THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS (1961)
Article #392 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 4-11-2002
Posting date: 9-4-2002

The blood-sucking vampire Nostradamus pits himself against a doctor intent on destroying him.

The Nostradamus in this series of movies was not the man who made predictions of the future; he is a vampire who announces who his next victims will be and dares his archenemy to stop him.

The four movies were built from episodes of a Mexican serial, and this is the fourth of the four. It has the advantage of actually having an ending that isn’t ambiguous, as the other three do. These movies certainly don’t have much of a reputation; the awful dubbing certainly has something to do with it, especially in the case of the Hunchback named Leo, who sounds a little too close to Goofy for his own good. Being episodes of a serial strung together in a feature is also not a strength; it’s always a good idea to remind yourself that you’re watching a serial rather than a complete movie. Still, if you get past these barriers, it’s not too bad; the characters are more interesting than you expect, and Nostradamus (German Robles) is unexpectedly vulnerable at times. Still, if you decide to watch the series as a whole, this one isn’t the place to start, as there are several plot points that you won’t be privy to; the order of the movies is CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS, THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER, THE GENIE OF DARKNESS and this one. Give the series a little patience, and it just may grow on you.