original production:
NOSTRADAMUS, EL GENIO DE LAS TINIEBLAS
(1959), Mexico, B/W, 84 minutes
produced by Estudios América
Directed by Federico Curiel (as "Frederick Curiel"), Alberto Mariscal
Produced by Victor Parra
Story & Screenplay: Federico Curiel, Alfredo Ruanova (as "Alfred Ruanova"),
Carlos Enrique Taboada (as "Charles E. Taboada")
Music: Jorge Perez
Cinematography: Fernando Alvarez Garcés "Colín" (as "Ferdinand Colin")
Editing: Federico Landeros, Juan Jose Munguia (as "Joseph J. Munguia")
Production Design: Arcadi Artis Gener
Music: Jorge Pérez H.
Production Manager: José L. Murillo, Raymundo Parra
Co-Director: Alberto Mariscal
Film Editing: Federico Landeros, José Juan Munguía
Art Director: Arcadi Artis Gener
Camera Operator: Raúl Domínguez
Sound: Enrique L. Rendón, Enrique Rodríguez, Felipe Marino

Cast: Germán Robles (Nostradamus), Domingo Soler (Professor Durán/Dolan), Julio Alemán (Antonio/Tony), Aurora Alvarado (Anita/Anna), Manuel Vergara "Manver/Mamber" (Leo), Grek Martin (Igor), Fanny Schiller (Rebecca, el bruja, the witch), Rina Valdarino (Nora), Luis Aragon, Guillermo Bravo Sosa, Enrique Couto, Fernando Curiel, Manuel Donde, Carlos Hennings, Carlos Nieto

GUEST REVIEW & SYNOPSIS
by Gomar Douglas
Suppertime at Chez Bruja: Leo the Hunchback and his mom, Rebecca the Witch, are sharing a bowl of home-cooked gruel in the filthy hovel they share. Suddenly Leo puts down his ladle and stirs from his chair. He hears his master Nostradamus' voice, calling for help at once. Mom, sporting a thick Brooklyn accent, hears nothing, but Leo bounds out of the house and into the darkness, lumbering across an open and garishly cross-lit marsh until he reaches his master's castle.

Entering the vampire's inner chamber, he finds the room engulfed in flames, and his master unconscious on the floor (exactly as we found him at the conclusion of EL DESTRUCTOR DE LOS MONSTRUOS). Leo hoists the vampire over his shoulders and carries him to safety in the nick of time.

At the same time, Professor Dolan and Igor the Vampire Slayer (whom we first met in DESTRUCTOR) are discussing the Professor's latest research in the field of bat behavior modification. Using a group of caged bats as guinea pigs, the Professor explains how their movements can be controlled through the manipulation of sound waves emitted by an electronic device. The Professor reveals that he has built such a device (by definition, a sonar transponder) but as yet, it's too weak to control bat movements beyond a relatively small field. The Professor then shows Igor an "electromagnetic cell" (which strongly resembles a '50s-vintage cathode-ray tube) that he's received by mail, expressing his firm belief that the component, once properly wired into his device, will finally allow him to control the comings and goings of Nostradamus (or at least when Nosty assumes his Winged Bat Persona).

In the annals of science, this is a remarkable event: While we're never given any period dates for the Nostradamus films, judging by the Victorian costumes and set decorations, kerosene lamps in every room and horse-drawn carriages in the exterior scenes, the events in GENIE OF DARKNESS would appear to have taken place in the mid-to late 19th century. Yet the application of sonar (and its effects on bats in flight) was not fully understood until the Second World War. The audio amplifier and the cathode ray tube (both would be required for Dolan's device to work) weren't even invented until the 1920s! Yet decades before the inventions of DeForest and Farnsworth (not to mention Edison) the only light bulbs you'll find in this picture are in Professor Dolan's laboratory! An obscure professor in Mexico City has single-handedly assembled all of the building blocks of 20th-century electronics!!!

What's more, he's even found a mail-order place (what, on the planet Remulak?) that can fabricate electron tubes for him!

Naturally, none of the Professor's colleagues expresses the least bit of astonishment at this.

Following the Professor's announcement, Igor tells Dolan and his assistant, Anthony, of a "secret parchment" belonging to Nostradamus. The parchment, which has belonged to Nosty and his forbears for centuries, apparently bestows the vampire with many of his special powers. If they could find and destroy the parchment, Igor surmises, Nostradamus could be greatly weakened, perhaps fatally. But where is the parchment? It could be somewhere in Italy, or Hungary, or Transylvania ("my country," Igor reminds us), or, as Tony guesses astutely, "right here." The men agree to spare no effort to locate the parchment, and agree to meet later at Igor's.

Back at the vampire's castle (oddly showing no signs of fire damage), Nostradamus, unimpressed that Leo just saved his bacon a few minutes earlier in the film, chastises the hunchback for his latest faux pas. He discusses his complex relationship with Igor, the only mortal whom he has been expressly forbidden to do away with, for vague reasons of ancestral loyalty. But suddenly, the vampire realizes, "there's no reason why someone else" can't kill Igor for him.

In Professor Dolan's study, the professor's daughter Anna, looking tired and listless, is playing the piano while the Professor smokes his pipe. The Professor interrupts to ask why she looks so forlorn. Anna confesses that the strain of vampire-hunting is taking a toll on her fragile psyche. The Professor assures her not to worry. (He could've advised her not to play something so weepy as Chopin's E-minor Prelude if she's feeling bummed out, but man of science that he is, Professor Dolan's got bigger things on his mind than his daughter's mental health.)

