NaschyCast #44- DISCO ROJO (1973)

The English translation of this film's title is RED LIGHT and its a good name for this tale. Part social commentary, part crime story, part drug scare film, part action movie and in many ways an example of the darker tone 1970's cinema was taking. Of course, this is all done with a Spanish twist that makes DISCO ROJO well worth seeking out for the curious fan of movie history. And, as you might expect, its also worth seeing if you are a fan of Paul Naschy as he plays another in his long line of nasty villains here. Naschy shines as a mid-level Mafioso placed in charge of the drug distribution and gambling interests along Spain's Mediterranean coast. But the real star is the fantastic actor Antonio Vilar in the role of a crusading journalist trying to unravel the tangled threads that will lead to this criminal organization. This is an interesting and sometimes confusing crime story that owes a lot to the bigger box office hits of the day but has plenty of its own style to not come off as a retread. I just wish there were cultural subtitles as well as subtitles for the dialog! The mailbag is pretty light this month but that doesn't stop us from a few tangential discussions including the news of the Naschy, Franco and Rollin influences in a novel by Edward Lee. We also talk a bit about the upcoming remake of Larraz's VAMPYRES and a few other movies of interest to Euro-Cult fans. You can write us at naschycast@gmail.com or join us over on the FaceBook page anytime. We'd be thrilled to hear from you. And if you get the show through iTunes we'd appreciate it if you could rate and/or review us there. It helps get the word out about the show. Thanks!