This one is somewhat a sleeper. I enjoy the movie for what it is, kind of a made for tv movie. The book though is really good as I remember. I have not read it for a long time but I remember it was actually quite scary and had some very harrowing moments in it that made for great reading. I only wish they had put better effort into the film. This one would be a good one to put on the remake list. The story is quite good just poor execution on the part of the film makers.
Does anyone else have an opinion about this one?
Howl-o Wolf man... Yeah, I like MOTW, and I think it actually WAS a Movie Of The Week. I remember seeing it when I was young and being let down when they finally showed the werewolf. I watched it recently and found that I still like it. Good atmospheric story... and I don't even mind the monster makeup!
I saw this as part of a DVD set from Shilling Shockers (great show Penny Dreadful) and I liked the story as well. The whole 70's vibe worked for me. Yes it was low budget and had a made for TV movie feel to it, but reminded me of what would have been on the late show back in the day. A re-make would definitely do the story justice.
There's a neat double-bill DVD out pairing MOON with Dan Curtis' SCREAM OF THE WOLF. These two really book-end beautifully, and Clint Walker is one of the scariest pre-transformation werewolves in cinema .... **SPOILER ALERT FOR CURSOR-SWEEP ENTHUSIUASTS** ......
.... though the whole werewolf thing does turn out to be a hoax at the end; but even up to his death scene, I really thought he was going to actually wolf out in a double-twist ending. But, just one twist. Bummer. Still, great fun.
Well worth seeking out. It's like the 70s all over again.
"Le Lookarook !!!! Mon dieu !!!!"
I also have Moon of the Wolf on two different sets, one of which I bought for a dollar.
No one mentioned the book, has anyone read it? It is really good and worth checking out.
I loved the jail scene in this too where he comes in to get the brother. That kind of let him off the hook for being the killer eh?
Here's an interesting cover for Whitten's novel. Only seen this image on-line. The one I saw in the stores years ago had a fairly standard Wolf-Mannish type in the foreground and a brooding, moon-bathed Southern mansion in the background.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/leelastarsky/moonofthewolfbookcover.jpg)
It's not quite Bradford Dillman in a check shirt is it? :D
Seriously, who'd want to see that looming over them some (ahem) dark knight?
These old paperbacks have some magic covers.
I could not find online the book cover I have on my edition. It is as you described and is very scary looking. It has the face of the werewolf lurking over some swamp grass with the plantation house in the background. I was going to post a photo but no luck.
I also can't seem to find the double feature with Scream of the Wolf. I will have to look some more.
I should add, I've never actually read it, but yep that sure sounds like the cover I remember. First heard of Whitten in relation to his vampire novel PROGENY OF THE ADDER. It came up in an interview with Jeff Rice in Marvel's old MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES mag if I recall. The interviewer wanted to know about a proposed legal action against Rice based on alleged similiarities between ADDER and THE KOLCHAK PAPERS aka THE NIGHT STALKER. Rice said he'd based most of KOLCHAK on his own real-life experiences in Vegas and was prepared to subpoena half the town to testify in his defense and demonstrate how many of the KOLCHAK characters were NOT based on Whitten's work. It all blew over apparently.
How many great character actors there are in MOON? Janssen, Dillman, Barbara Rush, Royal Dano, Geoffrey Lewis, John Chandler .... and a great, really eerie music score, which almost rises to a 'howl' itself in the establishing night shots. You just know some bad stuff is about to happen.
I always wondered about the Rodanthes' backstory: all the stuff about Great-Grandpappy and his 'spells'. How'd the family restrain a werewolf in their midst back then, do you suppose?
I won't spoil the story for you but the book does go into much more depth. I love the way the book describes Mrs. Rodanthe. She comes across much different in the book. So does the Sheriff. The whole thing with the first victim and her brother is much more interesting in the book and scarier too. There is a scene in the book where they all go down to the swamp to hunt the werewolf and he is there but ends up hunting the Sheriff and Mrs Rodanthe in a school. One of the creepiest scenes. There are so many good parts. It really is worth reading.
I have to agree with the modern contenders of THE HOWLING and AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON.
However, for classic werewolf transformations, I would definitely throw in my fav wolfie film, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. The whole scene with the gymnast, the bell ringing and Michael Landon's transformation is a great sequence! Also at the end when he transforms and starts dripping saliva from his mouth. That was pretty freaky at the time!
Gene Fowler did a great job with a VERY limited AIP budget and their always accelerated shooting schedule. Landon gives a great, gritty performance (in his debut) and the werewolf make-up has always been a favorite of mine!
It is too bad this is not available on DVD due to the evil that is Susan Nicolson, but at least I still have the Columbia VHS tape of it to enjoy!
Bob
I don't even have a copy of I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Not even on VHS. I have several copies of Moon of the Wolf. Perhaps, one day, IWATW will make it to DVD. I hope so.
Quote from: Wolf Man on December 04, 2008, 10:32:52 AM
I don't even have a copy of I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Not even on VHS. I have several copies of Moon of the Wolf. Perhaps, one day, IWATW will make it to DVD. I hope so.
When I get back to VA, I can make you a copy.
That would be awesome. This was always one of my favorites and yet it gets so little attention among werewolf conversations.
I finally got to see this tonight, watched both "Scream of the Wolf" and "Moon of the Wolf". Did anyone else watching "Moon..." seeing the old man (Elly's father) lying in his bed screaming "Loup Garou", think of Albert Einstein. I swear the old man looks like Einstein. The werewolf make up wasn't the greatest, but the story was really good, so I enjoyed it alot. Liked the swamp setting a lot too, having grew up in South Carolina not too far from swamp lands.
'Moon' and 'Scream' were both worth watching at least once, and since I only paid a dollar, I didn't mind. But I also own a copy of Wolf Girl on DVD (called "Blood Moon"), so maybe I'm not as discriminating as some connoisseurs of the genre.
I paid around $7 for this werewolf DVD, but it has 6 movies on it. "Scream.." and "Moon..." were just two, tonight me and the wife (pronounced Master) are going to watch 'Werewolf vs Vampire Women" and "Werewolf in a Girls Dormitory". I remember reading about these in Famous Monsters, so I'm glad I'm finally going to see them. I liked "Moon of the Wolf" but didn't care for "Scream...".
I have stated before that I liked Moon of the Wolf, but Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman is one of my favorite Euro Horrors around. You'll love it.
I just added that movie to my wish list but I think I already have it in my library, thats what happens when you get old and have too large a library. I don't remember watching it though even if I have it. What do you like about it, I could not find any reviews.
Testify, bro'. I hear that. I don't think I will remember all the DVDs I have salted away before I die, let alone watch them all..... :'(
When you're twenty and start collecting, you have this brash confidence that you'll get to watch your collection four or five times over at least, and get to know it as line-perfect as the stuff you've already seen......
At 48: nope........
What I like about The Werewolf vs The Vampire Woman:
I am a fan of 70's Euro Horror and I also like Paul Naschy as a vicious werewolf. The vampire women are the usual sexy vamps that move in a creepy slow manner. The movie is filled with gothic settings, good camera/lighting shots and a good story for a low budget movie. Yes, the final battle bewteen the werewolf and the vampire queen is cheesy, but overall, I have seen it multiple times and always enjoy it.
You can find a review at imd. Enjoy the movie...(the movie poster is great as well)
By the way, I feel you about how when you are younger thinking you will see everything in your collection 4-5 times, but the older you get, life happens and I find I only have time for my top favorites such as this one.
Watching all the films in my collection is one of the reasons I start celebrating Halloween around October 1st and keep going till the 31st, sometimes even a little after too. Only way to keep up with the new and enjoy the old too.
I do that as well, plan a movie fest for the entire month of Oct as a Halloween Celebration. (My wife is very patient with this), but still find there are some that haven't been seen in years due to the fact there are certain staples that I always see during the Halloween season. Maybe I need to hit the lottery!
You know your monster library has hit its mark when you have the dillema each night during October of deciding which movies you want to watch cause you just can't watch them all. But buy more anyway, that is my motto......howling good holiday fun, two thumbs up
I've always envied the Hallowe'en saturation in the US. They've tried to push it over here for the last few years, but it's very half-hearted by comparison.... you get that "Oh that's an AMERICAN thing" kinda attitude.
But for me personally, the difficulty is stamina and resources. I never get home before 8 pm weeknights and if the big TV in the family room isn't already in use when I get home, or there are no pressing family paperwork issues to keep me up at the table til the a.m., I might actually sit down to watch something and by five minutes in ........ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I have a smaller TV/DVD set-up in my bedroom but if I can't stay awake on a couch, then lying on a bed ... fergeddaboudit !!!
Maybe when I'm older. They say old people need less sleep don't they? Yeah, yeah.... that's it. Roll on the 80s. Just in time to leave the collection, mostly unwatched, to my heirs. Whooo !!!
Quote from: Wolf Man on December 11, 2008, 03:01:39 PM
You know your monster library has hit its mark when you have the dilemma each night during October of deciding which movies you want to watch cause you just can't watch them all. But buy more anyway, that is my motto......howling good holiday fun, two thumbs up
You act like this is a bad thing, but I say the library hits it's mark when you own all there is to own. Granted that it is hard to choose which special ones to help celebrate the October Halloween month, but if your like me; EVERY month is MONSTER month (and Spy and Sci-Fi). The complaint shouldn't be I have too MANY monster movies, it should be I don't have ENOUGH monster movies. But I do have the problem of deciding which ones to reserve for Halloween as well, but I think you have definitely found the right answer to the problem Wolfman. BUY EVEN MORE (well maybe not a solution, but it sounds good).
I guess my true aim, going back to Super-8 reels from the likes of Castle and Ken films, has been to eventually liberate myself from outside programming dependency entirely. Same, i'm sure, with many of you.
Gettin' mighty close......
Like some of you, I find my biggest obstacle is time. Even during the Halloween Season, I try to watch 3-4 of my favorite movies a week, the rest of the year I then usually fit in a couple on the weekend, extra movies for holidays and long weekends though. rarely do I get in a weeknight movie.
Now if I had money and space I would certainly buy every movie I could find!
QuoteI swear the old man looks like Einstein.
The face, yeah, a bit. But no crazy-hair. Maybe he had pillow-hair? He never got out of that bed.
Oops. I'm sorry. That last post was in response to CreepysFan a page ago. I'm losing track.