Upstairs, Anthony is getting dressed when the lights in his room go out. Groping in the darkness, he locates a kerosene lamp. Lighting it, he comes face to face with Nostradamus! At once the vampire has him in a powerful trance . . .

Meanwhile, Igor and Professor Dolan are waiting impatiently for Anthony to arrive at Igor's house. The vampire hunter is growing restless, confessing that his psychic powers are weakening with each passing moment, due to "certain supernatural laws." When Professor Dolan seeks further clarification, Igor rebuffs him: "Ask me no more, for I am not at liberty to go into detail."

Inquiring man of science that he is, Dolan seems wholly satisfied with this answer.

Anthony eventually staggers in, an hour late and looking drugged. The Professor berates him for his tardiness, which Tony excuses by muttering "I guess I forgot" (read: "The vampire ate my homework!") Igor expresses his satisfaction that Tony is at least present, and the three set to work locating the parchment. Seated at a round stone table in Igor's living room, Tony and Dolan watch as Igor lifts the lid of his "magic cauldron" (which looks like a cross between an ErtÈ vase and a fondue set) and, gazing into its bubbling contents, await the vision that will answer their question:

It's Rebecca the Witch, cackling maniacally and stirring a boiling pot! It's she who possesses the parchment! The men agree to search for Rebecca's house the following day, when the vampire is sure to be asleep.

Sneaking into Nostradamus' castle under cover of darkness, Anthony spills the beans. Under hypnosis, he confesses his knowledge of the parchment and of Igor's determination to find it. Incensed, Nosty commands Anthony to keep an eye on Igor and the Professor, and to obey his command at all times . . .

Meanwhile, Leo and Rebecca are having supper at home. The hunchback's mother expresses her displeasure at her son's choice of career: "You'll never be nothin' but a lackey," she kvetches, as long as he keeps working for that good-for-nothing vampire. Leo touts his master's "special powers" as a perk of his profession, but mom is unimpressed. Continuing to diss her son and Nostradamus, she threatens to sell the vampire's precious parchment to Professor Dolan out of simple spite. Leo, alarmed, begs mom not to utter such blasphemies: "Don't you know he can hear you . . ."

Suddenly, in the bat-wing of an eye, Nostradamus appears: "You just signed your own death warrant," he exclaims. Rebecca begs for mercy, but Nosty is unmoved. Commanding Leo to leave the room, Nosty immediately hypnotizes Rebecca. He commands her to hand over the parchment, and she complies. He commands her to stand still, "rooted to the floor, unable to move," and again she is powerless to resist. Nosty picks up a kerosene lamp and, exiting the room, tosses it onto the floor. The lamp collides with a wicker basket, igniting it, and in a moment, the room is engulfed in flames. Nosty commands Rebecca to start laughing. She complies, howling in delight as she is consumed by the fire.

Leo, hearing her laughter from an adjacent room, thinks his mom and the vampire have reconciled their differences. When he discovers otherwise, he begs Nostradamus to spare her life: "She didn't mean it, really." But the hard-hearted vampire rebuffs his request as the old woman laughs herself to death.

Leo and Nosty depart as the hovel burns to the ground.

The next morning, Dolan, Igor & Anthony arrive at Rebecca's, too late to abscond with the parchment. Professor Dolan finds a handwritten note from Nostradamus pinned to the wall of the fire-gutted house, informing the vampire hunters that one of them will be Nosty's next victim. Anthony, still looking drugged, mutters "Nostradamus knows all!"

Neither Dolan nor Igor seem the least bit suspicious of Tony's behavior.

Later that night at Professor Dolan's, Anthony awakens in a hypnotic state. Clutching a long stiletto knife (conveniently placed on a nearby table), he staggers from his bedroom and into the study, where Igor is reading quietly in front of the fireplace. Tony draws back the blade, preparing to dispatch the vampire slayer to the Hereafter, but before he can do the evil deed, Igor leaps from his chair and grabs tight onto Tony's wrists. A heated struggle ensues, with Igor eventually repulsing Tony's advances. Panicking, Tony drops the knife and flees the house.

At Nostradamus' castle, the vampire and the hunchback are awaiting Anthony's arrival, presumably, with Igor's corpse in tow. Nostradamus sends Leo upstairs to greet Tony, who has just arrived and is stumbling down a darkened hallway inside the castle. Suddenly Igor appears from the shadows: he's followed Anthony to Nosty's lair! Clutching his magic ram's-head staff and using his gift of white magic, Igor overrides Nostradamus' spell and puts Tony under his psychic powers. He commands Tony to return to Professor Dolan's for some much-needed sleep. Tony complies and departs.

With a single bound, Igor descends into Nostradamus' chamber, taking the vampire completely by surprise. The two arch-nemeses proceed to engage in a heated argument over whose occult powers are superior, with Igor proclaiming that he's Nosty's rival, not his prisoner. "Prisoner!" responds the vampire indignantly. "Rival!" boasts Igor.

A slugfest of name-calling ensues as the titans duel it out. At first, it appears that Igor has been fatally weakened by the vampire's evil powers, but overcoming his dizziness, he quickly gains his second wind, and brandishing his magic staff, soon has Nosty on the ropes, on the verge of unconsciousness and gasping for breath. For sheer drama and tension, this is almost as good as the second Ali-Frazier fight. When suddenly . . .

