A divorced dad named Robert (Kerwin Mathews) and his young son Richie (Scott Sealey) are having a good time at their cabin in the wilderness when Richie is attacked by a werewolf. In his efforts to fight the monster and save his son, Dad is bitten by the beast. Which, as we all know, will cause him to sprout claws and fangs the next time that there's a full moon. Naturally, nobody will believe the kids' wild story (including Dad, who retains no memories of what he does when in wolf form), assuming him to simply have an overactive imagination.
That's a decent enough premise, but the movie is just not very good. It's Hella entertaining at times, but that's only because it's so damn laughable at those times. The filmmakers don't seem to have their tongues in their cheeks or be going for a spoof approach; most things are played pretty straight. But it's too hard not to snicker, even during some of the more horror-oriented moments. The characters are at least reasonably engaging, although the hippie commune leader, played by screenwriter Bob Homel, wears out his welcome in a hurry. (All of the scenes at the commune are pretty ridiculous.) Overall, the movie is a little too silly to really work. The werewolf makeup by Tom Burman is pretty amusing, to say the least.
This was the third and final pairing of cult filmmaker Nathan Juran and fantasy star Mathews; they'd previously worked together on "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jack the Giant Killer". It also marked Mathews' last feature length appearance in a motion picture before retiring; the only thing he did afterwards was a special appearance in a "movie within the movie" in "Nightmare in Blood". Mathews is okay, but you have to feel a little embarrassed for him. Gorgeous Elaine Devry is fine as the mother, and Sealey is appealing as the kid. The supporting cast is largely nondescript, with the exceptions of veteran character actor Robert J. Wilke as the Sheriff, and George Gaynes as the psychiatrist.
By all means, seek this one out if you're looking for a fun bad movie, but don't expect any more than that.
Six out of 10.
That's a decent enough premise, but the movie is just not very good. It's Hella entertaining at times, but that's only because it's so damn laughable at those times. The filmmakers don't seem to have their tongues in their cheeks or be going for a spoof approach; most things are played pretty straight. But it's too hard not to snicker, even during some of the more horror-oriented moments. The characters are at least reasonably engaging, although the hippie commune leader, played by screenwriter Bob Homel, wears out his welcome in a hurry. (All of the scenes at the commune are pretty ridiculous.) Overall, the movie is a little too silly to really work. The werewolf makeup by Tom Burman is pretty amusing, to say the least.
This was the third and final pairing of cult filmmaker Nathan Juran and fantasy star Mathews; they'd previously worked together on "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jack the Giant Killer". It also marked Mathews' last feature length appearance in a motion picture before retiring; the only thing he did afterwards was a special appearance in a "movie within the movie" in "Nightmare in Blood". Mathews is okay, but you have to feel a little embarrassed for him. Gorgeous Elaine Devry is fine as the mother, and Sealey is appealing as the kid. The supporting cast is largely nondescript, with the exceptions of veteran character actor Robert J. Wilke as the Sheriff, and George Gaynes as the psychiatrist.
By all means, seek this one out if you're looking for a fun bad movie, but don't expect any more than that.
Six out of 10.