With some added enjoyment of Elvira on her "Movie Macabre," "The Werewolf of Washington" looked to be the typical dumb cheese that the Mistress of the Dark liked to show. And, while it may be dumb cheese at times, at its roots, this flick is actually quite a fun and interesting little political satire. . .
In an opening narration, we meet Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell), one of the "best and brightest" (his words) young journalists in Washington. After having an affair with the president's daughter, he's reassigned to Hungary. This only lasts a short while, because he is bitten by a werewolf (or a German Shepherd) and transfers BACK to D.C. where he, you guessed it, starts to work for the president again. Soon after his return, again you guessed it, dead bodies start turning up around the nation's capital and Whittier must find a way to cease his curse and end the murders.
If you haven't yet noticed by the title or plot or that it was on Elvira's show, "The Werewolf of Washington" isn't a film that's meant to be taken very seriously. In fact, it's actually much more a satirical comedy poking fun at our central government with a wry sense of humour (even though it contains about equal parts intentional and unintentional comedy here) than a horror film. For example:
Too funny.
The entire film is full of great one-liners (or two-liner, here, I guess?) like this, along with a big dose of heavy satire (most notably the apparent Nixon-wannabe as president and the hints at Watergate). And, if you can watch a film for elements like that, well, you'll have to for this one. Why? Because there isn't another good element about it. The direction & cinematography (which occasionally try to be artsy or creative) but just ends up being silly for the most part. This unrestored copy's terrible audio and video make it nearly unwatchable at points. I found myself cranking the volume just to ear a single line of dialogue, then having my eardrums blasted out when the sound returned to workable. The acting is painful and, as Elvira pointed out, it seemed that some of the actors were occasionally forgetting their lines (especially the funny little Gypsy woman). The majority of violence is exchanged for random people just screaming and looking scared, though there is a good bit of blood & gore on occasion. Luckily, a flick like this doesn't need strong film-making. It has a werewolf. In Washington. And that's enough.
It's a hard time trying to rate a film like this, however, as it can barely score a 1 as a real film. . . but it can easily grab a 10 just for the endless fun. So, we'll even it out to a. . .
Final Verdict: 5/10 You know just from the title whether or not this movie is for you.
-AP3-
In an opening narration, we meet Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell), one of the "best and brightest" (his words) young journalists in Washington. After having an affair with the president's daughter, he's reassigned to Hungary. This only lasts a short while, because he is bitten by a werewolf (or a German Shepherd) and transfers BACK to D.C. where he, you guessed it, starts to work for the president again. Soon after his return, again you guessed it, dead bodies start turning up around the nation's capital and Whittier must find a way to cease his curse and end the murders.
If you haven't yet noticed by the title or plot or that it was on Elvira's show, "The Werewolf of Washington" isn't a film that's meant to be taken very seriously. In fact, it's actually much more a satirical comedy poking fun at our central government with a wry sense of humour (even though it contains about equal parts intentional and unintentional comedy here) than a horror film. For example:
- "He possessed the sign of the pentagram."
- "Ah! The Pentagon is behind all this!"
Too funny.
The entire film is full of great one-liners (or two-liner, here, I guess?) like this, along with a big dose of heavy satire (most notably the apparent Nixon-wannabe as president and the hints at Watergate). And, if you can watch a film for elements like that, well, you'll have to for this one. Why? Because there isn't another good element about it. The direction & cinematography (which occasionally try to be artsy or creative) but just ends up being silly for the most part. This unrestored copy's terrible audio and video make it nearly unwatchable at points. I found myself cranking the volume just to ear a single line of dialogue, then having my eardrums blasted out when the sound returned to workable. The acting is painful and, as Elvira pointed out, it seemed that some of the actors were occasionally forgetting their lines (especially the funny little Gypsy woman). The majority of violence is exchanged for random people just screaming and looking scared, though there is a good bit of blood & gore on occasion. Luckily, a flick like this doesn't need strong film-making. It has a werewolf. In Washington. And that's enough.
It's a hard time trying to rate a film like this, however, as it can barely score a 1 as a real film. . . but it can easily grab a 10 just for the endless fun. So, we'll even it out to a. . .
Final Verdict: 5/10 You know just from the title whether or not this movie is for you.
-AP3-