Regular DVD reviewer and all round cool guy, Shawn Francis, brings us his look at Sony's MOD release of Sam Kurtzman's 1956 The Werewolf. I love the old black and white horrors of the 30s, 40s and 50s and this one looks like a keeper. Check out Shawn's review after the jump....
Written By Shawn Francis
This
is yet another flick from my childhood that stood out, mainly due to
the fact that it’s not really a werewolf movie. This feels more of
a companion piece to the 1932 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel, ‘The
Island Of Dr. Moreau,’ then released under the title, Island Of
Lost Souls, thus putting it more in the realm of science fiction,
or more accurately science fiction/horror.
The
movie opens with a voiceover educating the viewer on the lore of
lycanthrope while on a wintry night in the town of Moutaincrest we
see a man not properly dressed for the weather stumble into a local
bar and buy a drink.
We
learn Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch) has no clue who he is or why he’s
in Mountaincrest. A short time later we learn just how “messed up”
he is when one of the bar’s patrons follows him out into the night
and attempts to rob him. While being beat up in the alley he
transforms into some kind of monster, tears the man’s throat out
and runs off into the night.
Now
the hunt is on as Sheriff Jack Haines (Don Megowan), his Deputy, Ben
Clovey (Harry Lauter) and various townsfolk go off into the forest to
see if they can catch what they at first believe is just a man. Not
until Clovey is brought to the local doctor, Jonas Gilchrist (Ken
Christy) and his daughter, Amy Standish (Joyce Holden), with an
animal wound to his arm and an account of being attacked by something
only half human do the principal characters start to consider
the notion that they’ve got a werewolf on their hands.
Marsh’s
“lycanthrope” does not follow the traditional laws set for by
mythology. He transforms, yes, but he can do it in the light of day
and his bite does not afflict his victims with any kind of curse that
would make him or her a similar beast.
During
the early part of the “hunt-for-the-monster” portion of the film
there are a couple of interludes where in one we are introduced to
scientists, Morgan Chambers (George Lynn) and Emory Forrest (S. John
Launer), who have been experimenting on animals thinking radiation
fallout is going to transform every human on Earth into man-beasts
and his serum will be the only thing keeping a small segment of the
population “normal.” Part of this experiment involved transfusing
irradiated wolf’s blood into Marsh. Now they’ve got to head up to
Mountaincrest and kill Marsh before he can tell anyone anything. The
other interlude involves Marsh coming into contact with Gilchrist and
Standish and admitting his guilt in that man’s murder and wanting
help, but then freaks out when Standish offers him some pills to
relax. Back into the woods he flees.
Steven
Rich’s performance is quite good and relatable, a likable guy in
human form and a detestable beast when he transforms. Great scenic
locations that made me believe this is some Midwestern or Pacific
Northwestern burg despite IMDB stating it was all filmed in
California.
The werewolf make-up
is quite effective, too, with the long, sharp, white teeth being the
standout feature. With the irradiated wolf blood concept being the
cause of Marsh’s transformation it had me thinking about Marvel
Comic’s Incredible Hulk character. He even transforms in a state of
adrenalized panic in the beginning, during that first kill.
Sony
originally released this movie back in 2007 on DVD in a collection
called, Icons Of Horror: Sam Katzman. It’s now been recently
released in a standalone MOD. The transfer isn’t bad. Not perfect,
but not terrible either. The best thing is it’s in a 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen, as it was in that collection, which
incidentally can still be purchased. The audio is English Dolby
Stereo and there are no subtitles.
The
disc as no main menu.
Once
you pop it in the movie just starts playing. If you’re like me and
wanted this movie but didn’t want it with those other three Sam
Katzman made, this Sony MOD is the better buy.
For
UK collectors both the collection and the standalone MOD would have
to be imported for it doesn’t appear Sony has released either in UK
exclusive editions.
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