Wolfman

A long-absent relative of a cursed family returns home, only to find that he has been chosen by the others to carry the burden of their ancient curse...lycanthropy.

There is a certain naive charm to Earl Owesby's movies...they are schlock, no question, but the obvious earnestness put into them is...uh...cute? That said, WOLFMAN is an altogether watchable piece of poo, and manages to come out at least *looking* like something better than it is...a fairly well shot little horror film with very little attention payed to the details of the Victorian setting in which it takes place. The primary characters are attired in late 19th century costume, but peripheral characters have a laughable "come as you are, but try to look kinda Victorian" style.

Not scary, and not really good-bad, but mildy amusing despite itself. 4/10

I was around when this movie was made and yes it is rough and amateurish, but it was fun to make and people have to start somewhere. It was made in a small town in NC and the sets were local. Many of the locals were in it. I saw it from start to finish and still have the poster from the original. The lead was a tool salesman with boatloads of money who decided to become an actor and that may have something to do with his lack of acting ability. The director and writer was just beginning and had talent which was beginning to emerge. I enjoyed the movie for its genre, homage to the older horror films and its familiarity to me.

Wolfman (1979)

** (out of 4)

After the death of his father, Colin Glasgow (Earl Owensby) returns to the family estate where he begins to learn some dark secrets about his father. One is that his father was actually murdered. Another secret is a mysterious Satan worshiping events. And, finally, there's the fact that he's now turning into a werewolf and killing the locals.

WOLFMAN is a somewhat notorious film but then again everything Owensby did was somewhat legendary or notorious. He basically went from rags to riches and his love of movies had him begin to make them. This film was obviously inspired by the Universal series with Lon Chaney and while it's not a good movie it's certainly a rather interesting one to watch.

I say that because the film is a bit too long for its own good and some of the performances aren't that good. I'd also argue that the direction could have been much better. I could also add that the film has too slow of a pace to make it very entertaining. You could go even further by saying that there's a very non-professional feel about the entire picture. All of this stuff would be true but there's still some charm about the picture.

It has a very regional feel to it and I must say that the old time setting actually works and looks much more believable than you'd see out of your typical Andy Milligan picture. Like Milligan this film like the costume period setting and it looks real at least. I'd also argue that Owensby wasn't a great actor but he does have a certain charm here that leaps off the screen and makes you like his character and performance.

Finally, WOLFMAN does at least succeed whenever the actual werewolf is on the screen. The make-up effects are quite good with a strong resemblance to the Paul Naschy films of the era. The death scenes are more old-fashioned as there's nothing too graphic or gory. Again, there are a lot of warts here but at the same time this is a somewhat interesting take on the familiar story.

Earl Owensby is a guy who made a fortune with films aimed at the drive in circuits in the south. He parlayed that into some big budget films before it all going wrong when he built a studio that was the site of the under water filming of The Abyss. Before his semi leap to the big time Owensby produced and starred in a number of action and horror films that pretty much only played south of the Mason Dixon Line. Until Wolfman I had never seen one of his films. Watching it I really don't understand why he made as much money as he did. The plot of the film has a miscast Owensby returning home when he is told that his father has died. Actually his father didn't die until his scheming relatives were certain that he was on his way home, at which time they killed him so that the werewolf curse would pass on to Owensby. Filmed with models and (somewhat) obvious sets the film looks cheap but serviceable. The performances are all over the place with actors and non-actors mixing freely. Owensby isn't a bad actor as such but he is so low key as to be almost invisible. He conveys none of the intensity needed for the role. It doesn't help that the pacing is so slack as to be near catatonic with there being a good chance you'll nod off before the wolfman (of the Lon Chaney variety) shows up. Something for the insomniacs or those wanting to see what a footnote filmmaker made his fortune on. 3 out of 10.

Look, give Earl Owensby some credit... the guy's a tool salesman, had a movie dream and is living it. Sure his pictures suck, but that's part of the charm. This mish mash has Earl (with his Elvis like accent) playing a Colin, a guy who comes back to his hometown in 1910 and becomes sort of a werewolf. There is something compelling about Owensby's movies because it looks like the kind of thing that you or I'd do if we had some rough film stock, a couple of cameras and a weekend to shoot a flick. Considering this, it's not quite as bad as it could have been. The female actresses are quite good, although our pudgy star is very hard to take as the hero. His wooden acting skills, monotone delivery and silly dialogue ruin any chance this film had. On the plus side though, the musical accents are quite effective and some of the shots are set up pretty well. There are far to many continuity mistakes, but Owensby does know a little bit about film making and sets up his shots pretty well. There is, at least, a genesis of what a film should be about here, and Earl clearly enjoys what he's doing. As far as EO Studios in North Carolina, it would appear that it is an adequate film making venture and has been used by some "A" list pictures, including "The Abyss", where the many of the underwater scenes were filmed. The highlights are ruined by bad acting and script problems however. There was just enough atmosphere to keep me watching to see how this train wreck would resolve itself. Owensby's films are unintentionally good in enough areas to keep it going along as a low-budget time filler. Go into this kind of thing with the right attitude and you won't be disappointed. Owensby does know his way around a camera.