Reviewed by Geno McGahee
Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a very rich man who has a flare for hunting. He owns a huge amount of land and has been doing trial runs with he himself being hunted. He has then invited five people to stay at his mansion and as he speaks with him, he dissects their lives, exposing things about their past that not too many people may know. Each person seems to have a misdeed or two in their past, leading Newcliffe to believe that one of them must be a werewolf, and that is the ultimate hunt.
With the entire area under surveillance, there will be nowhere for the werewolf to go, but there are many doubters in the group that believe that the creature does not even exist. One man, Dr. Christopher Lundgren (Peter Cushing), believes in werewolves 100%, and knows all sorts of things about them, but when you figure in that he’s a suspect, this may not bode well for him.
Each one of the guests is interesting and amazingly, one of the suspects is Newcliffe’s wife, Caroline (Marlene Clark). It is safe to say that he’s not going to get any after that sort of accusation.
As time passes, the werewolf begins to strike and each suspect is pointed to at one time or another, leading us to the “Werewolf Break,” a thirty second period to think about just who the werewolf is and solve the case. In the beginning of the flick, we are informed that we are not just viewers, but detectives, and this entire concept was original and pretty neat. I am sorry to say that I was wrong in the end, but I will not spoil it for everyone else because I do recommend this film.
This is a pretty good film, although the werewolf itself is really weak. It’s a dog. That is all it is. I know that it was 1974, but I would take a guy in a bad costume over a dog any day, especially when you can visibly see that dog being friendly with the helicopter pilot when they are trying to convince the viewer that he is mauling him. There were certain elements of blaxploitation with the dress and attitude of Newcliffe. It was like Shaft meets the wolfman or wolfdog…
I did enjoy this movie. I think that the concept was the best part of it. The execution needed some work, but it was a good effort and the fact that we get a “Werewolf Break” is great. I want more werewolf breaks. I wonder if I can employ that at work. “Sorry, I’m on a werewolf break.” This is by no means scary, but if you like trying to solve a mystery and are OK with a killer dog, then this movie is for you.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10. I need a god damn Werewolf Break.