What´s the matter, Carlo?
l just wanted to say hi and wish you good night.
You´ve been drinking with your buddies, that´s what´s the matter.
My last few hours of freedom.
Go away, quick! lt´s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.
You are so beautiful!
You´re trying to flatter me.
Let´s see if you are there on time tomorrow.
l´ll be there a whole hour early, waiting for you.
Good night, Carlo.
Good night.
She has been brutally torn from our midst
as if the Lord had wanted it that way.
...especially Carlo Donatti, her husband-to-be.
May his grief find comfort in the hope
that Heaven has chosen his sweet beloved
´´The fruit l loved most has gone far from me.´´
lsaiah, chapter 6.
- Here you are. - Thank you.
Gather round, all of you.
Tell us everything you know about the young woman´s death.
l must admit the condition of the body surprised me.
What do you mean?
Speak!
Her heart was missing.
l think it´s a forest bear.
lt could be a wolf.
There´s never been a case like this.
That doesn´t mean anything.
You´re overlooking something, an ancient legend.
l heard it when l was a child, and l´ve never forgotten it.
- What are you talking about? - Loreley!
Go on and have a beer! Let´s talk seriously.
There will come new evils.
According to the legend of the seven full moons,
Loreley will take the form of a filthy beast.
She must devour human hearts
to return to her slumber of centuries.
None other than Loreley!
What´s the matter with you? You are all as scared as lambs.
Have a round on me!
- Mr. Mayor? - Yes, miss.
l´m Elke Ackerman. Do you remember me?
Ah, yes. You teach at the girls´ boarding school.
What can l do for you?
- We want protection. - What?
A young woman has been killed, and it could happen again.
You´re right about that, miss.
There will be more deaths.
Loreley needs victims, lots of victims.
Shut up already!
Go on.
The school is far from town. We are all women.
Can you guarantee our safety?
Otherwise, we´ll have to go someplace where we´ll be safe.
- l´ll keep guard there. - Count on me!
l´ll bring my hunting dogs.
Don´t worry, miss. We will protect the school.
l´ll call Sigurd. He´s an experienced hunter.
You will be safe.
l hope so.
- Good night. - Good night.
No need to call Sigurd. l´ll catch that beast myself.
- Brrrr, it´s cold. - lt´s ice cold!
Soon we won´t be able to go in the water at all.
Hey, Elke, will that guard be enough?
What?
l mean, do you think the security guard will be enough?
l was told he was a hunter with many years of experience.
Then he must be a little old man.
We need a security guard, not a boyfriend.
Boyfriends can make good security guards.
Come on, girls.
You can share Bridget´s room. We´ll give your room to the hunter.
He can watch the garden from the window.
Very well. l hope this is all over soon.
Look, girls!
- A man in our house! - Yeah This is exciting!
Don´t tell me he´s an old man!
Hey, do you see what l see?
That´s what l was told.
- Look at my hair. - l´ll put on my blue dress.
-Hi, Honey! -Hey baby!
- May l see the principal? - Yes.
The Mayor sent me.
Pardon us. We thought you´d be older.
l´ve been in the profession since l was 1 1 .
l´ve hunted wild boars and bears.
Those were the only beasts around here...until now.
Very well, we´ll give it a try.
l have some conditions.
What?
Every single door is to be locked by 9:00 at night.
No one is to leave under any circumstances.
And...
l must be free to come and go as l please.
We´ll have to trust you.
May l please have the keys to the main doors?
ls that necessary?
Yes, l want to check how safe the locks are.
Here. The four large ones are for the outside doors.
They have additional locks.
l´ll be right back.
Excuse me.
My name is Sigurd.
Very well, Sigurd.
Dinner is at 8:30--that is, unless you order otherwise.
No, ma´am. 8:30 is good for dinner.
That man can´t stay here a minute longer!
- Why not? - Girls, l don´t see him!
Where is he?
We should reprimand them for their attitude.
Leave them alone, it´s recess.
- Girls, there he is! - l saw him first!
- Who cares? - Let´s go!
A young man here could mean trouble for us.
- l think you´re exaggerating. - l don´t understand your attitude.
Their parents have entrusted them to us!
Yes, but don´t worry. l´m the one responsible.
As you wish.
But he should at least not stay in the same building.
Where do you want him to stay?
- ln the garage. - What are you saying?
lt´s very damp.
He´ll have to deal with it.
lt will just be for a few days if he´s as good as he says.
lt works, all right.
- lt´s noisy. - Should we get some oil?
No, noisy is better.
That way we´ll know if someone´s trying to get in.
Wow, the things you know!
How about telling us some jungle adventures?
Calm down, calm down, all in due time.
Give him some room, girls.
You´d think you never saw a man before.
Well, recess is over.
- Yeah, we have class now. - Bye bye.
Well, you´re all certainly in a hurry.
