WOLF MAN (2025)

WOLF MAN (2025). Director: Leigh Whannell.

When his long-missing father is finally declared dead, Blake (Christopher Abbott) and his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and young daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), head out to the old man's farm in Oregon. Along the way they nearly run over a feral creature who appears to be at least partly human. This creature keeps attacking the farmhouse even as Blake begins to transform into a wolf-like version of himself who can no longer understand English just as his wife and child can no longer understand him. Now Charlotte and her daughter face terrible danger from two sources, the carnivorous monster outside and her husband, who is slowly mutating into something just as dangerous ... 

Leigh Whannell, who wrote and directed the creditable Invisible Man, doesn't hit one out of the ballpark with this new picture. Despite attempts to make this some kind of family drama -- Charlotte is bothered by the fact that her daughter has bonded more with her father than with her -- Wolf Man, despite some exciting moments, just never catches fire. The acting is good, but you're never really on the edge of your seat, and the plot is just too insubstantial. Another problem is that the film is seriously underlit during several key sequences, further blunting the impact. An interesting aspect is that when a neighbor who tries to help the family gets attacked by the monster, the little girl asks if he survived, but not the mother. Not one of the more memorable werewolf pictures. 

Verdict: Watch Scream of the Wolf instead. **1/2. 

THE HOWLING

Watch out for those fangs!

THE HOWLING (1981). Director: Joe Dante.  

"You can't tame what's meant to be wild." 

Television reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace) has an unpleasant encounter with serial killer Eddie Quint (Robert Picardo) in a porn bookstore, but she doesn't remember exactly what happened. Eddie is killed in a hail of bullets but later his body disappears from the morgue. Shaken by her ordeal, Karen is advised by her psychiatrist, Dr. Waggner (Patrick Macnee), to go to his coastline retreat called the Colony. There Karen discovers that there might be worse things walking the earth than serial killers. 

Dee Wallace

The Howling was one of the first big "modern-day" werewolf thrillers and it was so popular at the time of its release that it engendered several, mostly terrible, sequels. Although it's still an entertaining movie, it's gone down in my estimation, primarily because director Joe Dante's staging of some sequences is clumsy to say the least. We're asked to believe that one character can be in an office without ever being aware that an eight foot tall werewolf is in the room with her, and we're also supposed to believe that Karen would simply stand there and watch as Eddie transforms into a wolfman in front of her when the exit is just behind her. True, one can be quite mesmerized by this transformation scene -- which is very well done in the FX sense -- but still ...! Also Dante, whose specialty is black comedies, can't seem to avoid turning the film at times into a blatant and silly parody.

Elisabeth Brooks and Patrick Macnee

As the heroine of the film, Dee Wallace [Love's Deadly Triangle] is acceptable, although I far more enjoyed the very likable Belinda Balaski [The Food of the Gods] as one of Karen's colleagues who comes to a bad end. Ditto for Patrick Macnee [King Solomon's Treasure] of The Avengers TV series who plays a somewhat sympathetic part. Wallace's husband Christopher Stone plays Karen's boyfriend, Bill, and Elisabeth Brooks is introduced as sensual Marsha, who has an affair with Bill. She's not much of an actress and had only a few credits. (Wallace had a ton of credits and is still acting today.) There are fun cameos by John Carradine, Kenneth Tobey, Slim Pickens (as a werewolf sheriff!), and Dick Miller. While admittedly they are rather busy at the time, neither Karen nor another colleague, Chris (Dennis Dugan), have much of a reaction when they learn of the deaths of their respective lovers. Robert Picardo and Don McLeod both make an impression as highly sinister werewolves. Old pro Kevin McCarthy plays Karen's boss. 

Verdict: Has some teeth to it but disappointing in some regards. **3/4. 

THE BEAST MUST DIE

Calvin Lockhart

THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974). Director: Paul Arnett. 

A black man named Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is chased by what appear to be white mercenaries through a forest and is apparently shot and killed. But Newcliffe turns out to be the wealthy owner of the island, and the men have been hired to test him and his security equipment. Pavel (Anton Diffring) is the chief security officer and watches everything that happens on the island through not-so-hidden cameras.

