werewolf woman in the afternoon

If the werewolf in a werewolf movie isn't really a werewolf, but thinks that (and acts like) she is, is it a werewolf movie? That's the question that comes to mind after watching Werewolf Woman in my cinema history class. This was the final installment of werewolf month. Keith had said he was going to eschew the classic werewolf movies in favor of some oddball fare. And he came through in spades! Warning: The trailer below is both NSFW and NSFL.

In this installment, an Italian production, we meet Daniella Neseri, a woman who believes herself to be a werewolf. That belief is the result of three things:

• the fact that her ancestor is rumored to have been a werewolf;
• the fact that she looks just like that ancestor; and
• the continuing emotional trauma that resulted from her childhood rape.

Suffice to say she's confused. And violent. And sexual. And angry. I would really rather not give away too much of the plot, but it's fascinating to think about the scope of this bit of trash. It's part horror movie, part crime drama and part soft-core porn. There's even an extended sequence that reminds of spaghetti westerns.

I will say that I found the ending to be disappointing and muddled, though they did manage to tie it up in a neat little parallel to the beginning. I was also puzzled by the voiceover which indicated that names were changed to protect the innocent and that all similarities between the characters and real people are coincidental. These are two standard notices. But taken together? It's saying that the movie is based on real events. But it's purely fictional. How's that for some great parsing?

A few random notes:

• I impressed even myself, correctly predicting that Joe would rate this a 9.8.
• I may have ruined the whole thing for some of the class by noting that one of the characters was a doppleganger for Ted Cruz
• There was a peculiarly American quality to this movie, in that female characters seemed to have to suffer for having sex. Or at least for enjoying it.
• Joe and I had a little bout dueling references. I hear the title and think of the Spinal Tap song, "Sex Farm." At that point, I feel an urge to sing that chorus, but substituting "Werewolf woman" for "Sex farm woman." Joe has an analogous association with the Doors' "L.A. Woman."

 Starting next week? Our annual sequence of class-chooses-its-own screenings. For my week, I'll be going with Shock Treatment, the pseudo-sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show