That was an excellent one.

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Blistering performances.

This is the first time in Hollywood where a werewolf is created by radiation! Yes, scientists in an attempt to cure a man, turn him into a werewolf. Unlike regular ones... well that would be telling. As usual with most werewolves, he does garner a lot of audience sympathy. After all, he didn't want to become a werewolf!

This modest but nifty horror oldie from the mid-fifties brings forward a rather interesting and progressive premise, namely a wolf man/monster created by weird science instead of by gypsy curses, bites from rabid wolves or whatever else. A very confused and nervous man stumbles into a bar in the little town of Mountaincrest, California. A rather unfriendly encounter with a local quickly establishes that this man – Duncan Marsh – is a werewolf, but he suffers from amnesia and certainly doesn't have the intention to turn the town into a bloodbath. For you see, Duncan was made into what he is by two scientists, one crazy and rather evil and the other docile and cowardly. They took Duncan's unconscious body from a car accident and injected him with an experimental serum. Why? Apparently because the evil scientist guy firmly believes that all men will eventually kill each other and thus he started fabricating a serum that would make a selected few undefeatable. Why don't you try it on yourself then, you coward? How dare you call yourself a scientist! The hunt for the beast brings a lot of people – whether or not carrying torches – to Mountaincrest, including Duncan Marsh's poor wife and young son who still hope he can be rescued. Since Duncan is a very atypical werewolf, the film naturally also doesn't feature any full moons, silver bullets or supernatural stuff of any kind. He transforms whenever subjected to heavy emotions, like anger or anxiety. By consequence "The Werewolf" isn't a full-blood horror movie like the contemporary Hammer monster movies that were being released on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but more of a family drama with a monstrous touch. Still, there's tension throughout the search for Duncan and the opening sequences are mysterious and atmospheric. The werewolf transformations as well as the facial make-up effects are surprisingly great for a low-budgeted 50's flick. Fred F. Sears directs solidly and provided the film with typically moody & ominous voice-over introduction. This guy, who also directed "Earth Vs the Flying Saucers" and "The Giant Claw" definitely died before his time

In the 1950's, our fear of the atomic age meant that we rewrote everything in a way to reflect that. So it was with "The Werewolf", where a couple of mad atomic scientists inject a man with serum so they can avoid mutating in the upcoming nuclear war. He develops amnesia, and then gets about terrorizing a small town.The thing is, I'm not sure if the movie wants us to feel sorry for the guy or not. He eventually kills three people, one a thug trying to rob him and the other the two wacky scientists who made him this way and were trying to finish him off. So it's not his fault.But the angry town of rednecks after hounding him and setting out bear traps for him, kill him in a fusillade of bullets at the end, with the white male lead feeling pretty good about himself.If they made it today, it'd be genetic engineering, lots of CGI and gore, and less character development, so enjoy this gem from the past.

This film scared the pants off me as a kid (which I loved!) and when I finally found it again and watched it as an adult I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still enjoy it. And parts of it, namely the cave sequence and the fight in the dark alley, still give me the creeps. I found this werewolf much scarier than Chaney Jr.'s version. Steven Ritch's portrayal has a wildness and rawness to it that gives his lycanthrope that extra edge. Watch how he drools as he sinks his fangs into that hunk of bait in the woods, for instance. Oh, there are a few flaws... and I find the scene at the doctors' lab very long, talky and dull... but all in all I'd recommend this to any classic horror film buff. Well done. Hard to believe something of actual quality was produced by the same man responsible for "The Giant Claw"!