Columbia's The Werewolf is not nearly as generic as its title would suggest: in fact, it is one of the better films of its kind. Steven Ritch plays Duncan Marsh, who after being seriously injured in a car wreck is used as a guinea pig by a pair of none too scrupulous scientists (S. John Launer and George M. Lynn). Seeking a cure for radiation poisoning, the scientists inject Marsh with wolf serum (what this has to do with radiation poisioning is never fully explained). Before long, Marsh is a full-fledged lycanthrope, wreaking havoc in the Big Bear Lake region. Some truly startling vignettes--including one lulu of a sequence in a jail cell--lift this Sam Katzman production well above the norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
The Werewolf is one of the best examples of its movie subgenre -- the modern lycanthropy story -- and unexpectedly comes from producer
Sam Katzman, whose production team, led by director
Fred Sears, got everything right. The script is intelligent and suspenseful, and filled with interesting, believable characters who get good portrayals from a cast of mostly relative unknowns and bit players in bigger-than-usual parts.
Don Megowan, who had mostly done stunt and monster roles up to this time, does an unexpectedly good job as the law enforcement officer caught in the middle of a mystery worthy of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Steven Ritch in the title role gives the performance of a lifetime. The cinematography is beautifully atmospheric and the action moves along at a brisk pace, going right past the obvious problem of a low budget -- the makers even fall back on elements of German expressionism evocative of early 1930s horror movies to shoot a chilling jail cell scene with too little money, and it comes off far more chilling than it would have had they had more money to spend. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide