This was a solid, if somewhat overrated, film. The werewolf FX were good, the soundtrack was good, but movie as a whole I don't get the absolute love.

I think that overall the acting is pretty solid, but there's one great big weak spot-David Naughton. He was simply no good in this movie. He was far to obvious and overall just a bad actor. When they "wandered" off the road near the beginning and then later realize that they aren't on the road anymore his looking down and then immediate reaction is just...bad. "Look, we have wandered off the road and it was an accident. I will act somewhat suprised and fearful now. "Oh no!"...That was surprised...now...here's fearful--"AH!". When he runs off as Jack's getting killed and then stops, the "Ooops, I have genuinly forgotten about Jack, now I am worried for him" was equally as horrific.

The dialogue was also pretty bad a noticable portion of the time. Editing was also an issue for me, as some scenes seemed to just stop and then it was on to the next scene, or other scenes just went on way too long. Also, why the fuck did David leave Alex's door open before he turned into a wolf that night? Any sensible reason at all?

As for the ending, I respect it for what it is. The movie does just kind of stop, but I get what they were going for. This whole thing sounds rather negative, but it wasn't like I hated it or anything. B-/C+.

Plus, this movie actually had the balls to show full frontal male nudity. It bothers me in werewolf movies when the whole "hey, they wake up naked the next morning" is glossed over or the character always manages to be covered by a conveniently placed bush or something.

Thanks Nebs. ;-)

When I first saw this, oh, about two and a half years ago, I really didn't like it. I hadn't seen Shaun of the Dead or other such horror-comedies, and the melding of the two genres was lost on me. I found it quite awkward: it was too funny to be scary and too scary to be funny. I appreciated the werewolf effects, but I thought the story was lame and the style didn't appeal to me at all. Oh, how maturity changes things.

Suffice to say, I just watched the film again and I loved it. I laughed heartily at the dark British humour, I was in awe of the brilliant transformation scene, and I really felt for the characters. The script really is quite excellent; a perfect blend of comedy, horror, and romance - just like Shaun - that doesn't feel the need to sacrifice interesting characters for frightening scenes. It's got both of them. It does feel a little short, but that just means the pace is rapid and the film is never boring. Despite being relative unknowns, all three leads give solid performances, with Griffin Dunne especially standing out in a darkly comedic turn as a gradually decaying corpse.

Speaking of the decaying corpse, the makeup effects are really the highlight of the film. Without them, there wouldn't be the exceptional transformation scene, and there wouldn't be the Best Makeup Oscar (created because of this film). Not only are the werewolf effects fantastic (even though there is a notable difference between the man turning into the werewolf and the werewolf itself) but the corpse is really quite stunning to look at. It's rather grotesque, but one has to admire the talent on display. It's especially noticeable in the scene in the porn theatre (porn theatre! how twisted is that?) with the myriad of corpses who return to haunt David. Add in the dark British humour, and the scene is perversely hilarious.

It really is among the best in its genre - whether that be horror-comedies or werewolf flicks - and I'm glad that I can recognize its brilliance now. It's really quite surprising that an American director known for Animal House and The Blues Brothers could create something so innovative, so scary, and so... British. The film stands as a landmark of British horror, influencing later films like Dog Soldiers, 28 Days Later, The Descent, and, of course, Shaun of the Dead.

A-


One of the best and maybe THE best werewolf movie ever made. The story is interesting and gripping. The practical make-up effects are the best of its kind and make transformations in films like Cursed pale in comparison. There's a good chunk of humor and real horror mixed together here. Very enjoyable.

Sup-a-Classic!!!

Musta seen it a dozen times back in the day...

A - Simply for the transformation scene. Outside of Murphy getting blown to bits in Robocop, that might be the most painful thing in a movie that I've seen.

Pretty good. It's been a little while since I've seen it, though.

B+

I saw it in the theater when I was a kid in it's original run and it scared the crap out of me. The scene on the moors at the beginning is creepy and so is the dream within a dream. Why didn't the Dr. Pepper guy become a bigger star?

The best werewolf film IMO, the make up is some of the best i have seen and the transformation scene is the best one ever filmed.The story is very good and i also like the comedy in it.

****/****

This was really great. Can definitely see the influence it has had on a lot of my favorite movies. I gave it 5 stars on netflix. Can't really think of anything I didn't like. Maybe it would have been nice to explore why that one town was the only one who knew about the Werewolves, and why they put up with it. Yet I loved how compact the movie was, so adding any more might affect that. The ending especially. Confession of love, shot dead, tears, end credits. All in about a minute.

I am glad you enjoyed it. I am sure you are aware of this, but just in case you aren't, Edgar Wright included it on the list he submitted for the British Film Institute/Sight & Sound director's poll: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound ... /voter/934

As evidenced by its high placement on my top-100 list (11th), I, of course, absolutely love it. The perfect blend of comedy and horror.

Not surprising at all. Carrie is surprising though, since that movie isn't good.