Time for a couple of firsts, combining both Hammer's only take on the Wolf Man genre and actor Oliver Reed's first starring role in a feature film. While Reed went on to make a few other appearances at Bray it's strange that this was the studio's one time foray into the realm of full moons and silver bullets. All the typical period locations and bloody horror moments are present and correct, so it's strange there was never a series of spin-offs like their vampire and mummy films. Even their rivals over at Amicus only touched on the idea a couple of times, so I guess the idea just wasn't a big favourite at the time. Maybe there's a case for this being a more unique bit of '60s monster mayhem, but maybe it's just a shaky release that failed to hit the mark.
The story begins with the tale of a beggar (Richard Wordsworth) visiting a town in medieval Spain ruled over by a cruel marquis. The locals are all staying off the streets to avoid any trouble as this is their lord's wedding day, and he's taken all their money to pay for an exclusive party up at the castle. With nowhere else to go the beggar tries his luck at the door, but it's obvious that this is a bad idea when the marquis tells the man to come in and have a glass of wine - for the entertainment of his other guests. After being forced to degrade himself in front of the other nobles the beggar is thrown in prison and left to rot for fifteen years, his only company being the jailer and his mute daughter.
It's a weird opening that goes on far too long, a prologue that should really have been cut down to improve the pacing. It does eventually get around to explaining how a werewolf fits into the story but first they've got to throw in some drunkenness, sexual harassment, rape and murder like some sort of Hammer debauchery check list. After the very aged marquis and his prisoner are dead the jailer's daughter escapes this place only to die after giving birth to her cursed child. This is at least an interesting inclusion as it describes the werewolf being a person who was born during a time where evil was allowed to inhabit their body. It's an oddly religious take on the mythos that mixes in evil spirits and possession, but at least it's different.
The idea that this was all a result of abuses of power in a feudal society is never returned to, but I guess expecting too many layers is a bit much for this kind of film. After all these grim goings on we're at last introduced to Leon, the boy cursed with a wolf's spirit. He's looked after by a local scholar and his housekeeper who become his adoptive uncle and aunt, but when local farm animals turn up with their throats torn out it's apparent something sinister is happening at night. In another deviation from the usual tropes a priest explains that the only solution is to keep Leon locked up and make sure that his guardians show him as much sympathy as possible - to soothe the raging beast. There's no lasting cure for his ailment but he claims the power of love will avoid more violence.
It's an odd mixture to say the least, with the more sadistic and sexual elements of the source material A Werewolf in Paris being traded for ideas that are kind of sentimental while remaining fairly bloody. But beyond the opening there's never a return to the sort of depraved nocturnal action you might expect and things are more pedestrian. This uneven approach results in a story that certainly offers a sympathetic core struggle with adult Leon (Oliver Reed) trying to avoid murdering the locals, but the darker connotations hinted at early on lessen as things progress. Luckily the central performance is pretty solid and allows for a good blend of animalistic urges and human compassion as Leon slowly realises what his uncle has been keeping from him as a boy.
The Spanish setting might seem like an odd choice, but there's a good mixture of rural locations and Gothic scenery throughout (even if the overall result is just people calling each other señor every so often). The rest of the cast is also pretty good with Michael Ripper being cast simply as 'Old Soak' amongst a variety of villagers to lend it all a good amount of character. The mood is often eerie but there's always some humour to the proceedings, as show in a scene between Leon's new friend Jose (Martin Matthews) suggesting they have a night out somewhere quiet - and the sudden cut to drunken dancing that follows. Like the dual nature of man and beast there's always time for both macabre blood letting and eccentric dialogue.
But ultimately this unbalanced approach impacts the pacing and the drama in a story that could have been much darker and more effective. It all leads to another angry villagers set piece and a silver bullet resolution that is foreshadowed very early on. Generally this sort of story does have a kind of melancholy tone but the tragic end result could have had more impact if the narrative was more refined. Still, the make-up used in the third act and the climactic rooftop chase are well done, with some distinctive wolf effects and a hair raising hay bale moment towards the very end. It offers a enough generic thrills to keep most Hammer fans engaged but it's a shame that the more unique elements weren't explored further to make this all more satisfying.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
CAPTAIN CLEGG (1962)
To cap this off I also have to talk about this Peter Cushing led tale of pirates and bootleggers, starring again Oliver Reed and Yvonne Romain. It's not really a horror film but there are elements of the supernatural included, even if they're of course bogus. Instead this is a story about alcohol being smuggled from England to France as a band of navy troops arrive to try and catch those responsible red handed. There's still a certain mood to the story as characters talk about seeing ghostly apparitions at night and various suspicious persons go about in the dark. There's more period drama than spooky adventure, but the talk of 'marsh phantoms' lends it some intrigue.
The real highlight is Cushing who gets to be both village parson and secret pirate captain as it becomes apparent that just about everyone in town is in on the operation. But this is the final resting place of Captain Clegg who was hanged for his crimes, with a grave to prove it. Is there really a ghostly force at work? The answer is no. It's not a big reveal and the actions of a mute navy prisoner (Milton Reid) give the game away early on, even if the troop leader Collier (Patrick Allen) doesn't figure this out right away. There's a lot of engaging cat and mouse moments as Clegg's men evade capture, particularly during a scene in which Harry (Reed) spies on them dressed as a scarecrow.
Later much of the narrative is concerned with the romantic entanglement between Harry and Imogèn (Romain), and there are discussions about whether the legacy of criminals should doom the younger generation. It's a bit melodramatic in terms of raising the stakes, and the in-fighting between the old crew mates is much more interesting. The idea of phantoms should have been focused on more to lend it more of that supernatural mystery flavour, and the effects while being kind of rickety are still a neat depiction of ghostly phosphorescence. It never earns the alternative title Night Creatures, but purely as a mixture of detective work and scabrous pirate antics it's an entertaining if unexceptional movie.
3/5
