dougdoepke Well-done werewolf flick. Filming on location at snowy Big Bear, north-east of LA, gives the horror setting a different look. Then too, the human element is effectively played up, as the authorities are torn between killing a pathetic family man and the same man who's also a homicidal werewolf. Poor Stephen Ritch, he's just an ordinary guy until a misguided professor turns him into a lycanthrope. Now loose in the mountains and running from a posse, he's suffering, knowing any moment he can become a drooling monster. Meanwhile his wife and child pose a big human problem for the sheriff and his deputy. So, which will win out-- the human side or the monster.Kudoes to pedestrian director Sears who manages some imaginative visuals. Unlike his usual steamroller approach, here he seems at times almost inspired (the jail cell shadows). Add what seems like an authentic mountain town atmosphere, and the results both visually and dramatically are unusual for the genre. Plus, actor Ritch manages what appears real anguish in what could have otherwise been an easy payday. I guess my only reservation is with the culprit professor, whose presence smacks too much of hackneyed cliché. But then, his presence heightens the moral dilemma. After all, since he's induced the lycanthropy, it's maybe possible to medically undo it. That is, if the authorities don't kill Ritch first. There's a moral depth here, unusual for its time.Anyway, the 70-minutes amounts to a near sleeper among the many tacky horror flicks of that Corman dominated decade.

GL84 Following a strange accident, a small-town sheriff is forced to believe that the attacks are caused by a stranger passing through town who claims he is a werewolf created in an experiment and try whatever they can to capture the creature before it can do more harm.This one isn't that bad with some solid points about it. One of the best parts to this one is that fact that it has a really great way of making the werewolf a really interesting creature, where not only does this have a unique way of bringing about the change while creating a more era-appropriate style monster. This gives the creature a little extra it might otherwise be missing as being a generic werewolf, and it does have a better a more impressive tone throughout here due to that with how it turns the creature's origin loose on the small-town wilderness. The design isn't that terrible for the time, having the classic look to it with the hair pattern, but the inclusion of much more fearsome and intimidating set of fangs, complete with drool, are a nice touch. What also seems to be a positive is that there's a large amount of action for it, and these here are what make the film an overall enjoyable one with a steady stream of nice scenes. From the opening attack on the mugger to the first chase into the woods as they attempt to track him down, these here are quite fun with plenty to like about it. The finale is the best scene since it travels through the forest, over a mountain, onto a road, down a bridge and into a gorge where the final confrontation takes place, where the relentless chasing of the villagers along the way makes it a really great action scene. Along with the easy pace, these here are the movie's main positive points. This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws. The biggest issue is that the werewolf has a lot of traditions changed around. There's the fact that silver bullets don't kill it and regular ones do, especially in werewolf form as regular bullets stop it in werewolf form, which is a big change to the traditions. The biggest ones, though, is that it transforms during daylight hours, which very rarely happens, and although this one does have a real unique way of coming into being, it still gets the powers of a werewolf without the bite or wound. Some of these changes aren't quite that impressive here with some really lame after-thoughts and won't be all that embraced by true fans. Another big flaw is all of the family drama in the film. There's really no need for all of it and it really drags down the film. The big flaw is that this one displays a real piece of stupidity that shouldn't have been with the werewolf locked up. The reason why it's let loose from the cage is a mystery, as it feels likes it's there mainly to stretch out the film a little bit but doesn't even need to be there anyway because of that angle of just stretching out the film by letting the werewolf get loose again to go out on a rampage. These flaws stop the film somewhat.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

Rainey Dawn This really a good and solid "wolf man" or werewolf film. It's over looked quite a bit and really needs to come back out of the old spooky wood-works. It's a bit different than the traditional Wolf Man story created by Universal Pictures (starring Lon Chaney, Jr) which created the template for all werewolf films to come after. What is different about this one is the fact that the werewolf is created by scientist and not by being bitten by another werewolf. The moon does not have any affect on this wolf man - Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch). Marsh is about as mild mannered as Larry Talbot and is just as easy to sympathize with but the two stories are quite different.YES I find this film good and do recommend it to fans of werewolves and wolf men. If you are able to find this one, it is worth watching.8.5/10

lemon_magic This genuinely interesting and well made black-and-white horror film was a pleasant surprise, given the director and producer previously gave us "The Giant Claw" (good character scenes, ludicrous monster effects) and "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" (good special effects by Harryhausen, wooden, clunky and low energy "live" scenes").The "buzz" on this one is supposed to be that this was the first "scientific" werewolf on film, but I recall George Zuckoff starring in a PRC poverty row production called "Mad Monster" which was very similar in story and setting. It's OK, though - "Mad Monster" was deservedly forgotten, while this effort is considerably more fun to watch.Played with some depth and sympathy by all the main actors and some well lit and shot B&W photographu,this little parable has a nice haunting ending and is unusual in that the victim gets to see his family before meeting his fate.I liked it a lot. It seems that Sam Katzman may have been less of a hack than I previously though.