Peter Cushing

Newcliffe has become convinced that one of his guests, all of whom have some dark secrets in their past, is a bonafide flesh-eating werewolf,  and as the full moon approaches he is determined to find out who the guilty party is. Suspects include painter Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon); pianist Jan (Michael Gambon); Jan's girlfriend Davina (Ciaran Madden); the businessman Pennington (Charles Gray); Dr. Lundgren (Peter Cushing), who is knowledgeable about the loup garou;  and even Newcliffe's beautiful wife, Caroline (Marlene Clark). As victims with torn-out throats start piling up, and the survivors are unable to leave the island, panic begins to set in and the already slightly unhinged Newcliffe becomes even more manic and possibly dangerous.

Anton Diffring and Calvin Lockhart

The Beast Must Die benefits from an excellent premise and a suspenseful and exciting screenplay by Michael Winder (taken from a story by James Blish). Paul Arnett's direction is satisfactory. It is interesting that the lead role is played by handsome Nassau-born "blaxploitation" star Lockhart [Myra Breckenridge], whose flamboyant acting style doesn't quite work with this material. A frail Peter Cushing [The Gorgon] has little to do as the doctor who dispenses wisdom about werewolves, but he does it well. Anton Diffring [The Man Who Could Cheat Death], another old pro like Cushing, plays with his customary adeptness and authority. The other actors are mostly professional and on target in their portrayals. Marlene Clark is dubbed by Annie Ross, which may be why her performance seems a bit odd at times. The film has a "werewolf break" in which the audience has thirty seconds to decide who they think the monster is. Aside from this one theatrical feature, Paul Arnett directed British television productions. From Amicus Studios. Douglas Gamley's theme music is awful and completely inappropriate. 

Verdict: Imperfect but entertaining and unusual werewolf-on-the-loose flick. ***. 

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL

Gloria Talbott and John Agar

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL (1957). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

"If you love me, please kill me!" 

Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott of The Leech Woman) and her fiance George (John Agar of Bait) come for a visit with her late father's friend, Dr. Lomas (Arthur Shields). Lomas informs her that she has inherited this vast estate, house and cash, from her father, but also tells her that he was the notorious Dr. Jekyll. Departing from Stevenson's classic novel, Lomas tells Janet that Mr. Hyde was apparently a werewolf. Afraid that she has inherited the curse (although it sounds as if she were born before Daddy imbibed all those nasty chemicals), she breaks off the engagement. Worse, she has nightmares that she is attacking and killing women in her sleep, women who later turn up dead. 

The werewolf of Daughter

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll is a fair-to-middling horror film. On one hand, there are atmospheric shots of the mansion and countryside, all sheathed in fog, but the internal scenes seem a little too matter-of-fact. The truth of what's going on is pretty much given away by a campy prologue in which one character in werewolf make-up cackles at the audience (repeated at the end). Arthur Shields gives a good performance, while Talbott is suitably overwrought and Agar tries to summon up some enthusiasm. The supporting performers are fine, and the score, which is attributed to no one, is creepy when it needs to be. Cheap and entertaining, this is not one of Ulmer's best directorial efforts. The woman who appears in the nightmare sequences is an actress other than Talbott. 

Verdict: Good enough premise, and fun in a limited way. **1/4. 

THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (1973)

Kerwin Mathews and Scott Sealey

THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (1973). Director: Nathan Juran.

A divorced and somwhat chauvinistic father, Robert Bridgestone (Kerwin Mathews) and his young son, Richie (Scott Sealey), take off for a cabin in the mountains for a vacation. While there Robert saves his son from an attack by a strange person who bites Robert on the arm. Richie is convinced that the person who attacked them was a werewolf, and later that his own father has become one himself. A series of gruesome dismemberment murders in the area have the police stymied, but no one will believe Richie. 

Mathews begins his transformation

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf is the last film directed by Nathan Juran, who worked with star Kerwin Mathews on two fantasy adventure pictures, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jack the Giant Killer. The premise of this film is a good one, but not enough is done with it. A big problem is the fact that while Mathews made a fine swashbuckling hero in the aforementioned movies, in this his acting is insufficient. Little Scott Sealey gives an earnest performance and is a likable youngster, but he doesn't quite hit the mark, either. Elaine Devry is more than acceptable as the boy's mother, and there are some flavorful character performances sprinkled throughout. 

Kerwin Mathews and Elaine Devry

The movie has uneven scoring and missed opportunities, although there are some exciting action sequences, such as when the werewolf attacks a trailer and some other people and causes a great deal of havoc. A psychiatrist who accepts the werewolf explanation much too easily (even if he's right!) is savagely murdered, but unfortunately the shrill, annoying head of a hippie commune is spared that fate. The make up by Tom Burnam is good even if one might question the werewolf's pompadour. 

Verdict: A boy and his werewolf. **1/2.