Reviews: 5 Werewolf Films: Werewolf Massacre at Hell’s Gate; The Snarling; Dark Moon Rising; A Werewolf in England; Werewolves Within

Reviews: 5 Various Werewolf Films

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

While there are a plethora of werewolf films recently, such as Dog Soldiers (2002), Bonehill Road (2017), Sheep Skin (2013), comedies like Bubba the Redneck Werewolf (2014), Lycanimator (2018), and even documentaries like Skinwalker: The Howl of theRougarou (2021). 

These films below are not ranked, but are listed in the order in which I watched them, all from TubiTV. Note that my snark is truly meant to be fun and rib-poking with a touch of stream of consciousness. I had just the right low-budget expectation for these films, so I was not blindsided by anticipating a theatrical extravaganza experience. After all, when it comes to the cheese level, there are times when ya want melted brie on toast, and at others, Cheez-Whiz on animal crackers. I enjoyed these films for precisely what they are. Links to the coming attractions for all of them are at the bottom of each review.

 

Werewolf Massacre at Hell’s Gate
Directed by James Baack
Great Lakes Artists Group; INGY Films; Cheezy Flicks Entertainment
80 minutes, 2015

Isn’t it great when a film does a mash-up of others to combine into something not quite new, but not quite same-old-same-old? Especially on a budget of spit? For the purposes of this release, it starts with a man in a suit warning the audience to be prepared to be “terrified,” similar to the opening of Frankenstein (1931), except in a cozy chair instead of in front of a curtain. The story proper begins with a curse by a witch (Claire “Fluffy” Llewellyn, a cult horror writer/poet/actor/director) back 400 years ago. Of course, that no European ever got to the area of Spring Grove, WI, back in those days is irrelevant. We next switch over to Iraq as we meet someone picking up an artifact, a la The Exorcist (1973), and swinging back to East Troy, WI. Here, the story starts to proceed into its main theme where a paranormal investigator, Wendy (Wendy Pierson), gets a call from someone at the Chicago Archdiocese to meet at – of course – Miskatonic University (does the mythical New England school have a branch in the Midwest?). We get a lot of inner-thought exposition from Wendy as she drives along. In fact, between the opening title cards and her thoughts, we don’t have to do much but sit back and not think too hard. Guess this is good if you’re a stoner (which I’m not). If you stretch it a bit, one could see her as a reporter investigating a community of potential wolfies at a closed mental asylum called Hell’s Gate (near Elkhorn, for this film), much like the Dee Wallace character in The Howling (1981). Her companion, Ian (Jason Wollwert), does his searching using a 35mm still Pentax camera. Wait, is this 2015 or 1995? Oh, sorry, some thinking got in there. There is some odd humor thrown in here and there, such as someone named Flunky (director James Baack) representing The Brotherhood of Guns, Jesus and Pick-up Trucks, who wears a weird old man with big nose mask and a straw-looking wig. You can tell when we are seeing the POV of the werewolves because of the monochrome red lens. Now let’s talk a bit about the look of the werewolves: they dress in ordinary clothes, mostly hoodies, and have hairy gloved hands and a rubber wolf mask on their faces. Can’t get much faker looking, I’m thinking the crew was aiming to lean towards the Michael Landon look when he is transformed and wearing his letterman jacket in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), or, to be kind, Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf (1985) without the make-up budget. Their growl sounds more big-cat than canine (random joke: you feed a dog, they think you’re a god; you feed a cat, they think they’re a god). Flunky is definitely the comic relief as a southern accented redneck (in Wisconsin? Then again it does explain Paul Ryan being elected … But I digress…). The question in the title is as follows: Is the massacre perpetrated by the werewolves, or are they the ones massacred? Despite the overdone exposition, there are a lot of vagaries involved. The biggest flaw with the film is not the acting (which is pretty wooden), it’s not the cheesy effects (the digital blood splatter and gunfire look amateurish), it’s that the story feels cobbled together. It’s almost like set pieces that are spliced in to stretch the story. For example, there is a fun part where a militia group (said Brotherhood of Guns, etc.) hunts down the werewolves, and suddenly it’s 6 months later and we follow one of the more annoying couples (50 percent of her dialog is a multitude of “Oh my God!”) onscreen I have seen in a while, Mary (Tina Biovin) and Paul (Anthony Zielinski), as they walk through the marshes after their car breaks down and meet up with, well, you know. When we meet them, the theme changes into another movie. Most of the previous characters disappear, including Wendy, without explanation. The film is kind of a mess from beginning to end, but there are some redeeming values, such as the humor, whether intentional or not.
Trailer is HERE 

 

The Snarling
Directed by Pablo Raybould
Shooting Lodge Productions; Left Films; Wild Eye Releasing
83 minutes, 2018
www.wildeyereleasing.com

