On certain days I consider The Curse of the Werewolf to be my all-time favorite horror film. In my opinion it was Hammer's best effort except, possibly, for the highly underrated Phantom of the Opera with Herbert Lom. The story is most unique and carries a strong, yet very Catholic, spiritual element. The cinematography is excellent as well as Terence Fisher's direction. One of the most outstanding qualities of the movie is the immaculately intricate and powerful music score by Benjamin Frankel. I've never heard of this composer before or since, but I would love to find this score on CD.
There are already plenty of write-ups detailing thoughts on the story, so I won't go there. The acting is adequate to superb, and Oliver Reed does an outstanding job portraying a tormented soul protractedly possessed by the raging spirit of unbridled destruction. I've notice one goof in the movie that is actually rather glaring when you notice it... The movie starts off with narration, "Some two-hundred years ago in a village in Spain, blah blah blah...", and as the story develops to the end of the narration, the servant girl is in the swamp as Clifford Evans approaches and the narration ends with, "and that is how I found her."
The movie is filled with powerful scenes and the story keeps the viewer involved at all times. It slips a bit when the wolf hunter, Pepe, finds a dead sheep and says, " Hello, what's this then?" A bona-fide Spanish Limey! Despite the movie's low-budget production and the era it was created, it ranks as an excellent horror film even by today's standards. If you are a person who has to have graphic violence and lots of running and screaming to keep you entertained, then this movie is not for you. If you enjoy a good, original story and interesting characters then this movie will suffice.
There are already plenty of write-ups detailing thoughts on the story, so I won't go there. The acting is adequate to superb, and Oliver Reed does an outstanding job portraying a tormented soul protractedly possessed by the raging spirit of unbridled destruction. I've notice one goof in the movie that is actually rather glaring when you notice it... The movie starts off with narration, "Some two-hundred years ago in a village in Spain, blah blah blah...", and as the story develops to the end of the narration, the servant girl is in the swamp as Clifford Evans approaches and the narration ends with, "and that is how I found her."
The movie is filled with powerful scenes and the story keeps the viewer involved at all times. It slips a bit when the wolf hunter, Pepe, finds a dead sheep and says, " Hello, what's this then?" A bona-fide Spanish Limey! Despite the movie's low-budget production and the era it was created, it ranks as an excellent horror film even by today's standards. If you are a person who has to have graphic violence and lots of running and screaming to keep you entertained, then this movie is not for you. If you enjoy a good, original story and interesting characters then this movie will suffice.