By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I had heard from horror fans that this was an awful film. I haven’t seen the original or any of the sequels in years, but this was on a 4 pack of horror films so we watched it. I figured despite my lack of knowledge of its predecessors, I wouldn’t be too lost. I was correct.
The movie opens with Marie (Romy Windsor) riding in an elevator with a strange looking old nun. She turns around to say something but the nun disappears. Soon, she’s having full on hallucinations and her husband Richard (Michael T. Weiss) decides the best thing for her would be to put her in the hospital.
Upon release, her friend Tom (Antony Hamilton) who obviously has romantic feelings for her, drives her out to a cabin where she will vacation with her husband. Rich and Tom share a brief and awkward exchange, but Tom leaves telling Marie if she needs anything to let him know.
Soon, Marie hears howling and at first Richard seems sympathetic and supportive. He doesn’t hear the howling right away and even when he does, he dismisses it as a coyote. On a dime, he turns into an irritated and an annoyed jerk who cheats on Marie with a strange voodoo store owner. It seems as though he’s under a trance, but it doesn’t really delve that much into the psyche of Richard.
Instead, the audience is left to see Marie have continuous visions of the last tenants of the cabin telling her to leave and more visions of the nun. She asks nearby townies and her psychiatrist about the visions, but everyone dismisses them. Still, something doesn’t seem right within the town. There is clearly a secret that no one is willing to share.
Much to Richard’s chagrin, Marie befriends Janice (Susanne Severeid) who shares her unease and actually believes that werewolves are
within the town and are connected to Satan. Rich hates Janice immediately and at one point oddly calls her an unfulfilled and desperate lesbian. I’m not sure if there were deleted scenes where her sexuality was discussed, but there wasn’t any inclination in the film that she was gay and Rich seems to be using it as an insult. Now this was 1988, so it’s possible that the writer thought it was appropriate, but I’m just not sure of what the intent was. If there was more to it, and if Janice had romantic feelings for Janice, I wish they would have explored it further.
The werewolf eventually shows itself and is pretty neat. At one point, (spoilers) Rich melts to a skeleton and then turns into the wolf. Nearby, there are the dead that Marie saw in her dreams cheering on the event and chanting “SATAN” which implies there was a cult. The dead appear more life vampires than wolves, but it is still a very cool scene.
The ending is hilarious and the overall film is a fun watch.
This certainly fits into the ‘it’s so bad it’s good’ category. The first 45 minutes is slow and plays out like a bad soap opera, but the latter half picks up and though questions are left unanswered it’s still a decent flick.
At no point, will anyone be frightened by this. I am interested in watching the last two films as they were written by the same individual and I wonder if the cult is further explored. From the IMDB synopses of the V (The Rebirth) and VI (New Moon Rising) it seems that these may have dropped that for a different storyline and a more whodunit approach to the story. I intend to check those out though as the writer Cliver Turner does seem to have a knack for a fun flick if not a cohesive one
Apparently, this film was based on the same novel as the original; and strangely this one is said to follow the plot of the book more-so than the first.
Despite the awful dialogue, bad acting, and confused plot, I still recommend this movie. At times, it’s apparent that Turner wanted to throw a little of everything from horror into it. There are ghosts, demons, cults, vampires (?), Satan, hallucinations, and of course werewolves – it just doesn’t come together well. I was waiting for an appearance from the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but he never showed. Still, it’s really provides a lot of entertainment. Those looking for a solid werewolf film should seek out The Beast Must Die (1974), Silver Bullet (1985), or Bad Moon (1996), but those just looking for a ridiculous over-the-top bad flick ala Wolf (1994), this one is for you.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
Rating: 6.5/10
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