This is the British director’s first feature, other than a couple of shorts, so let’s see where it takes us. Like a Zenn Diagram, there are three overlapping story arches that all will come together. For a start, the first circle premise is a well-worn trope: a group making a horror movie (the zombie genre) end up fighting something evil to stay alive. Nice thing about a film crew is that more bodies from both behind and in front of the camera equal a larger kill count, amiright?! The main actor is also the lead comic relief. Greg Lupeen (Laurence Saunders), is the spoiled star of the zom-com, and he’s quite the prat. For example, when he smacks a “zombie” extra actor for real and she loses two teeth, he accuses her of trying to steal his scene. After a good jump scare to start, this leads into a “Oh, c’mon” moment of two hikers in puffy coats walking through a foggy park (as opposed to the moors), and lots of hidden canine messages throughout, e.g., the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” and a bottle of Wolf Beer at the bar) like in The Howling (1981), which is kinda reflected in this release’s title. This is probably more of a nod to An American Werewolf in London (1981) than a rip-off, but it feels like the title of a Dave Edmunds album, Subtle as a Flying Mallet (1976). At some point we meet the second circle focusing on our three main protagonists: there’s owner (bartender?) of the Dirty Hog pub, Bob (Ben Manning), his friend Mike (Chris Simmons), and their slow pal Les (also Saunders in a turn from The Prisoner of Zenda, a novel written by Anthony Hope in 1894). They get involved with the film in various roles. The final circle is the coppers, led by a Detective Inspector (director Pablo Raybould), the ever-eating officer on the case of the bodies being ripped apart in is jurisdiction, and the more bumbling bobbies under his command, especially second-in-command, Haskins (Ste Johnston). This was a surprisingly enjoyable film with sharp writing, albeit a bit predictable at times (I figured out who was the werewolf pretty early on), even with the jump scares. But the humor is well written, with a Monty Python-esque tone mixed with Airplane (1980). and relies strongly on Ben Manning’s 90-degree editing. I was definitely entertained all the way through, with strong performances by everyone, including Raybould’s turn as the DI. It was also nice to see Julie Peasgood, who was in the Hammer Films’ The House of Long Shadows (1983), as a smarmy film producer trying to save the zom-com.
Trailer is HERE 

 

Dark Moon Rising
Directed by Justin Price
Pikshure Zero Entertainment; Uncork’d Entertainment
85 minutes, 2015

At first, I wasn’t going to watch this, as it said it was the beginning of a trilogy, but then I heard about all the bad reviews, and couldn’t find out about any following films, so that intrigued me, especially for a short, snarky review that is this blog’s point. One prescient note is that Eric Roberts is in it, which does not bode well for anything since the new millennium, and second is that he does not even get top billing. Using the opposite of the Jaws (1975) theory of holding off to see the monster, despite the extremely visually dark opening, we see a CGI wolfie that looks pretty cool, albeit a bit cartoonish. I’m not sure who picked the costume and hair design, but whoever okayed it (director Price?) should have left it for someone else, the prime example of WTF being the look of the male lead, Chace (Cameron White), who distractingly looks like he stepped out of a ‘90s music video or video game. It’s pretty obvious that the film is trying to go into a Twilight (2008) theme more than something as gritty as, say, Dog Soldiers (2002). For example, there is one beastie, Gecko (Matthew Simmons) who tends to be shirtless like Taylor Lautner. In fact, there is a lot of mash-ups here, as it was a “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” mentality. A group of attractive youths who are werewolves that can change on desire rather than by moonlight, led by Sin (director Price) that may have been shown as a motorcycle gang in the mid-‘60s mentality descend upon small-town America, a la 30 Days of Night (2007) meets The Lost Boys (1987) or Near Dark (1987). There’s also a mysterious wooden bridge that’s straight outta Silver Bullet (1985). Every once in a while, you will hear someone’s thoughts narrated, and nearly every time, it’s superfluous and sounds out of place/distracting; I mean, do I really need to hear a woman (Deanna Grace Congo) wearing something no one would ever don for a day at college, trying to pick up weird Chace thinking, “Back in the game, Amy!” Meanwhile, the werewolves have more than the power to change shape, they can jump and spin in the air like martial artists in Shaw Brothers films, crack the sidewalk by hitting it, etc. Oh, and they kill lots of college students, it seems for the fun of it. Chace, while we’re at it, is infatuated with the mysterious Dawn (Price regular and top biller Anastasia Antonia; she’s also a writer so couldn’t she help Price with this story?). To paraphrase northern witch Glinda, is she good or is she bad? And how does Eric Roberts do? Well, he’s the most natural actor in the group, but for some reason he goes in and out of a Southern accent. He has a long speech about hootch that has nothing to do with the story (sort of this film’s version of Quint’s monolog from Jaws) that feels like Roberts made it up on the spot, and being the biggest name in the film despite second billing, they let it remain because it’s more Roberts’ screen time. The rest of the dialog is just as clunky as the acting, and as I said, the night scenes are way too dark for comfort. But will all the issues the film has, and there are plenty, the most egregious, in my opinion, is the third act battles, which have a strong nod to Mortal Kombat (1995), without the talent of a decent stunt coordinator, especially involving the scenery chewing (and yes, bare chested) Gecko.
Trailer is HERE 