Nostradamus pulls the ace from his sleeve. As Igor moves in for the kill, he's ambushed from behind by Leo, who applies a brutal bear hug to Igor's thorax, crushing his ribcage and squeezing the life from his body . . .

Back at Professor Dolan's, Anthony bolts from his bed as if awakened by a nightmare. "Igor's been killed!" he announces.

Meanwhile, with Leo in attendance at the vampire's chamber, Nostradamus recites a devotional to his ancestors, rejoicing in Igor's death as he places the ex-vampire slayer's magic staff on a makeshift altar. He proudly announces to his father that he, the great Nostradamus, has finally vanquished his family's last living rival as he scatters Igor's ashes throughout the chamber.

The next day, Professor Dolan and Anna are talking when Anthony appears, still looking dazed. The Professor suggests he return to bed at once, but Anthony can't sleep: he's troubled by his visions of the previous night. Tony seems certain that he could find Nostradamus' lair once again: "if only I could remember." Anna suggests they go out for a walk, to get some fresh air and to clear his head. With Dolan's blessings, the two depart.

Anna and Tony decide to consult a medium. At the medium's, Anna and Tony are seated at a round table, a crystal ball between them. The medium explains that he can help jog Tony's repressed memories once he's been properly hypnotized. The medium proceeds to hypnotize Tony, then waves his hands over the smoked-glass ball: when all of a sudden, the medium begins to chatter away in a strange and sinister voice. It's Nostradamus: he's taken over the medium's body! Brashly he announces that his next victim resides on King's Row. He even invites Tony and Dolan to attend before taking leave of the medium! The hapless soothsayer awakens from his involuntary trance, collapses in a heap and dies on the spot.

Back at La Casa Dolan, the Professor upbraids Anna and Tony for having even thought of consulting a "charlatan" fortune teller. Tony and Anna defend their actions, insisting on the veracity of what they saw and heard at the medium's. Tony argues adamantly that the voice he heard was that of Nostradamus and, after further persuasion, the Professor is convinced to accompany Tony to the house on King's Row later that evening.

That night, the intrepid vampire hunters arrive the house on King's Row. Finding both the gate and front door open, they let themselves inside the estate, which is completely dark and showing no signs of habitation. Entering the foyer, Tony finds a pile of mail on the floor, including several letters addressed to one "Nora Payton" from a certain "Claude Swickert." Tony suggests opening a letter and reading it: perhaps it would yield a clue! But the Professor reminds him that such behavior is against the law (right after letting himself into a stranger's house!). Tony eventually persuades the Professor to open one of the envelopes: it's a passionate love letter from Claude to Nora, proposing marriage. While Tony reads, the Professor expresses his admiration for Claude: "I'd say that the man is sincere," he deduces while lighting his pipe. (Smoking in someone else's house without asking permission? Bad form!)

The two remain perched on a love seat in the living room awhile longer, waiting for the vampire to make his appearance . . .

When a woman clad in a long white robe appears, descending an long arching flight of stairs. It's Nora Payton! Startled by her presence, Tony and the Professor leap from their seats, attempting to explain their presence in her home. Nora interrupts them and orders them to leave. When Dolan refuses, explaining that her life is in danger, Nora threatens to call the police. Dolan, reminded of the wisdom of Strength in Numbers, consents to the idea. Nora abruptly changes her mind and agrees to remain confined to her room for the night while Tony and Dolan stand vigil downstairs. Before she returns to her room, Dolan instructs Tony to inspect the brightly lit, sumptuously furnished bedroom for safety. Tony complies, and after checking that all windows are tightly shut and no secret passageways exist, returns to the living room for the stake-out.

A noise is heard downstairs. A stranger is trying to enter the house. It's Claude, who has returned to Nora's after an absence of many months (for reasons never explained, of course) to wed his life-long sweetheart. Approaching Nora, he insists on an answer to his proposal, proclaiming his boundless devotion to her. Nora, unmoved, greets his entreaties with a cold and icy stare. Claude, enraged, delivers Nora a tongue-lashing, decrying her cruelty and cold-heartedness. He tries to accost Nora, but Tony and the Professor intervene, and hustle the lovelorn intruder from the house.

In his secret chamber, Nostradamus shares a belly-laugh with Leo, anticipating his great triumph to come . . .

Meanwhile, a local policeman, suspecting trouble, has entered the darkened Payton house to investigate. Tony and Dolan explain their presence in the house, and ask for the policeman's help. The cop agrees to watch for suspicious activity outside, then takes his leave.

Tony and the Professor return to their seats, poring through the remainder of Claude's love letters . . .

Claude, however, won't take no for an answer without putting up a fight. Under cover of darkness, he tries to scale the ivy-covered wall in front of Nora's house! The vigilant policeman spots him and, gun drawn, orders him down from the wall at once. Claude impetuously ignores his warning: a poor choice given the lack of Miranda Rights in 19th-century Mexico. The cop shoots poor Claude in the back, and the jilted lover plunges to the pavement in a lifeless heap.

Tony and the Professor, hearing the commotion, rush outside. They pick up Claude and carry him inside the house, hoping to nurse him to consciousness. Too late: poor Claude is already dead. Suddenly, a bat on the wing appears in the rafters. Tony attempts to fell it with several rounds of platinum bullets but fails to hit his mark. The vampire hunters, with the trigger-happy cop in pursuit, follow the bat upstairs, bursting into Nora's bedroom: and straight into a faceful of cobwebs! The room has been deserted for months! The lamps are extinguished, possessions packed in stacks of boxes, and furniture wrapped up in bedsheets. Tony is flabbergasted: "It was completely different just an hour ago!"