Hurry up, girls.
l´m sorry, miss. l can´t stay here any longer.
But you haven´t finished yet.
- l´ll come in early tomorrow. - Are you afraid of the beast?
l don´t like to go out by myself at night.
Remember that l´ll have guests tomorrow.
Don´t worry, l´ll be here first thing in the morning.
Relax, l´ll have the dishes set, the clothes pressed, and dinner ready.
- We´ll see. - l´m sorry.
What a strange tune. What is it?
My father taught it to me, and my grandfather to him.
They said it was Loreley´s song.
Something terrible happened in this town to the sailors on the Rhine.
Fine. We´re in a bit of a hurry.
Some day you´ll have to tell us the whole story.
Thank you, ladies. May God grant you His blessing.
Pardon me, maestro. You know about Loreley, right?
lt´s an old legend. Everyone knows about it.
Yesterday you said something truly amazing.
- We artists love fantasy. - To the point of believing it?
l´m an entertainer. l make things up.
You don´t have to pretend with me.
Who...who are you?
Someone who believes in Loreley.
Miss, you left the door open.
She has been brutally torn from our midst
as if the Lord willed in this a difficult test
for those who loved her, her family and friends,
her neighbors and all who knew her
and knew of her deep religious feelings
and her honesty.
We share their grief,
in the hope that their religious convictions
comfort their grief with the understanding that
Heaven has chosen her...
´´The fruit l loved most has gone far from me.´´
Do you know that woman at the door?
What woman?
l don´t know what you´re talking about.
``...the shadow of death. l would fear no evil, when thou art with me.``
Who goes there?
You shouldn´t be out alone at night!
Stop!
Stop or l´ll shoot!
Who is it? What do you want?
This is all l have, l swear!
Don´t hurt me, please!
l won´t say anything! l won´t say anything!
l won´t say a thing!
Good morning.
Just a minute.
- Where are you going? - l´m going in for a swim.
- You can´t. - Why not?
The students are forbidden from being in the pool with men.
Very well.
But nothing forbids me from being in the pool with them.
Don´t joke around about our rules.
You don´t like me very much, do you?
My personal opinion has nothing to do with this.
Don´t worry, miss. l´ll swim in the marshes.
Good bye.
You´re rough on him.
He´s insolent. He thinks he´s a charmer.
- Let me go, you barbarian! - Who are you?
l´m Professor Van Lander, Bonn University.
- Why were you spying on me? - Me? Spying?
l´m a scientist. l´m doing research.
What do you want?
lf you think l´m going to tell you--
l suppose you want me to be nice, don´t you?
lf you play nice, so will l.
Very well, begin.
You´ve heard of the legend of Loreley, have you not?
Yes.
lt is all true...
very true.
What does it say?
Under the full moon, Loreley takes the form of a filthy beast.
Welcome to my little laboratory. Make yourself at home.
Thanks.
Here l have carried out experiments that science
would consider fantastic and, of course,
go against all the principles of biology as it is understood today.
What does all this have to do with Loreley?
- You don´t see it? - No.
Come with me.
Look.
The chameleon,
a prehistoric animal.
Can you tell me what color it is?
Light brown or thereabouts. Right?
Mimesis allows it to change color at will
through a chemical reaction.
Yes, but that´s nothing new.
Follow me.
These are anatomical pieces.
l acquired them from a hospital for my experiments.
We´ll work on this hand,
a marvelous specimen of man´s complex body.
l still haven´t been able
to obtain live subjects to do the cellular mutations.
The spectrum of this light is similar to that of moonlight.
The photochemical action transforms the cellular structure
in successive mutations.
lt´s a return to the beginning, to the ancient origin of the species.
You have just witnessed a poor imitation of Loreley´s phenomenon.
The moonlight activates the most amazing metamorphosis.
l´m truly sorry professor, but this has nothing to do with me.
lf l see the beast, l´ll kill it...
and l won´t stop to ask questions.
Can´t you guess what l am trying to do?
l must eliminate an invincible monster,
all the more dangerous because no one believes in it.
lf it is invulnerable, how are you planning to kill it--
with bullets or blade?
Good question.
Remember how Siegfried´s sword had certain invincible qualities?
So you´re still fooling with legends, eh, Professor?
lt´s not a joke, my friend.
lt´s radioactive.
lt can destroy Loreley´s cellular mutations and send her back
to the dark night of legend from which she has emerged.
Come with me.
The most curious thing is that the transmuted cells
decompose as they die
and become mummified.
This is what has happened with this hand.
Still in bed?
Still? l´ve been up all night!
Sorry. l´ll come back later.
Never mind, l´m up now.
No, don´t get up. l´ll see you later.
Don´t be so uptight, lady.
l´m dressed.
What do you want from me?
Do you know anything about a blind musician
that was talking to me about Loreley yesterday?
Sure, l know him. He´s just a poor devil.
But that legend...
The story of Loreley, hmm?
Everyone here knows it. A sort of sailor-eating siren.
Couldn´t it be true?
Aren´t you a little old to believe in sirens?
l don´t mean that, exactly.
Why couldn´t there be a monster in the bottom of the river?
And why would there be one?
Many serious witnesses have spoken of creatures
never classified by Linnaeus
Let´s do something
Let´s go on a riverboat ride, and I´ll introduce you to the monster
-A ride? - Yes.
I´m afraid that I--
If you´re afraid, then forget it.
I´ll have you know I´m a professor
That is, I have no inhibition against being alone with a man.
Very well, then. Let´s go.
Come on. Afraid again?
-Afraid? -Let´s go!
Hey, look over there.
Many a story has been told about this river--
the river gold, guarded by the Nibelungs...
and the terrible presence of Loreley.
She brushed her hair with a golden comb.
The sailors that heard her call disappeared forever.
Yes, but it´s only a legend.
I´m beggining to think there´s some truth to it.
I´m going to cover the river at night
I´m sure the beast we seek is hiding here.
- Why do you run from me? - What do you want?
I want to see you, to speak with you.
Why?
I don´t know.
You seem different from other women I know.
You have seen me and you have spoken to me.
Your wish has been granted. Now leave.
You don´t live here. Right?
No, I live nearby, next to the river.
I´ve never seen you before
I have not been out in many years.
I´m sure they can´t be many.
Many more than you can imagine.
What´s your name?
Does it matter?
What´s the matter, don´t you want to tell me?
Do you like the name Loreley?
Loreley? That can´t be. It´s impossible!
Why?
Someone just told me a terrible story.
Who?
A madman. Professor Van Lander.
He likes to experiment with cellular mutations and things like that.
He´s obsessed with destroying the legend.
Do you believe in legends?
No. And you?
Some legends are true.
Why are you doing this?
Because I like you.
What a strange sensation.
You are not going to tell me that you´ve never been kissed!
You may believe it or not, but no one had ever dared to until now
You should not have kept her here so long.
I´ll take care of her.
Where are you going? Stop!
I know the way quite well. Bring the necklace.
Good evening, Professor. I am Alberic.
Any relation to the Nibelung?
I am the same Alberic who guards the treasure.
My lady, Loreley.
What are you doing?
Some research.
Nothing in particular, believe me.
You know how these things are. Lots of wasted time.
I know you are trying to destroy me.
How are the investigations coming along?
I wouldn´t exactly say "destroy."
I´m only trying to return you to your origin in the legend.
Don´t destroy that!
No, not that!
I´ve been waiting for you.
No, not now.
We have much to talk about. Have you thought about our future?
I only think of the present.
What do you do for a living?
I´m a hunter.
There are only small birds around here.
That´s all?
There´s also a strange beast claiming fresh victims night after night.
Does that have anything to do with your presence here?
Naturally.
I was hired as a guard for the girls´ boarding school...
and to kill the beast.
- Leave all that! - What?
- Leave it all! - Why?
What are those girls to you?
I don´t understand you.
I don´t want you to think about that beast anymore!
- I can´t do that. - You don´t want to!
- I can´t. - Good bye!
- Wait! - It is very late.
When will I see you again?
At the right time, I will send for you...
and then you will never leave me.
Man! They´re all so lithe.
Yes, that´s right. Look, there´s the proffesor.
I see all is quiet around here
That´s right. Nothing out of the ordinary.
We can´t say the same. We have another victim.
Another girl?
No, this time it was a beggar musician from outside of town.
That´s why we want to speak to Sigurd.
I haven´t seen him this morning. He´s probably asleep in the garage.
No, he´s not there. He´s in the marshes.
- How would you know? - Well, we went by there.
We saw him go out.
Since he´s not allowed to use the pool.
We have to forbid him to expose himself in front of the girls.
And forbid me to smoke, and forbid me to wear a mustache,
and forbid me to wear pants.
Anything else?
How´s everything, Mayor?
Very bad. The hungarian violinist has been killed.
It was the same beast.
But this time it has left a trail of water and mud.
According to the legend of the seven moons,
Loreley will come out of the river
in the form of a filthy beast to devour human hearts
that will return her to her sleep of centuries.
Professor Van Lander has a very strange theory about these events.
I admit I didn´t pay much attention,
but now I think he might be able to clarify some things.
Professor.
- These were his notes. - What does it say?
"The full moon gives it power,
"and human hearts will be its only food
during the seven nights of Wotan."
- I can´t read the rest. - Let´s get out of here.
This place makes me nervous. We´ll open an investigation.
Where are you going?
- We´re going to kill the beast! - We can´t sleep with that threat!
Before, it killed in the country. Now it dares to kill in town!
