By 1980, Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy was not only writing the screenplays for his starring vehicles, but directing them as well, always assuring himself an interesting character to play with at least several attractive leading ladies to shack up with. HUMAN BEASTS (aka “El Carnaval de las bestias”) is no exception, with Naschy this time out portraying a hitman who encounters many an oddball situation. HUMAN BEASTS marks a first in Naschy filmdom, as it's a co-production with Japan.

Mercenary (Bruno Rivera) plans to steal some valuable diamonds in an agreement made with his Japanese lover Meiko (Eiko Nagashima), who is involved with organized crime. After gunning down passengers of a car escorting the jewels along a deserted road, Bruno double crosses Meiko and her brother, who then vow to track him down and kill him, wherever he may be. The hunt for Bruno is unsuccessful, and he offs Meiko’s brother in the process. Badly wounded, Bruno ends up in the welcomed home of a rich doctor (Lautaro Murúa), who lives with his two beautiful daughters (Silvia Aguilar and Azucena Hernández). The family takes good care of him, but Bruno is victim to strange fever dreams, visits from a ghost-like entity, and he endures the almost “human” sound of pigs being slaughtered for an upcoming celebration.

HUMAN BEASTS is a really gonzo effort for Naschy, part action, part horror, and pretty sleazy all around. It’s not his best effort, but it’s certainly watchable, mainly because of his assuring presence. As Mirek Lipinski points out in the liner notes, it’s not unlike the earlier effort BLUES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (aka HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN), as Naschy again plays a loner criminal who ends up in a house (the same one used in the aforementioned film) inhabited by attractive females who vie for his attentions with their sexuality. The character of Bruno is an odd one, being a ruthless bastard for most of the first act, and then becoming more agreeable and compassionate when it appears that the tables have been turned on him. It’s amusing to the see the man donning a hairpiece which looks like it was stolen from a J.C. Penneys’ store mannequin, or briefly dressed as Napoleon to attend a fancy dress party. Naschy’s screenplay certainly evokes an overall impression that people are generally rotten and always stabbing each other in the back.

Among the hokum are gory slasher-like murders, an attack on a sleazy character by some very hungry pigs, a black maid who consents to some kinky shenanigans with the master of the house, and Naschy’s frequent co-star Julia Saly showing up as a mysterious family member who becomes initial to the film’s conclusion. With all this activity, the film could have been tighter, as several dialog scenes are nothing more than filler, and a subplot involving a young geisha girl carrying Bruno’s child goes nowhere. Even the climatic “carnival of beasts” comes off as a last-minute attempt to set up the film’s ghastly revelation, with a table full of silly characters garbed in Halloween costumes making fart jokes and using foul language to verify their eccentricity. Silvia Aguilar and Azucena Hernández (also Naschy’s co-stars in NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF, made the same year) are both stunning beauties, and Naschy has a few love scenes with both of them, thankfully putting their lovely figures on display.

With the nice quality that can be expected from BCI’s series of Spanish Horror DVDs, HUMAN BEASTS has been released with a High Definition transfer, presented widescreen at 1.78:1 and anamorphic. The image is very clean, with sharp detail, good colors and very little grain. Overall, the picture is quite good and its hard to imagine the film looking better. The only audio option is Spanish (Castillian) with optional English subtitles, and it comes off well. The print source has some burned-on Spanish subtitles when several characters are speaking Japanese, but the English subtitles are easy to read over these, being placed on the top for one scene and on the bottom for another. It’s odd though that an English track wasn’t included, as it certainly does exist as witnessed by the VHS tape released by All Seasons Entertainment in the 1980s.