Then the policeman informs Tony and the Professor that Nora Payton has been dead for months. (Thanks for not telling us sooner, Sherlock!) The men find a letter and, opening it, discover a newspaper clipping inside: it's Nora's obituary from three months earlier. The vampire has triumphed again! . . .

Or perhaps not. Back at the castle, Nosty and Nora are having a spat in front of a large wooden casket. Nostradamus explains to Nora his reasons for summoning her out of the Dark Dominions: that she would spend all eternity by his side as the Bride of Nostradamus. Nora is defiant; she reiterates her undying love for Claude and expresses her eagerness to spend eternity with him, now that he'd dead, too! (Nosty: "Dohhh!") Nostradamus, enraged, sends Nora back to the Dark Dominions to reside among the "millions of fools who believe in the phenomenon called love." Nora vanishes instantaneously. Nosty commands Leo to bury her. "Where is she?" asks the hunchback. "In the casket," sighs the vampire. (Some people just have to be told everything!)

While Leo does the gruntwork, Nostradamus reflects on his failure to conquer Nora's soul. He wonders if his powers are failing, and questions his own mortality . . .

At the same time, Professor Dolan is conducting bat-sonar experiments in his workshop. After spending a few minutes watching looped stock footage of laboratory bats, Dolan calls it a night and departs the lab.

The next morning, Anthony accidentally bumps into a stranger on a street corner. The man is an amateur artist who's returning home after painting a local landscape. Tony gazes at the man's painting: it suddenly jogs his long-repressed memory! It's a painting of a decrepit old castle: "the old Reynolds place," the artist reminds him, and instantly Tony realizes it's Nostradamus' hideout! (Leave it to bad ole Nosty to be in league with some tobacco barons.) Tony agrees immediately to purchase the painting for three times the asking price (why can't I find guys like this when I'm selling stuff on E-Bay?) and heads for Professor Dolan's immediately.

Meanwhile, the gathered members of the Anti-Superstition League are eating some major crow in Professor Dolan's parlor, admitting to Dolan that he was right all along and pledging their future support in his crusade to destroy Nostradamus. Tony bursts into the room, displaying the painting and revealing the vampire's whereabouts. The men of the Anti-Superstition League agree at once to assemble a vampire-extermination posse, to commence that very night.

Later that night, the torch-wielding posse storms the castle. Leo, seeing the intruders approach from afar, scurries into Nostradamus' chamber, attempting to stir his sleeping master from his tightly shut coffin. As the posse breaks down the door to the castle, Nostradamus awakens, tells Leo to hide, then turns into a bat and flaps away to safety.

The posse clambers into the vampire's chamber: they're too late again! But are they? While Leo eavesdrops from the shadows, Professor Dolan notes the presence of Nostradamus' ancestral ashes in the open coffin. He explains that the ashes serve the same purpose as blood, providing the vampire with nourishment throughout the centuries. Without the ashes, Dolan declares, the vampire will die at sunrise. Tony suggests gathering the ashes and scattering them throughout the countryside. "No," the Professor retorts, "can't you see that's foolish, son? I want these ashes tested!"

Ah, Professor Dolan, ever the man of science. What's the use in achieving some practical results when you can waste more time testing useless theories?

Anyway, as Leo watches, the men agree to Dolan's plan as Tony gathers up the ashes in a burlap bag.

Later that night, Leo meets up with his master in a local cemetery. He tells his boss the bad news: that Professor Dolan's men discovered the hideout, burned the coffin and made off with the ashes. "Imbecile!" shouts Nosty. Leo protests: "There were too many of them! I couldn't fight them all off!" Nostradamus instructs Leo to find him a new coffin at once while the vampire seeks out his ashes. As Nosty flaps away, Leo scampers out of the graveyard. As he departs, a night watchman shoots at him (for no apparent reason) but misses.

At the same time, Tony and the Professor are holding a discussion with Dr. Schiller, a scientist whose specialty is never exactly revealed to us . . . but Professor Dolan thinks he's just the man to examine Nostradamus' ashes. Dolan gives Schiller a handgun loaded with platinum bullets, warning the Doctor that the vampire may threaten him at any time. The doctor accepts graciously and promises to begin analyzing the ashes as soon as Charley, his lab assistant, arrives later, "and we'll work throughout the night."

Meanwhile, Leo has managed to sneak into the Pompas Funebres casket shoppe while the security guard is playing a game of chess. Skulking around a roomful of coffins, Leo accidentally bumps into one, arousing the attention of the guard. The guard opens the door to the coffin room slowly: Leo's hiding on the other side of the door, waiting to bash the poor man's head in! Fortunately, laziness being the better part of valor, the watchman decides not to investigate and returns to the gaming table.

A horse-drawn carriage arrives at the casket shoppe. The carriage driver has come to pick up a coffin. The driver and the watchman enter the casket room and haul one out to the carriage: "This one weighs a ton, and I really mean it!" the driver moans as the men stagger out of the shoppe. With the casket securely loaded, the driver departs.

