When I finished watching The Curse of the Werewolf, my first thoughts were, "Woof! What a bad movie." That line just kept popping into my head - and honestly, I didn't even think about it being a pun until a few minutes later. I promptly rolled my eyes and thought, well, I can't start a review that way. People will hate me. And yet, here I am.
The Curse of the Werewolf? Woof! What a bad movie!
I know there is a lot of love out there for this movie, but I just felt it was a bore and tedious to get through. I understand that Hammer Films are not striving for Oscars, but there is a Gothic charm to a lot of them, and a lot of creative and exciting reimagining of iconic horror creatures like vampires, mummies and even Frankenstein's monster. So I'll give The Curse of the Werewolf some props for taking some chances, but the film is full of creative misstep after creative misstep. It's just bad.
One fateful day, a poor beggar (Richard Wordworth, Revenge of Frankenstein) visits a local lord's house during his wedding day. After the local lord (Anthony Dawsen, Dr. No) abuses him for quite some time to entertain the wedding guests, the beggar is imprisoned in the castle dungeons. There, he is forgotten by almost everyone. Years pass. And only the poor, mute servant girl who serves him his food shows him any kindness. More years pass. The servant girl grows up into a beautiful young woman played by Yvonne Romain (Night Creatures), and the villainous lord takes notice. When she refuses his advances, she is also thrown into the dungeon. The beggar, now mad and feral, inexplicably rapes her and then promptly - and without explanation - dies. The servant girl escapes the castle and soon gives birth to little Leon - a poor baby whose circumstances of conception were so horrible that he is forever tainted by the... CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
I know that local censors of the day would rant and rave about the shocking sadism in the Hammer Films. These movies, with their emphasis on blood and eroticism, were shocking for the late 1950s and early 1960s, but I really think these complaints were the silly and overblown grumblings of stodgy old critics. But with The Curse of the Werewolf, they probably had a point. The first half of the movie is really full of distasteful and, yes, sadistic material. They just pushed it a bit too far.
If this sadism had a point, if it led to anything interesting in the second half, I suppose the film could be forgiven. But it never does. Leon (played as an adult by Oliver Reed from Gladiator) struggles with his curse as his adoptive father Alfredo (Clifford Evans, Kiss of the Vampire) tries to help him. And the movie just bounces from one stupid plot point after plot.
Here's one example. When he is a boy, Leon turns into a werewolf and attacks some local goat herds. The night watchman shoots at what he thinks is a wolf, and though we don't see Leon get hit, there is some blood on the ground. Cut to the next scene with Alfredo removing the bullet, not knowing Leon had snuck out (or transformed into a werewolf), and asking in a way that I think is way too casual, hey, do you happen to know how you got shot while you were sleeping last night? Leon doesn't remember...and that's the end of that.
Woof! This movie stinks.
In fairness, it's not a complete disaster. The werewolf make-up is pretty good. I know in some production stills you can find online, it looks a bit dodgy, but in action the makeup is definitely effective, especially when matched by Oliver Reed's committed, snarly performance. And in general, Oliver Reed and Clifford Evans are both great actors and are always engaging, even when the film is not. They do the best they can with the material. I'm just shocked by how bad this material is. This was made by Hammer's best director, Terence Fisher, who had successfully rebooted the other iconic horror characters for the studio. So I'm not sure what happened here. You have a disturbing and sadistic first half and a pretty routine and boring second half. Save yourself from the curse, and skip this movie!
MVP:
I will probably have to go with Clifford Evans. Oliver Reed is good in the role, but I do feel like they missed an opportunity with his character. A good boy, stoically trying to suppress his urges, does not play to Reed's strengths. Though he gives a good performance, Reed is best when you let him dial it up all the way to eleven (which he does get to do in wolf form). Whereas Evans does a very good job of reigning everything in. He's a calm and collected doctor who adopts Leon after his mother dies, and once he learns about the curse, he does a great job of telegraphing the horror without going over the top. He brings more of a weary resolve to the role and is focused on what he should do to save his son, as opposed to overplaying the terror of it all. Now that I am writing this, I guess that makes Leon's character work. It makes sense that this man was raised by Alfredo. They are both kind people not given to huge displays of emotion. So I suppose from a script and direction standpoint, that works. But it still doesn't play to Reed's strengths, while Evans fits the role perfectly. Anyways, that's a ramble. Clifford Evans gets my MVP!
BEST LINE:
Shepherd 1: I lost three goats last night!
Shepherd 2: I lost two.
Night Watchman: I can't help it if things won't die when I shoot them.
TRIVIA:
I have two bits of trivia for you. First of all, in the original script, the beggar was actually a werewolf, which is even more awful but at least explains why Leon is also a werewolf. But that was too much for the censors. They drew the line and the scene had to be rewritten.
On a more fun note, Oliver Reed liked to drive home in full makeup, just to freak out other commuters on the road!
