Tag Archives: Werewolf

Silver Bullet (1985)

December 30, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

It's the big, bad wolf! — It’s the big, bad wolf!

Starring Corey (THE LOST BOYS) Haim, Gary (PREDATOR 2) Busey, Everett (QUEST FOR FIRE) McGill, Megan Follows and Terry (THE STEPFATHER) O’Quinn, this 80s-tastic film was directed by Dan Attias. This remains the only feature film directed by Attias, who continues to work for primetime television.

Set in the rural town of Tarker’s Mills (in Maine, of course), SILVER BULLET’s script was written by Stephen King, and is an adaptation of his novella Cycle of the Werewolf.

This movie remains an enjoyable watch: Gary Busey is likeable as Uncle Red and Everett McGill is good as Reverend Lowe, who turns into a werewolf that is partial to beating some victims to death with baseball bats!

SILVER BULLET is a very ‘1980s’ film, and I mean that in a good way, boasting some memorable moments, including the sequence where the werewolf picks off people from beneath billowing fog.

Let’s talk now about the hirsute antagonist…
Carlo Rambaldi’s cheesy werewolf transformation effects, let’s face it, aren’t in the same league as Baker or Bottin, but – and I don’t really know why – I quite like the ‘Big Bad Wolf’/bear look of the critter. Go figure.

Yeah, okay: this ain't the most realistic werewolf to ever stalk the silver screen — Yeah, okay: this ain’t the most realistic werewolf to ever stalk the silver screen

At one point the disabled kid hero (zipping around in a souped-up wheelchair/motorbike) shoots the werewolf in the eye with a firework. It’s a cool moment. But I have always wondered whether this would really permanently harm a wolfman, because presumably he can only really be hurt with a silver bullet? Never mind, I guess the reason this wounding remains permanent in the story is because it serves as an important plot point, allowing our young hero to note that Reverend Lowe has lost an eye just like the werewolf, thus tipping the kid off regarding the beast’s alter ego…

Interestingly, producer Dino De Laurentiis originally offered the project to Don Coscarelli to direct. Coscarelli wrote a version of the script, but ended up quitting, for various reasons, leaving me to wonder what this werewolf film would’ve been like if it had been made by the guy responsible for PHANTASM, THE BEASTMASTER and BUBBA HO-TEP? I think it would’ve been pretty damn good – but we’ll never know. Shame.

Okay, here are some posters for the movie…

Finally, here’s a privately commissioned screen print by graphic designer and illustrator Matt Ryan…

Late Phases (2014)

September 4, 2021 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Ambrose McKinley, a blind former soldier, moves with his seeing eye dog into a retirement community near a forest. He meets his neighbour Delores, but before they can get to know one another she is brutally assaulted that very same night, killed by something big and nasty. Ambrose is also attacked by the creature, his dog comes to his aid and the beast is eventually driven off, but Ambrose’s dog is fatally wounded. When the police find Ambrose the next day they assume it was an animal attack, but Ambrose knows it must be something else, something far more savage than a forest creature… and eventually he discovers that a werewolf stalks the area.

As the story progresses Ambrose tries to discover who the person is that transforms during nights of the full moon, and eventually he finds himself battling a whole group of newly-created werewolves at his home.

I really enjoyed this movie, which boasts a strong central performance from Nick Damici. Damici starred in and wrote the script for STAKE LAND (2010) and its sequel, and was the screenwriter for the effective, gritty crime flick COLD IN JULY (2014). In LATE PHASES he is brilliant as the stubborn, say it as it is, wilful Vietnam War vet. He really takes this role seriously and it shows on the screen.

Nick Damici is the core element that makes the film so good

The movie, directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, is well-plotted, with a story that kept me watching, wondering about the identity of the werewolf.

Now, about the werewolves…

Robert Kurtzman’s Creature Corps company designed the lycanthropes with quirky, large-eared, broad-mouthed faces. I think this isn’t a look that werewolf movie purists will necessarily like, with these creatures sporting apish bodies and almost impish, furry faces that lack the long snout of other werewolf designs. They almost resemble wolf-gremlins.

Who you callin' quirky?! — Who you callin’ quirky?!

But I like the fact the movie uses practical effects to bring the beasts to life and sometimes it is good to see a different take on the look of iconic creatures like werewolves, though many will argue the big-eyed wolf-beasts here stray a little too far into goofy-looking territory. However, as I liked the movie a lot, I just accepted these weird werewolves as part of the package.

Crashing through the window — Crashing through a window!

LATE PHASES ends with a full-on transformation and a pretty gory showdown. With its satisfying mix of horror, humour and drama I think it makes a fine companion piece to that other wonderful, quirky horror flick set in an old folks home: BUBBA HO-TEP (2002).

The bulging, flesh-tearing transformation

A werwolf gets skewered through the eyes!

The blind vet goes into the shadows — Into the shadows…

Some behind the scenes shots of the werewolves…

Creature suit — Funny-lookin’ critter, right?

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

April 11, 2021 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Hammer's only werewolf movie! — Hammer’s only werewolf movie!

Don't get locked in the same cell as a werewolf! — Don’t get locked in the same jail cell as a werewolf!

Set in Spain 200 years ago, the story begins with a beggar (Richard Wordsworth of THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT fame) displeasing a spiteful, cruel marquess, who has the homeless man thrown into his dungeon, where he is forgotten.

Years later the mute daughter of the dungeon’s jailer (Yvonne Romain) rejects the advances of the now-decrepit (and scabby) Marquess and she too is tossed into the dungeon, where the mad beggar rapes her. After being freed from the dungeon she kills the Marquess, flees the mansion and is taken in by a kindly scholar, Don Alfredo Corledo. Here she dies as she gives birth to a son on Christmas Day (which is considered extremely unlucky).

The boy is named Leon and he is raised by Don Corledo. As he grows older it becomes apparent that the child is affected by the full moon. Sheep are savaged, but Don Corledo manages to keep the boy’s traits a secret, with a local dog being blamed for the killings.

Years pass, he reaches manhood and Leon (Reed) begins transforming into a werewolf again, with only the love of Cristina, a rich vintner’s daughter, able to suppress his primal imperative to become a man-wolf during the full moon. Unfortunately, Leon is separated from Cristina and jailed, where he transforms once more, goes on a rampage and is hunted by townsfolk across rooftops, until he finally meets his fate at the hands of a loved one.

As you can see by this plot overview, the movie really delves deeply into what it takes for Leon to become a werwolf: being conceived by a mute woman who was raped by an animal-like madman, being born of Christmas Day, being separated from the one true love who can stop him from transforming, etc. Unfortunately, this means that the movie takes a very long time before we reach the point where we see Reed become a slavering lycanthrope…

It is worth the wait, though, as Hammer Films’ only werewolf movie stands out primarily because of Oliver Reed’s central performance: his eyes, even under the makeup, exude menace. Roy Ashton’s werewolf design is striking, using Reed’s masculinity and solid frame to make the grey-furred, red-eyed, sharp-toothed wolf man a physically impressive presence.

Ultimately, the overly prolonged origin section of the tale does lesson the impact of the film (which wasn’t as successful as Hammer’s previous horror films when it was released), but it still has much to recommend it, including the art direction and the seriousness with which Hammer treats the subject matter.

Monster Zone

Tag Archives: Werewolf

Silver Bullet (1985)

Late Phases (2014)

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

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