Shortly thereafter, the carriage arrives, somewhere. (It would appear to be about a block away from Caskets 'R Us.) The driver hears something strange behind him, and glancing backward, sees the coffin door opening! Shouting hysterically, he flees in terror. The door swings open, and Leo crawls out of the bier. Seizing the reins of the carriage, he drives off into the foggy night.

At the same time, Professor Dolan has returned home after his confab with Dr. Schiller. He finds a handwritten note on the floor: it's a letter from Nostradamus, instructing him that Schiller will be the next to die! Dolan departs at once.

Meanwhile, at Schiller's lab, the Doctor and his assistant Charley are studying the vampire's ashes. It's getting quite late, so Charley volunteers to brew up some coffee. Exiting the lab, he heads to the kitchen and, opening a window, comes face to face with: the vampire! With one bug-eyed hypnotic stare, Nosty has Charley under his spell . . .

Charley slowly returns to the laboratory, picks up a chair and hoists it over his head. Sneaking up behind Schiller, Charley bashes his employer over the head with the chair. Schiller, collapsing to the floor, implores Charley to come to his senses, to no avail. Schiller pulls his gun and fires away, killing Charley, who comes crashing to the floor, crushing the Doctor's skull with the chair. The shadow of a bat looms overhead as cheesy organ music swells . . .

Dolan and Anthony arrive. They're too late again; but wait! The vampire, in his haste, neglected to retrieve his ashes! Finally coming to his senses, Professor Dolan seizes the ashes and, opening a window, scatters the ashes to the winds, proclaiming his final victory over the wicked vampire.

THE END

Due to its cut-and-paste composition, the whole of EL GENIO DE LAS TINIEBLAS, like the other Nostradamus pictures, doesn't quite equal the sum of its parts. But there are a number of excellent parts nonetheless:

* the "Burning Woman" sequence is one of the creepiest in the series, with dramatic use of close-ups, narrow depth-of-field, sublit noir lighting, and a slow, lingering pace that seems to revel in the sadistic nature of the subject. (Even Mrs. Gomar, who likes watching these pictures about as much as I enjoy watching QVC, was impressed: "That was genuinely disturbing.");

* the Nostradamus-Igor heavyweight bout is crisply edited and nicely shot, with lots of zoom-in head shots for enhanced dramatic effect;

* the Nostradamus-Nora scenes are nicely acted, particularly by Robles, and astonishingly well written for a Murray picture;

* the climactic "Double-Murder" sequence at the film's conclusion is as brilliantly conceived and startling in its execution as anything in the Murray Mexi-Horror canon (Mrs. Gomar: "Excellent!");

* and the dinner scenes with Leo and Rebecca-his-Jewish-Mother-from-Brooklyn-who-retired-to-Florida-in-her-Golden-Years-so-she-could-do-voiceover-work-for-Young-America-Films are priceless!!!

There are also, alas, some sequences that don't work very well. The "Stake-Out at Payton Place" is interminably long, banally written and horribly lit, though the brief exchange between Claude and Nora suggests a kind of deadpan surrealism that would look right at home spliced into LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD or L'AVVENTURA. The "Tony & Anna at the Fortune Teller" scene never really takes off, either, probably due to its brevity and its flat lighting. In addition, GENIO isn't helped much by having its sexiest character (Igor) and its funniest (Rebecca) both getting killed off in mid-picture, and the low-key closing scene is wholly unsatisfying given the intensity of the double-murder sequence that's just preceded it . . .

But taken as a one part of a greater whole, GENIO DE LAS TINIEBLAS does a decent if unremarkable job of setting up the climactic final episode of the four-film Nostradamus saga. My only real complaint is that someone (somewhere out there in Murrayland) hasn't attempted to compile all four films of the series onto one DVD, sequentially ala "The Godfather Saga". It would certainly make it easier for the viewer to get a grasp on some of the characters (e.g., Rebecca and Igor) who seem to suddenly materialize and then vanish during the course of this film, and it would allow us to see the evolution of the Nostradamus character as well. In previous installments (LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS and DESTRUCTOR DE LOS MONSTRUOS), Robles at times portrays Nosty with a certain wit and trickster's charm, but in GENIO, he's mostly one-dimensional, a brooding, sadistic paranoid whose only motivation is mindless revenge. In closing, GENIO DE LAS TINEBLAS is a pretty fair horrorshow, but only if you take in a couple of other films in the Nostradamus series, to gain a sense of context.

SYNOPSIS:
An demented old witch named Rebecca cooks supper for her beloved son, the hunchback Leo. But as he eats, Leo hears the voice of his master, Nostradamus!

Leo runs out of the house, with his mother shouting after him.

Leo runs to Nostradamus' hideout, and rescues him from the burning flames which his mortal enemies started at the end of THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER.

Meanwhile, Nostradamus' enemies, Professor Dolan and Igor the Vampire Hunter, discuss Dolan's latest experiments in sonic weaponry, whose ultimate goal is to defeat the vampire Nostradamus!

Dolan's tests have proven too weak thus far to be effective, but he is confident that he is close to creating a more powerful weapon. Dolan shows Igor an electromagnetic cell he had ordered, which may give him the power he needs.

Igor tells Dolan and his assistant, Tony, of a secret parchment which controls much of Nostradamus' power. If they could confiscate this precious paper, they would be well on their way to defeating this vicious foe.

The devoted men discuss where the parchment may be currently located: a small town in Italy, the marshes of Neudois in Hungary, or perhaps Transylvania!

Igor is convinced that if they find the parchment and destroy it, it may accelerate Nostradamus' demise.

