While this was a werewolf movie, it wasn't really a monster movie in the traditional sense of the word. It bore more of a resemblance to some of the more modern slasher movies, but with less slashing. That may sound contradictory, but the point is that this revolves around a group of people stuck together in a remote setting, worrying about a monster that may or may not be there, and may or may not be one of them.
That said, this was strange mix of genres. It was part mystery, part action movie and part crime drama. It also had a car chase, though speaking as someone who grew up watching The Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the Bandit and CHiPs, I found the car chase to be oddly slow-moving. Not quite OJ Simpson/white Bronco slow, but slow nonetheless.
Calvin Lockhart stole the show with an odd turn as an egotistical and flamboyant adventurer that had me thinking of Tim Curry. That was aided by the setting in a large estate that wasn't quite Gothic but had Gothic elements, and by the way he lithely, almost erotically, moved through the forest -- part cat and part man.His inflections when he levelled accusations were wonderful. I w ould have liked to have seen Peter Cushing have a bigger role. In fact, I was looking forward to this as a Peter CUshing film. But Cushing was no match for Lockhart.
The film did a wonderful job of misdirection. Lots of little touches were thrown in to make the viewer think one thing (and often get confused because the thing being thought makes no sense) only to later be led in the other direction. This was suspenseful until the very end.
On the other hand, it does start out slowly, and it takes a while for the action to really get underway.
Nice work Marc, I like it!
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