Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Werewolf movie, older than me but very good!

It was August 27, my 26th birthday, and just before midnight I was bored. Borrowing a friend's netflix account, I managed to find something unexpected; a werewolf movie that I hadn't heard of before!   


Not only was it a movie I hadn't heard of, but it was based on one of Stephen King's books "Cycle of the Werewolf" and the movie came out in 1985, so it's only a year older than me.


As far as the plot goes, this follows the basic werewolf movie structure, where people start getting torn apart, and someone eventually notices the coincidence that these horrible deaths are occuring during the full moon. 

There are a few key differences in this movie that I feel make it exceptional. First, instead of going into the usual, blood thirsty craze that most werewolves go into, the werewolf in this movie knows exactly what its doing. At least to some degree, it is in control of its actions and who it kills. 

Because of this, the movie is able to give us a few hints and clues as to who the werewolf is, leaving you pondering and guessing at least for a little while. 

Secondly, this movie has an unusual main character, especially for a werewolf movie. 
The main character, Marty, is handicapped and confined to a wheelchair. (Though the wheelchair doesn't stop him from trying to stop the werewolf, much to his credit).

The actual werewolf transformation was interesting, and pretty good considering it was made in 1985, and I was impressed with how the werewolf turned out. Not as scary as the werewolves from Dog Soldiers, but pretty good.

As to be expected, there are some unrealistic and a few bloody scenes, but overall nothing terribly over the top. (Well...expect for that guy who got his head slapped off. That was kind of....different)

 I will note, however, that some of the werewolf sounds sound a lot like the dinosaur sounds they've used in other movies.

All in all, great movie and worth a watch!