Meanwhile, at the secret hideout, Nostradamus chastises Leo for screwing up again. Nostradamus explains that he has been forbidden by an ancient pact to kill Igor, his only true adversary, directly, but he has a plan whereby a mortal can do the job for him.

Back at Dolan's house, the professor's beautiful daughter Anna plays the piano while Dolan listens. Dolan asks Anna why she looks so sad. Anna confesses that this vampire hunting has left her tired and despondent.

Tony is in his room upstairs. The lights go out. Nostradamus appears before Tony, and hypnotizes him.

Later than night, Igor and Dolan wait for Tony, who is late arriving. Igor confesses that his psychic powers are lessening, due to certain immutable occult laws. Dolan inquires further, but Igor can say no more.

When Tony finally arrives, he is obviously under a trance. Dolan yells at him for being late.

The three men gaze into Igor's "magic cauldron", and find out that the parchment they seek is being held by Leo's witch mother, Rebecca!

Meanwhile, back at the hideout, Nostradamus still has Tony under his spell. Tony tells Nostradamus that the men are planning to retrieve and destroy the sacred parchment. Tony reveals to Nostradamus' horror that they know the object's location.

Nostradamus tells Tony to return to the men, and follow his orders.

Back at Leo's house, Rebecca yells at her son, telling him he is a no- good idiot, and his boss, Nostradamus, is a big fat jerk! The old hag threatens to sell the sacred parchment to Dolan and gang, just to piss off the pompous vampire!

Nostradamus appears, and tells Rebecca to bring him the parchment. The frightened Rebecca begs on bended knee for another chance to serve him, but Nostradamus no longer trusts her.

A crying Rebecca retrieves the parchment, and hands it over to Nostradamus.

Nostradamus tells Leo to wait outside. Nostradamus then puts Rebecca into a trance, and starts a fire in the house.

Rebecca stands amidst the flames, unable to move, as Nostradamus watches, amused.

In order to lull Leo into a false sense of security, the cruel ghoul orders Rebecca to laugh out loud as she burns to death! Leo, however, thinks the two have made up!

Nostradamus exits the house. Leo begs Nostradamus to spare his mother, but Nostradamus is adamant that the old hag must be taught a lesson.

The heartbroken hunchback defers to his great master, and the two walk off as the house burns to the ground.

The next day, Dolan, Igor and Tony arrive at the charred ruins of Leo's house, but see they are too late to retrieve the parchment.

Dolan finds a note from Nostradamus, which reveals that his next victim will be one of them! Tony, still in a trance, reiterates that "Nostradamus rules!"

That night, Tony arises from bed in a trance state, and grabs a knife. He walks into the parlor, where Igor reads before a blazing fire.

Tony sneaks up behind Igor, and attempts to stab him, but Igor notices his would-be assassin at the last minute, and the two men struggle. Igor wrests the knife from Tony's hand. Tony runs away.

Back at the catacombs, Nostradamus tells Leo to go upstairs and wait for Tony, who is expected with Igor's corpse momentarily.

Tony stumbles into Nostradamus place, alone. He is intercepted by Igor, who carries his magic staff. Igor attempts to pull Tony out of the evil trance.

Igor instructs Tony to go back to Dolan's house and rest, and wait for further orders. Tony obeys, and leaves.

Igor enters Nostradamus' parlor. The vampire is shocked to see him.

Nostradamus and Igor engage each other in a fierce psychic battle.

After awhile, Nostradamus appears to be weakening, due to Igor's considerable telepathic might, but Leo creeps up behind Igor, and crushes him with his brute strength.

At the same moment, Tony wakes up from his trance, and informs Dolan and Anna that he is certain that Igor has just been destroyed!

Nostradamus takes Igor's sacred staff, and places it on his unholy altar.

Nostradamus then takes Igor's ashes, and scatters them around, as he chants an invocation to his great evil father.

The next day, Dolan and Anna discuss the situation. Tony enters the room. Dolan berates him for leaving his bed before he has fully recovered, but Tony is haunted by the fact that deep in his subconscious, he knows the whereabouts of their immortal enemy!

Anna suggests that she and Tony take a walk, to clear his mind. Dolan agrees.

Anna ends up taking Tony to a gypsy fortune teller, who insists he can extract Tony's repressed memories with his magical powers.

The fortune teller puts Tony under a spell, and waves his hands over his crystal ball. The gypsy soon begins to speak in the voice of Nostradamus, who tells Tony that his every effort to defeat him will fail!

In addition, he tells Tony that his next victim will live at King's Row #28, and Tony and Dolan are invited to attend!

With that, the gypsy awakens out of his trance, and drops dead on the spot.

Later, Leo brings Nostradamus a new coffin, as instructed.

Meanwhile, Tony and Anna tell Dolan about their adventures with the fortune teller. Dolan thinks they are foolish for putting any stock in what those "charlatans" say.

Still, they agree they should visit King's Row #28, just in case.

Dolan and Tony arrive at the assigned death house, a palatial mansion in fact, and find the door open.

Tony pulls a pistol, and the two men enter. Dolan and Tony call for the occupant, but no-one answers.

Dolan finds a pile of letters on a table, and they decide to open them, to see if they reveal anything of value about the next victim.

The missives turn out to be love letters, from a "Claude Swickert", to a "Nora Payton". Tony reads one of the letters, which conveys the great love that this man has for this woman.

