Jacinto San Emeterio, an actor known for his work in the early 1960s, delivers a compelling performance in Face of Terror (1962). Set against a backdrop of suspense and dread, his role captures the essence of the era's fascination with horror and exploitation cinema. San Emeterio's contribution to this film reflects the gritty storytelling and raw emotion that define cult classics, making him a notable figure in the exploration of fear in cinema.
Face of Terror
A kindly wheelchair-bound physician, Doctor Charles Taylor (Fernando Rey) is developing a serum able to repair scar tissue, but he has not been able to conduct a real test. He comes across a young girl with a horribly disfigured face. The effects of the serum are better than the scientist expected, and the girl is transformed to a thing of beauty again - Norma (Lisa Gaye). He presents her to some friends, exhibiting his success, and she befriends a handsome Playboy (Virgilio Teixeira). Unfortunately for Lisa, her restored beauty is not permanent. Unfortunately to Dr. Taylor, Norma happens to be an escaped mental patient from a local asylum, and she can't cope when the serum effects wears off, and her face returns to its hideous condition. Enraged at this setback, Norma goes to the laboratory armed with the shard of a broken bottle, screaming at the doctor, "I'll kill you!" The man can do little to defend himself but to drive the wheelchair back from her, and interposing some objects that Norma swipes away with her left hand. In the nick of time, Alma (Conchita Cuetos), the doctor's assistant, enters the laboratory and tries to calm down the agitated patient. Her efforts are fruitless, as the unbalanced girl throws the bottle at Alma's head. She misses, but now she turns her anger against the beautiful assistant, and attacks her, screaming repeatedly, "I hate you!" The women, both wearing sleeveless, light dresses, proceed to grapple on their feet before falling down onto the floor - covered in glass shards - where they wrestle before standing up and resuming their battle on their feet. Alma is knocked down again when Norma hits her with the large metal support for the lamps of an operating table. The fight ends when the Doctor lures Norma away from her battered opponent, by offering her a container of the valuable serum. Lisa's fixation on the container proves disastrous. The doctor shouts at Alma to run away and, on purpose, he let's the container fall and break on the floor. Norma again turns her rage against him, and throws a heavy object to his head, with such power that he falls sideways, overturning the wheelchair. Then, she collapses by his body, as Alma stands and walks haggardly through the room.
