Strange Hammer horror film takes place in Spain--although everyone speaks with a British accent. A LONG back story (almost 30 minutes long) starts us off. Most of the material is unneeded but it has a mute servant girl being raped by a almost beast-like man. She later gives birth to a baby boy--and dies. He is named Leon (Oliver Reed) and is born with the sign of the werewolf on him. It's kept down--until he is denied a girls love and he turns...
This film is colorful and well-acted (especially by Reed) but slow moving. The LONG back story was a bad idea--it takes too long for things to happen. Reed doesn't even show up until the film is half over and the werewolf attacks don't happen until over an hour has passed! Still it's not bad and beautiful to look at (especially in the Universal DVD). And Reed is frightening as the werewolf (GREAT makeup job) and sympathetic as Leon.
This was a major bomb in 1961 and Hammer never made another werewolf film. Too bad--this could have been so good. Seriously--why the long back story and WHY set it in Spain? I give it a 6.
This film is colorful and well-acted (especially by Reed) but slow moving. The LONG back story was a bad idea--it takes too long for things to happen. Reed doesn't even show up until the film is half over and the werewolf attacks don't happen until over an hour has passed! Still it's not bad and beautiful to look at (especially in the Universal DVD). And Reed is frightening as the werewolf (GREAT makeup job) and sympathetic as Leon.
This was a major bomb in 1961 and Hammer never made another werewolf film. Too bad--this could have been so good. Seriously--why the long back story and WHY set it in Spain? I give it a 6.