Later that evening, Dolan and Tony still wait in the house. Suddenly, a ghost-like woman with long blond hair and a flowing robe appears at the top of the stairs. She appears to be in a trance.

The woman slowly descends the staircase, and demands to know what the men are doing in her house.

Dolan and Tony rise, startled. They begin to explain their presence, but the woman tells them to leave.

Dolan asks the woman if her name is Nora Payton. It is. Dolan tells Nora that she is in great danger, but she doesn't believe him, and orders them to leave immediately.

When the men hesitate, Nora threatens to call the police. Dolan thinks this is a fine idea, but Nora changes her mind, and declares she will repair to her room for the night.

Dolan asks Tony to check Nora's room before she reenters it. Tony does so; everything is in order.

Meanwhile, a man enters downstairs. It is Claude, the man who wrote the letters, come to claim his bride!

Claude tells Nora of his devotion to her, and asks for her decision on his proposal. Nora remains motionless and speechless throughout his entreaties.

Finally, Claude becomes enraged at Nora's silence, and tells her she is cold and evil. Claude tries to grab Nora, but Dolan and Tony intervene, and tell the rejected suitor to leave.

Dolan and Tony escort Claude out of the house, and return to their watch over Nora.

Soon, a policeman enters the house, gun in hand. Tony walks up behind him, and disarms him.

The policeman explains that he thought he heard strange noises coming from the house, and decided to investigate. He then asks the men what they are doing here.

Dolan tells the cop the story about the woman upstairs, and asks for his assistance in protecting her.

The cop goes outside to guard the place, while Tony and Dolan read some more love letters inside.

Meanwhile, Claude wants to reach his love any way he can. He sneaks around the back of the house, and begins to scale an ivy-covered wall.

Unfortunately, the cop sees him and, thinking he is the intruder they've been looking out for, shoots him!

Claude falls to the ground. The men bring him inside, but it is too late; he is dead! Nostradamus his triumphed once again!

Suddenly, a bat appears. Tony tries to shoot it, but it escapes easily, and flies up towards Nora's room!

The men follow the bat. Tony enters the room, which is now covered with cobwebs, as if it hasn't been used for years!

The cop then informs the men that Nora Payton died several months ago! Tony opens a letter; inside is Nora's obituary, from three months ago!

Back at Nostradamus' place, the vampire tries to convince the undead Nora to join him as his eternal vampire bride, but Nora still loves Claude, and now that he is dead, they can be together forever. Nostradamus gets angry at Nora's refusal, but she is adamant.

Nostradamus promises Nora that she will regret her decision. He instructs Leo to bury Nora in the casket.

Nostradamus wanders his catacombs, perplexed. His efforts to win over Nora have failed. He wonders if he is losing his great evil power.

Later, Dolan continues his experimentation on the power of sonic waves on vampire bats. He finishes his evening's work, and locks up for the night.

Meanwhile, Tony strolls down the avenue, and bumps into a painter, who is selling his landscapes on the sidewalk.

Tony recognizes one of the houses in a painting, and buys it from the grateful artisan.

Meanwhile, Dolan is holding a meeting with members of his "Commission Against Superstition". The head of the commission offers his help.

Tony runs in with the picture of house, which Dolan identifies as the old Reynolds place. Tony, however, knows it to be the current hideout of Nostradamus!

Dolan and the group are now encouraged. They prepare an expedition to Nostradamus' hideout.

That night, the group approaches the Reynolds house with torches. Leo sees them, and runs to warn his master, who sleeps in his coffin.

Nostradamus does not immediately rise. Leo is beside himself with panic.

Dolan and Tony begin to open the front door with a crowbar.

Finally, Nostradamus rises. Leo apprises him of the dire situation. Nostradamus tells Leo to hide, as he turns into a bat flies off into the night.

The group enters the dungeon, but finds the vampire's coffin empty.

Dolan believes that there is still something they can do. All they have to do is remove Nostradamus' sacred ashes, which all vampires must have in their coffins in order to keep the place free from invasion.

Dolan wants to experiment on the ashes anyway, so it is agreed they will remove them. Tony gathers the ashes in an old rag.

Leo creeps up behind the men, and watches helplessly as the group steals his master's sacred ashes.

After the men leave, Leo runs off to locate his master. He encounters him in an old graveyard.

Leo tells Nostradamus about the theft of the ashes. Nostradamus is angry with Leo, but Leo counters that he could not fight all those men.

Nostradamus is upset; he must find a new resting place before dawn, or he is finished!

Nostradamus vows to return to Dolan's house, and retrieve his ashes. He orders Leo to obtain a new coffin for him.

Nostradamus flies off as a bat. As Leo exits the graveyard, a watchman shoots at him, but misses.

Later that evening, Dolan asks a colleague, Dr. Schiller, to analyze the ashes immediately. Dolan gives Schiller a pistol with platinum bullets, as it seems likely that Nostradamus will attempt to retrieve the ashes.

Meanwhile, Leo infiltrates a local mortuary in his quest to get a new box for the boss.

Inside, the night watchman finishes a chess game.

Leo makes a noise as he examines one coffin. The watchman investigates, but Leo has hidden somewhere...

A mortuary driver arrives with a carriage. He and the watchman load the coffin onto the carriage.

The driver starts off with the coffin. When he arrives at his destination, he is shocked to see the coffin lid open of its own accord!

The horrified man runs off. Leo pops out of the coffin, and drives the carriage off with the new home for master.