If the authorities won´t defend us, we´ll have to do it ourselves!
- We´re going after it! - Yeah, we´re going to kill it tonight!
Very well, but we must not take unnecessary risks.
Can´t you see it´s dark?
And what does that matter? We´ll still go after it!
be quiet!
At night, we are defenseless before that beast.
We´ll go after it in the morning. I will go with you.
What do we do now?
Lock up your houses. No one should go out.
We will all go after the beast in the morning.
Okay, Mayor, we´ll do that.
Who is it?
- Who´s there? - It´s me.
Be quiet, they might hear us.
- What´s the matter? - I can´t sleep. I´m nervous.
Do you want to stay with me?
Won´t the Professor find out?
She´s probably nervous, too.
Come, I´m taking a bath.
You´re still there?
- Did you lock the window? - I think so.
Good night, Martha. Have a restful evening.
Thank you. Good night.
I thought she´d never leave.
What´s going on? Where is that man?
- Up here, hurry up! -Help us! Help us!
It sounds like it´s in Martha´s room
What are you doing? Let me go!
Why are you out here?
I couldn´t sleep. I told you to let me go!
Go back to your room. The garden is dangerous at this hour.
There´s something supernatural about all this.
We haven´t come up with a single clue.
All traces were lost in the water.
Could it be an aquatic animal?
It´s possible.
Yes, we´ll have to search the bottom of the river.
You should ask the Army for help.
Oh, yeah? For what? So they can laugh at what I think?
You can´t do it alone.
Don´t you see how dangerous it is?
And what is that to you? You don´t even like me.
Given our circumstances, I think that...
we shouldn´t be enemies.
That´s always been my opinion.
No hard feelings?
No, your attitude was normal.
I was just an intruder in this peaceful retreat.
That´s it. I was afraid that you...
that you...
What?
You were afraid of this?
It´s late.
I must go. We´ll talk tomorrow
Open up! For God´s sake, open up!
Elke!
- What happened? - The beast!
It was following me. It almost killed me!
Why are we setting out so late?
The story of Loreley is a lunar myth.
This is the right moment. The moon will be out soon.
It´s very dangerous to go by yourself.
I have enough oxygen,
and if the legend is true, there has to be a cave.
If I am not back by dawn, you must blow up that rock.
Don´t worry, we will.
Put it on! My lady waits for you.
I wanted to show you the useless treasures.
that my father, Wotan, ordered me to guard.
Why so many deaths?
I need them to prolong my sleep of centuries.
They were all innocents victims.
Their sacrifice could not be avoided.
It is part of my second nature to obtain human hearts
so that the legend may remain alive forever.
I have come to destroy you, Loreley.
I know you love me.
Yes
But I must accomplish the mission I´ve been given.
You are a monster that must not live.
You have been chosen to be my companion.
You will remain with me, and death will pose no obstacle to our love.
You will stay.
We will always be together...
enjoying as we watch this greatest of treasures,
such that no one has ever dreamed of--
the treasure of the Nibelungs.
You will stay with me forever.
Come Sigurd. Eternal love awaits us.
Come, Sigurd. Eternal love awaits us.
Come, Sigurd Eternal love awaits us.
No, I can´t stay with you! I can´t! I can´t!
You must forget all your mortal sentimentality
We´ll do the Nibelung ritual. and my father, Wotan,
will make you eternal and powerful.
Valhalla will be your kingdom forever.
I will never forget that you have killed poor victims who never did you harm.
I did it to survive. It´s my nature.
Would you accuse a panther or a volcano of being cruel?
They are free forces that stand above human feelings.
That´s why they must be fought.
It´s too soon to make you understand.
Alberic!
Put him in chains and keep him like that until I return.
My lady, your insistence is useless.
This man will grow old and die like the others.
Not this one.
Wotan will forgive me at last,
and the ritual of Valhalla will grant me a companion.
But he is in love with another woman.
We saw how they kissed.
I´ll get rid of her. Sigurd will forget her.
Human feelings do not last for long.
As you wish, my lady.
Leave him!
We don´t have to put up with Lorely´s whims.
Let´s set him lose. She´ll be raving mad.
- You want him for yourself. - No, I only want to have fun.
Get away, you beast! He´ll never be yours.
Damn you! Alberic will punish you for this.
I don´t care!
I will finish you all before I destroy you!
Wotan´s curse will fall on you, and you will die!
Let go of me!
No! No! Let go of me!
He´s taking too long.
There he is!
Quick!
Hurry up!
Sigurd.
No, Sigurd!
You can´t go by yourself!
Come close to me.
Wotan´s curse separates us.
The end will be quick in your arms.
Loreley.
We´ll see each other again in Valhalla.
Sigurd!
I´ll be waiting for you.
Sigurd! Sigurd! I´ll be waiting for you.