The Werewolf

The sheriff of a small mountain town tracks a man injected with a werewolf serum.

If there’s one word to describe The Werewolf, a low-budget shocker from producer Sam Katzman, it’s frustrating. While it’s certainly much better than Katzman’s Zombies of Mora Tau, for every step forward The Werewolf takes, it seems to take two steps back.

In the cinematography department, there’s some great location photography, but its completely overshadowed by the awful day-for-night shots. Worst of all are the shots of the titular character running around in broad daylight.

Werewolves do not run around in daylight. It just isn’t done.

As far as casting, Steven Ritch goes completely over-the-top as the lead, though Don Megowan is solid, if somewhat stiff, as the sheriff tracking him. Best of all is Harry Lauter, who shines as Megowan’s character’s deputy.

The script eschews the typical “who’s the werewolf” template, and instead crafts the mystery around how Ritch’s character became a werewolf. While this is somewhat original, it ultimately runs out of steam well before the 79-minute running time concludes.

As for the production values, the initial werewolf transformation is solid, with the drool as a nice touch, but it’s all undone by the aforementioned daylight shots, which kill any suspension of disbelief. In broad daylight, a man running through the snow in cheap werewolf makeup looks like nothing more than a man running through the snow in cheap werewolf makeup.

While werewolf fans may appreciate the story’s touches of originality, others should just watch The Wolf Man instead.