 

A Werewolf in England
Directed by Charlie Steeds
Dark Temple Motion Pictures; High Fliers Films
85 minutes, 2020
www.darktemple.co.uk

You don’t see too many gothic werewolf stories. They tend to take place in the “now,” rather than in the late 19th Century (other than the occasional prologues and flashbacks). Two travelers and the driver (James Swanton) of their horse-drawn carriage stop for the night at The Three Claws, an old inn, to get out of the storm. The crusty elder parish counsellor, Horace (Tim Cartwright) and his prisoner, Archie (Reece Connolly) are stuck in this decrepit place for the night while the storm rages on. The inn is run by an older brother and sister, Vincent (Barrington De La Roche) and Martha (Emma Spurgin Hussey). If this is sounding a bit like The Old Dark House (1932), you would be right, though it’s more shadows of it rather than a remake. Like the real-life serial killer, HH Holmes, these siblings have other plans for our guests, werewolves notwithstanding. Other guests include the horny Reverend Pankhurst (Mark McKirdy), along with the resident call girl, Minnie (Jessica Alonso) and her friend, Jane (Natalie Martins). There is also a drunkard (Rory Wilton). Even before a single wolfen makes an appearance, there is already almost a full story with the cast as it is, as murderous minds ferment and take action for a purpose. The werewolves (there are three) show up at the halfway point, fully exposed: rather than CGI, they are full body costumes. For a low budget release, they look pretty good, but they do move kind of goofy, almost like mannikin puppets (is that redundant?), with arms bobbing up and down. You know it’s going to come down to the beasties and the survivors at the inn. Some of the kills actually look pretty good, especially (and again) considering the budgetary constraints. While there is a lot of action in this, it is still a comedy, but not a broad one. That being said there are more than a couple of moments involving bodily waste; however, my favorite line is someone being called a “codswallop,” a legitimate term for nonsense, and it is one I may actually use in the real world. There is also a bit of subtle humor, such as a werewolf having trouble breaking through a glass, French-type door. Even with some continuity concerns, there really is non-stop action from about the one-third in mark, right to the end. It was a pleasant surprise. The title of the film is a misnomer, however, as it is singular while the ‘wolves in question are plural; of course, they are riffing off one of the most popular film titles in history, An American Werewolf in London (1981), so it is forgivable.
Trailer is HERE 

 

Werewolves Within
Directed by Josh Rubin
IFC Films; UBYSoft; Vanishing Angle
96 minutes; 2021

So, what are two popular horror films of the relatively modern era? Well, there is John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and 30 Days of Night (2007). Okay, so let’s take the evil that arrives in small towns and put them in an isolated location, which is the basic premise of both, but in this case, it is the snow-covered burg of Beaverfield, and make everyone suspicious of each other to be a malevolent werewolf (is there any other kind outside from reimaginings like the Twilight and Underworld franchises?). Of course, it is near Christmas in this story, and all the roads soon become blocked; but not before the arrival of the new Ranger, Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson). We are also quickly introduced to a possible love interest in the very cute mail delivery person, Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub). The town is full of interesting characters like the snotty, Brooklyn transports who are left-leaning gay couple, the crude car repair shop couple, the right-wing/Karen-ish couple, the obnoxious capitalist oil company executive who wants to dig in a local National Forest, the straight-shooting-no-shit-taking doctor/scientist, and the woman who owns the local Lodge. Then there is the nutty conspiracy-focused survivalist who lives down the road a-piece. You can add in a bit of British-style drawing room dynamics as well when just about everyone is trapped at the Lodge by the weather. The big question through the film is whether the “werewolves within” is an actual lycanthrope, or a bad-acting human in wolf clothing. While I figured it out about halfway, I was unsure about the why. I was genuinely amused throughout, thanks to numerous red herrings. There is a very fine humor that runs the whole film like a backbone, which is actually not surprising considering this was created by the same director of the sharply witty Death to 2021 (2021). The film never really drags and there are some stand-out performances, especially Michaela Watkins as the manic and shrill half of the right-wing couple. There are so many elements to this that go by really fast, it is worth paying attention to the dialogue, and the images are sharp in both visuals and tone. As a drinking game, take a sip (I prefer coffee) every time someone used the word “What” as a complete sentence.
Trailer is HERE