imposing in mustache and goatee but still lacking in actual screen time. Domingo Soler is the elderly professor, Aurora Alvarado his pretty daughter, Julio Aleman his younger assistant, now so convinced of the vampire's existence that he decides to resign from the own association as they stubbornly cling to the notion that there are no such things. Two school boys playing hooky discover the buried body of Nostradamus and are chased away by his hunchback slave, dubbed with the most foolish voice imaginable, proving as much a bungler as his master in failing to kidnap the professor's daughter (too heavy to run with, one supposes). As for the plot, Nostradamus only targets a pair of would be victims in this one, a young boy who actually emerges unscathed, and a convicted murderer set to hang at dawn, only to attack two medical students/body snatchers at the morgue in the picture's most effective sequence (each pistol shot producing another hole in the undead killer's chest). A new character then shows himself, Jack Taylor as Igor, whose family has been dispatching vampires since the 13th century, using mirrors to pinpoint their location. After the second student prefers to jump to his death in the presence of the new vampire, Igor and his allies find his hidden crypt and drive a sword through his heart, which also sends Nostradamus falling over in what appears to be a similar fate (hardly, with two more sequels to follow). It's definitely a surprise to find the 23 year old Taylor making his horror debut south of the border, Oregon-born yet working almost exclusively overseas, relocating from Mexico to Spain where he became a staple of early 70s horror in such Paul Naschy titles as "Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf" and "The Mummy's Revenge," Amando De Ossorio's "The Night of the Sorcerers," or Jess Franco's "Count Dracula" opposite Christopher Lee. Director Federico Curiel went on to do over 70 features in 25 years, including a number of Santo films plus two with John Carradine, "Las Vampiras" and "Enigma de Muerte."
6 Reviews
Sounds like a job description
evilskip13 March 2001
Warning: Spoilers
POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING FOR A PREVIOUS MOVIE!The Monsters Demolisher is in fact a continuation of the Curse Of Nostradamus serial.It picks up immediately where Curse left off or abruptly ended, take your pick.The vampire Nostradamus was rescued by his stupid hunchback henchman, Leo.
Professor Dolan is under siege by his Society For The Abolishment Of Superstition.He is trying to warn folks about Nostradamus and they feel he has been playing with recreational chemicals.The vampire warns Dolan that he will kill a child and a man sentenced to die.As usual, Dolan screws up royally and everybody dies.
The professor and his assistant Tony are joined by vampire hunter Igor.A good guy named Igor and a bad guy named Leo?Igor has been the life long nemesis of Nostradamus and is immune to vampiric attacks.Will Igor and the professor finally triumph over Nostradamus? Stay tuned....
Professor Dolan is under siege by his Society For The Abolishment Of Superstition.He is trying to warn folks about Nostradamus and they feel he has been playing with recreational chemicals.The vampire warns Dolan that he will kill a child and a man sentenced to die.As usual, Dolan screws up royally and everybody dies.
The professor and his assistant Tony are joined by vampire hunter Igor.A good guy named Igor and a bad guy named Leo?Igor has been the life long nemesis of Nostradamus and is immune to vampiric attacks.Will Igor and the professor finally triumph over Nostradamus? Stay tuned....
Choppy, and for good reason
Leofwine_draca1 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
THE MONSTER'S DEMOLISHER is one of a four-part film series of Mexican horror flicks about a descendant of Nostradamus, not only given to prognostication but a member of the undead to boot. This one is the second instalment and if it seems rather choppy that's because it was taken from a 12 part serial, chopped down and then redubbed for US television by the hard-working K. Gordon Murray, who never saw a slice of south-of-the-border horror that he didn't want to dub over with annoying English speakers. This film starts with Nostradamus being hastily resurrected before battling with a vampire hunter called Igor (!), played by the hard-working Jack Taylor. Federico Curiel, who directed tons of similar fare over the years, works hard on an admittedly low budget, with a few good and spooky sets, a Universal-style hunchback assistant, and some snippets of atmosphere here and there. The special effects and action scenes are limited, but there are a few choice moments including a fun vampire-vs-bullet showdown.
Part two
BandSAboutMovies6 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
In the second film of this series - originally as 12-part movie serial - the professor finds that he must admit that the undead walk the Earth. He joins with a vampire hunter to stop Nostradamus, who is the son of one of the most powerful bloodsuckers of all time.
Nostradamus takes his evil even further by basically explaining to both of them how if they don't stop him, he'll make the world an even worse place. To prove his heart is in the wrong place, he also kidnaps several children and repeatedly places them in danger.
The vampire hunter Igor is played by Jack Taylor, whose career may have started in American television, but would take him all over the world. Of course, most of his roles have been in the kind of movies that only I would care about, like Mexican vampire movies, Jess Franco sleaze (Eugenie, Succubus, Count Dracula), Spanish horror (Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf, The Killer Is One of 13, The Ghost Galleon, The Vampires Night Orgy) and appearances as a priest in Conan the Barbarian, as Professor Arthur Brown in Pieces and as book collector Victor Fargas in The Ninth Gate.
Perhaps most famously in the United States, this movie ran out of sequence as an April Fool's Selection on the USA Network's Commander USA's Groovie Movies. Seeing as how that episode aired on April 4th, I find it even more amusing.
Nostradamus takes his evil even further by basically explaining to both of them how if they don't stop him, he'll make the world an even worse place. To prove his heart is in the wrong place, he also kidnaps several children and repeatedly places them in danger.
The vampire hunter Igor is played by Jack Taylor, whose career may have started in American television, but would take him all over the world. Of course, most of his roles have been in the kind of movies that only I would care about, like Mexican vampire movies, Jess Franco sleaze (Eugenie, Succubus, Count Dracula), Spanish horror (Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf, The Killer Is One of 13, The Ghost Galleon, The Vampires Night Orgy) and appearances as a priest in Conan the Barbarian, as Professor Arthur Brown in Pieces and as book collector Victor Fargas in The Ninth Gate.
Perhaps most famously in the United States, this movie ran out of sequence as an April Fool's Selection on the USA Network's Commander USA's Groovie Movies. Seeing as how that episode aired on April 4th, I find it even more amusing.
The series gets better..spoilers
newportbosco19 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The 2nd movie of 12 serials edited into 4 features, but you already know that. The plot continues pretty much as before, but for whatever reason, the music seems a bit more atmospheric this time..there are a couple of moments of legit horror this go round, the execution and the kids being chased by Leo are two that come to mind. The kids are not main characters, so are in fact, expendable, and you are NOT sure if both, or either of them are gonna get it..besides, they were cutting class, so getting caught by a hunchback just might SERVE THEM RIGHT. Nostradamus has picked up a bit of gravitas somewhere between the first and second film, and the scene where the stiff SPRINGS off the slab in the morgue is pretty good by early sixties standards. If anything, the dialog dubbed in from SOUNDLAB is funnier then the first, and overall there are enough moments of sheer lunacy to qualify this with the best of Murray's imports...
Entertaining without previous-entry viewing
kannibalcorpsegrinder27 August 2012
A resurrected vampire taunts a vampire hunter with premonitions of his future deeds daring him to both stop his actions as well as rescue several children held in his possession.
Not all that bad of an entry, but seeing as how this belongs into a series of films of which this is the second entry makes the story a little weird to follow, as it both starts off in the middle of an action scene and ends with a cliffhanger to set up the next one, so it's a bit confusing to make sense of it all what with his motivations being somewhat clouded and the film centering more on everyone talking about trying to stop him rather than springing to action so it's a bit of a lag in the middle segments. Even still, the Gothic castle where he hides out is really atmospheric, it allows for some nice suspenseful stalking scenes as a hunchback chases the escaping kids through the catacombs of the basement and the scenes in the morgue with the reviving victim are pretty chilling. All in all, it's not a bad entry.
Today's Rating/PG: Violence and children-in-jeopardy
Not all that bad of an entry, but seeing as how this belongs into a series of films of which this is the second entry makes the story a little weird to follow, as it both starts off in the middle of an action scene and ends with a cliffhanger to set up the next one, so it's a bit confusing to make sense of it all what with his motivations being somewhat clouded and the film centering more on everyone talking about trying to stop him rather than springing to action so it's a bit of a lag in the middle segments. Even still, the Gothic castle where he hides out is really atmospheric, it allows for some nice suspenseful stalking scenes as a hunchback chases the escaping kids through the catacombs of the basement and the scenes in the morgue with the reviving victim are pretty chilling. All in all, it's not a bad entry.
Today's Rating/PG: Violence and children-in-jeopardy
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