Review of The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) by Nick F — 16 Jan 2010

Somewhat fair adaption of the Guy Endore novel lifts the story from its original French setting into the Spanish countryside where the backdrop of the Catholisim is heavy and generates some interesting background for the movie.

Oliver Reed as a werewolf is worth the price of admission alone, although his inner beast is not unleashed until fairly late into the movie. Nonetheless, the make-up is an interesting take, with an emphasis on the ears, although the body make-up is less successful.

Terrence Fisher holds back on the reveal of the monster, teasing us until the last 2o minutes of the movie. After that, the monster is leaping and climbing all around the stock Hammer sets; some good stunt work to be seen here.

The melodrama is pretty standard for Hammer horror, well acted by the cast. The movie lifts one of the more unique aspects of the novel, the notion of the child werewolf who hunts by night but thinks he is dreaming.

The part where the young boy talks about tasting the blood is chilling on screen as it is on the page. I have to admit, I was disappointed the first time I saw this movie years ago but a second viewing has the movie growing on me now.