Dolan arrives at home, and finds a note from Nostradamus, informing him that Dr. Schiller will be his next victim!

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Dr. Schiller and his assistant, Charley, study the ashes, of apparently remarkable, and unknown, composition.

Charley goes into the next room to prepare some coffee, and is approached by Nostradamus, who immediately hypnotizes him.

The entranced Charley returns to Schiller, and bashes him over the head with some lab equipment. Schiller shoots at Charley in defense, but the two fall to the ground, dead.

Dolan and Tony enter the lab, and retrieve Nostradamus' ashes. Dolan takes the ashes to the front door, and scatters them to the wind, thus assuring Nostradamus' eventual destruction!

THE END

REVIEW:
This third installment in the Nostradamus serial-cum-features is quite entertaining, and features some of the most unusual characters in the whole series.

We revisit Dolan's friend and colleague, Igor the Vampire Hunter, who we first met in THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER. Here, the creeepy white-magic warlock again uses his wacky "magic cauldron" to find secrets about his undead enemy.

Igor and Nostradamus finally have the confrontation we've long been expecting, a psyhic battle of wits which, unfortunately, Igor loses. This scene is dynamic and intense, thanks to some great close-ups and jiggy camerawork. It reminds one of a similar psychic contest in David Cronenburg's great SCANNERS (albeit without the exploding confetti heads).

In a poignant follow-up, Nostradamus scatters his enemy's ashes for the benefit of his most unholy father.

Also, we get to meet the hunchback Leo's mother (!), a hilarious, cackling old-school witch-hag named Rebecca! Scenes with Leo and mom are strictly comedic, especially as Murray and Co. saw fit to dub her as a nagging Jewish mother! You could call these remarkable segments "At Home with Leo"!

However, the comedy turns sour when Leo's boss, Nostradamus, murders Rebecca cruelly, paralyzing her in a house of flames, while poor son Leo cowers in fear outside, unable to intervene. This nasty bit well conveys Nosty's darkest side.

Another interesting scene occurs when Tony and Anna visit a gypsy fortune teller, in order to extract hidden memories Tony has regarding Nostradamus' whereabouts. The scene ends with Nosty taking over the gypsy, and apparently, killing him.

We also get to see Dolan's cool lab again, as he continues his experiments with bats. He seems to have obtained even more extra-cool equipment this time.

We also see something curious we don't see in alot of horror cinema; a town crier! "10:30 and all's well!"

But for the understandably open-ended finale, this is a fine gothic horror feature, and a marvelous warm-up for the incredIble THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS!

COMMENTS:
* (updated 02-14-06) Thanks to a terrific new book we just received, "Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold" by Kevin Heffernan, (2004, Duke University Press), we have been able to update the U.S. television release date for this Murray horror title to 1965. The appendices to this study of the horror film in America, circa 1955-1968, include complete listings of syndication feature film packages from many distributors, including American International Television, who subleased the K. Gordon Murray film catalog under the title THRILLERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD. It seems that 1965 was the watershed year for genre film sold to television, with a veritable flood of titles released by both domestic and foreign distribs.

* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

* THE GENIE OF DARKNESS was one of the first US TV features patched together from the source films, a ten-part Mexican theatrical serial. The other installments are: THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS, THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER, and THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS.

* Here is some new information on the Nostradamus films, from Jean-Claude Michel.

"Twelve episodes, not ten, were made, as follows:
1/ El dedo del destino
2/ El libro de los siglos
3/ Las victimas de la noche
(these comprised LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS/THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS)

4/ El destructor de monstruos
5/ El estudiante y la horca
6/ El ataud vacio
(these comprised NOSTRADAMUS YE EL DESTRUCTOR DE MONSTRUOS/THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER)

7/ El genio de las tinieblas
8/ Mas alla de la vida
9/ El hijo de la noche
(these comprised NOSTRADAMUS, EL GENIO DE LAS TINIEBLAS/THE GENIE OF DARKNESS)

10/ El aparecido en el conviento
11/ El ave negra
12/ La ultima victima
(these comprised LA SANGRE DE NOSTRADAMUS/THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS)

"These episodes were released in the form of four "features" in Mexican theaters, each of them made of three episodes. These four features were shown theatrically, respectively, on: August 31, 1961, April 13, 1962, December 14, 1962, April 5, 1963.

" 'Historia Documental del Cinema Mexicano' mentions that another film, 'EL TESTAMENTO DE VAMPIRO', also part of the series and starring the same principals, was shown in Mexico on October 20, 1961 (so, chronologically, the second "feature" in the series). Following are the credits:

EL TESTAMENTO DEL VAMPIRO
Director: Federico Curiel
Co-Director: Alberto Mariscal
Screenplay: Federico Curiel
from a story by Carlos Enrique Taboada & Alfredo Ruanova
Photography: Fernando Alvarez Garces "Colin"
Camera Operator: Raul Dominguez
Art Director: Arcadi Artis Gener
Editor: Juan José Munguia
Music: George Perez H.
Sound Editor: Felipe Marino
Made at Estudios America
Shooting date: from August 13, 1959 to ...
Release date: October 20, 1961
Classification: "A"
Cast: German Robles, Julio Aleman, Domingo Soler"

(David Wilt believes that "El testamento del vampiro" is in fact a re-titling of one of the other features, probably LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS.)

NOTABLE DIALOGUE: