ridiculous rating

Please don't spend money on this.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Having reviewed many werewolf movies for the past week in mostly chronological order, I'm now at the first one made in color and the only one made by the British company Hammer Films. Previously, I've only seen one Hammer film in its entirety though I don't remember the exact title. Unlike the previous wolf pics, this one has some gore so there's no doubt what the wolf does to his victims. While watching, I didn't understand why this child Leon would turn into a werewolf as I don't think I heard clearly the explanation during the dialogue scenes, so I'm thankful for Wikipedia for providing the complete synopsis. When Leon grows up, he's played by Oliver Reed in his first starring role. Reed is aces in the role as is all the supporting players of which the only other one I recognized was Desmond Llewelyn who was the greeter at the door for the beggar at the beginning. This was before he took on the role of Q in the James Bond flicks. Aided by fine direction by Terence Fisher, I highly recommend The Curse of the Werewolf.

The Hammer movie "The Curse of the Werewolf" is without doubt never dull and has some genuinely good elements here and there, ranging from Oliver Reed's good (and sympathetic) performance to some effective atmosphere. However, the script does have some faults that prevent the movie from reaching classic status. I think screenwriter John Elder was trying for something different, which by itself is not automatically a bad idea. But in the particular way he tried to be different is sometimes a little baffling. For starters, there isn't even the slightest hint of werewolves in the first third of the movie! For the first third, the movie focuses on secondary characters who eventually make an exit and are forgotten about for the rest of the movie. And it's unexplained how Clifford Evans' character manages to narrate this portion of the movie when he wasn't even there. Subsequently, actor Oliver Reed doesn't make his first appearance until more than half the movie is over. Eventually we do get some werewolf action, but it does feel more limited than many other werewolf films. These portions of the movie are kind of fun, and as I mentioned in the subject line, the movie as a whole is entertaining. But if you decide to watch this movie, I would advise you to put your standard werewolf movie expectations aside and prepare yourself for a quite different treatment.

Curse of The Werewolf marks the beginning of a slight decline in the quality of Hammer's "Golden Age" horror output. It's a good film in its own right, with some very effective scare sequences; but the script also meanders too much, has some fine British character actors looking a bit uncomfortable playing Spanish peasants and also lacks the plush visuals Jack Asher used to bestow on their prior movies.Ollie Reed allegedly visited the pub in Bray village in his lunch hour in full werewolf make-up - and no one batted an eyelid! Reed himself is very good in his first Hammer starring vehicle; it's often forgotten amidst all his hilarious hell-raising that he was a fine actor, and the role of Leon is a useful vehicle for his talents.This actually feels like an origin story for a character intended to appear in a series of movies, as the attention to detail in showing how Leon developed his condition is perhaps a bit too much for a single film; but the opening scenes with the beggar and Marques are powerful and compelling. Indeed thanks to the farrago over Peeping Tom Hammer got into trouble with the censor over these scenes - somewhat of an irony as they were always careful to work closely with the BBFC at every stage of production.You have to admire some of the bravura horror scenes here - the five year old Leon frantically tugging at the bars on his window to escape his confinement - the murder of the prostitute - Leon changing in the prison cell to his werewolf form to the astonishment of Michael Ripper. All these are handled superbly, as is Leon's baptismal scene, the latter landing Hammer in hot water again with the censor.Director Terence Fisher tries to work in a tragic love story - a theme of his he was very keen to develop in his horror movies at the time. It does add to the story here, but he was to work it less effectively in Phantom of The Opera and The Gorgon.Curse of The Werewolf remains an enjoyable horror film, and, after he once drank 126 pints in 24 hours, the modern viewer can derive much amusement from watching Ollie having to be coerced into going to the pub!

"Curse of the Werewolf" is the legendary British Hammer studio's one and only werewolf movie, in sheer contract to their "Dracula" and "Frankeinstein" movies that were unleashed upon the world every couple of full moons. Not coincidentally, this – arguably – also happens to be one of Hammer's most profoundly intelligent, ambitious and cautiously constructed horror movie accomplishment! If you're looking for a genuine Hammer highlight, this one has all the right trademarks: adapted from an acclaimed novel, filmed at the studios' peak period during the early sixties and directed by their most talented and professional craftsman Terence Fisher. If you analyze the script of "Curse of the Werewolf", you'll notice that the film spans over a total period of minimally 40 years, and probably even more. Set in Spain during a very dark and sinister century, the film first narrates the expanded and detailed story of pivot character Leon's birth. Perhaps a bit too extensively but nevertheless fascinating every bit of the way, we learn that Leon is the unwanted child of a bewildered beggar (locked away for several years by a snotty marquis) and an abused deaf-mute servant girl. He is taken in and loved by a nobleman and his housemaid, but the priest tells them that a child conceived in such miserable conditions is very likely to suffer from traumas and illnesses, or even lycanthropy. Leon's first nightly escapades occur during his early teenage years and leave the entire village in fear, but family love and solid metal bars in his bedroom window keep his secret safe. As a strong and handsome adult male, Leon is again confronted with his hairy inner self as a consequence of impossible love and the immoral behavior of his surroundings. So, as you can see, the background of this film's werewolf is highly untraditional, but most of all incredibly original, compelling and courageous! The lycanthrope mythology is so new and alternative here that my mate and I even joked that "Curse of the Werewolf" could even be considered an ancestor of nowadays sappy teenage horror franchises such as "Twilight" and "Vampire Diaries", because Leon's transformations are dependent of his romantic feelings and mood swings. But this film is a gazillion times superior, of course. Thanks to the patient and moody unfolding of the story, "Curse of the Werewolf" is definitely one of the most atmospheric and uniquely suspenseful horror tales Hammer – and the sixties decade in general – brought forward. Terence Fisher's visionary skills are demonstrated through masterful scenes of eerie nightly landscapes, ominous full moons and sinister little villages. The cast contributes a great deal as well. The mighty Oliver Reed is excellent in one of his first major roles and freaks us out with his menacing facial expressions. The most remarkable supportive roles are for Anthony Dawson, as the repulsive marquis, and Richard Wordsworth as the unfortunate beggar. His personality switch from amiable beggar into revolting animal is deeply impressive, to say the least. The make-up effects are scarce but exquisite, like the brutal murder of a town's wench and Leon's metamorphosis near the finale. A fantastic Hammer classic, highly recommended!