Legend Of The Werewolf starts out ok and ends ok, but much of the middle drags and had me looking at remaining runtime starting about half way through. Overall fair, and not a wasted viewing, but indifferent at best.
The werewolf storyline is acceptable, and nothing new is presented....but it seems competent, with the bases covered (silver bullet, Lycanthropy, quasi-Gothic setting both rural and urban). Maybe this being a Peter Cushing movie is part of the attraction. Maybe the English filmmakers (thanks to influence of Hammer Studios) were operating in a waning context of excellence.....good lighting and score/ sound effects and costumes and sets do help keep the atmosphere proper to allow belief (and negate the shlocky cringe factor). As if they had a good formula going that prevented collapse. Some ongoing colorful characters, especially the Popeye-like Innkeeper and skeptical Madamé, enhance much of the film. Same with the sewer fisherman. And the photographer. Good Werewolf, and he almost seemed a sympathetic character worth rooting for, especially after seeing his sideshow exploitation beginnings. Maybe a flashback or two would have helped flesh out the character a bit more? No deficiency, though. Good Werewolf makeup, and the transformations seemed pretty good for 1975. Not expecting too much is key with this flick. It seemed like a glorified TV movie- slightly intense but competent. Solid with no real zing.
Review of Legend of the Werewolf
