La Nuit du loup-garou

Extremely Gothic terror intent in the Universal vein and walks a fine line between romance , camp , Wolfman's classic and horror . It displays excellent set design , ambitious screenplay with too many eerie scenes and adequate interpretation for all casting . Terror picture that is renowned for ferocious departure from the stereotypical portrait of the beast . It is set in Europa , dealing with a 19 Century European werewolf , as it happens in Spain , Leon is born on Christmas day to a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain) who was imprisoned by a nobleman (Anthony Dawson) and raped by a beggar (Richard Wordsworth stated that in the original screenplay his beggar character was a werewolf) . His mother dies giving birth and he is looked after by Don Alfredo (Clifford Evans) and his maid . As a child Leon turned into a werewolf after having been taken hunting . Leon (Oliver Reed in his first horror movie), transformed by the full moon, heads for the forest and a fateful meeting with the villagers . He is developing an extraordinary force and aware himself has a horrible curse who cannot to control . As a young man he works in a wine cellar and falls in love with the owner's daughter named Cristina (Catherine Feller). The curse will be passed on to him at the next full moon and he again turns into a werewolf and terrifies the town.

This exciting motion picture displays drama , suspense, terror with mysterious touches and is quite entertaining ; being the only werewolf movie made by Hammer Studios . It's a crossover with a little of the classic version ¨Lon Chaney's Werewolf¨, the novel ¨Wolfman in Paris¨ by Guy Endore and wrapped in a Hammer style . Atmospheric, slick terror film , creaky at times but it's still impressive . The notorious screenwriter John Elder or Anthony Hinds provides a well-knit plot with mystery and horror, giving full rein to Terence Fisher natural talent for the terror genre . However , being censorshipped , as over five minutes were cut by the censor for the British release and even more for the American version ; the censor had problems with the notion of a werewolf/rapist, so out it went . It's some different but with clear reference to previous vintage film . Good performances from Oliver Reed as a creepy wolfman and Clifford Evans as his mentor . The transformation of man into werewolf is complex and is made by expert make-up artist Roy Ashton who based his makeup for this film on Jack P. Pierce's makeup for The Wolfman by George Waggner (1941) that starred Lon Chaney Jr and Bela Lugosi . Frighteing and thrilling musical score by Benjamin Frankel . Colorful and shining cinematography by Arthur Gant , Hammer's ordinary , being filmed in Bray Studios. The motion picture was masterfully directed by Terence Fisher who filmed classic horror films as ¨Dracula¨, ¨Dracula , prince of darkness¨ , ¨The brides of Dracula¨ , ¨The mummy¨ , ¨Phantom of opera¨, ¨The Gorgon¨ , ¨The devil rides out¨ and many others . Rating : Top-drawer terror film , upscale horror spectacle with a suitable climax at a church . Essential and indispensable watching for Hammer lovers . It's an above average terror and sometimes graphically exciting and turns out to be a good attempt to cash in the werewolf sub-genre . Rating : 6,5 Good .

The Curse of the Werewolf is not Hammer at their best(Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy) but it is worthy of more credit than it does at the moment.

It's not without flaws, the biggest flaw being the introduction/prologue, which solely covers the main character's back story, which does take up too much of the film(the second half of the film is much more interesting) and not everything is relevant to the back-story, the subplot with the goat-herder and night watchman could easily have been left out. The inn scenes at times veer on parody and there is a lack of authenticity setting-wise, despite being set in Spain the film always has a very British feel.

As ever with Hammer though The Curse of the Werewolf is a well-made film, it's photographed beautifully and in a way that enhances the atmosphere rather than detract from it while the costumes and sets are very stylish. I actually had no problem with the brighter-than-usual lighting or felt that it trivialised the atmosphere. Visually it's the make-up that's particularly great, it's some of the best make-up of any film Hammer made(impressively designed and scary-looking), very ahead-of-its-time too, and Leon in his werewolf guise is one of their best-looking monsters(better than any of the Hammer Frankenstein monsters, although I do consider that series of films bar 2 superior films). The music score is equally great, the intricacies in how it's scored is to be admired and atmosphere-wise it's hauntingly powerful stuff that at its best brings a nail-biting intensity.

The Curse of the Werewolf is intelligently scripted and mostly tight in structure, though that is a bit of froth that adds little. While the back-story is flawed, in exploring the origins of how the titular character came to be it also succeeds in making the character interesting and one that can be identified with easily. The werewolf lore is well and imaginatively handled and the build-up to the still quite shocking werewolf transformation is incredibly suspenseful, in fact the entire second half is engrossing and while some may find it tame to me and others it still has the ability to shock. Terence Fisher's direction is typically unflinching and technically accomplished and the acting is very good. Richard Wordsworth is very moving as the Beggar and the standout in support but it's the riveting performance of Oliver Reed that makes the film, he is genuinely scary but also poignantly sympathetic, making Leon one of those characters where you feel repulsion and pity for him.

Overall, very under-appreciated and worthwhile without being one of Hammer's best films. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A very involving Hammer production that chronicles the history and life of Leon (Reed) who becomes cursed at birth causing him to turn into a werewolf when the moon is full. This is a story driven movie. The action and violence is sparse, but that's not what this movie is about. Playing out like a historical drama, Curse of the Werewolf details werewolf mythology like I have never seen. The performances are fine, and the film has an ambient feel to it that makes it even more appealing. Don't sit down to this movie expecting a bloodbath, Curse of the Werewolf is a well written, brilliantly conceived, and nicely plotted thriller.

Hammer was quick to plunder the Universal vaults in their search for new horror successes. Dracula, The Mummy and Frankenstein had all been done, and it seemed only natural to film a lycanthropic story, following on from the success of Universal's THE WOLF-MAN. Happily enough, their (strangely) sole werewolf offering is a huge success, offering a tragic love story and horrific elements in equal amount.

While the Spanish setting eliminates any Gothic visuals, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF more than makes up for this in the intriguing werewolf story, which spans a whole twenty years, and a sense of gloom and doom as you just know that Leon is going to come unstuck. Also, the introduction of a young, handsome, charismatic actor in the form of Oliver Reed, meant that audiences could really sympathise with the character of Leon, after all lycanthropy is merely an illness, and can anyone be to blame for illnesses which afflict them? This is one of the films that paved the way for Reed's later stardom, he would go on to star in a range of other varied horror flicks like THE BROOD and THE DEVILS. All the classic folklore concerning werewolves is in this film, along with a good score and lavish costumes. The acting is all above par and there are small roles for Peter Sallis, Warren Mitchell, and Michael Ripper, who plays his tiny role of the town drunk with relish.

CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF also has some excellent special effects. Stop motion animation is used to show hair growing on Leon's palms, while Roy Ashton's werewolf makeup is fantastic and groundbreaking, much as the transformation in AN American WEREWOLF IN London was twenty years later. To top this all off, the finale is something of a throwback to classic films like Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and a satisfying conclusion to this epic romantic horror. CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF is yet another classic from Hammer's heyday, a tragic, inventive story which can be watched time and time again. This is a fairytale epic of a werewolf film.

This was a highly unusual werewolf film and I am actually surprised that Hammer films went on to make many Dracula sequels but not werewolf ones, since this film was well made and quite enjoyable.

The film begins with a very long prologue--telling a sad tale about an evil man who was responsible for the curse that eventually made poor Oliver Reed become a werewolf. The entire story was quite interesting and VERY different from the Universal Studios vision of how one becomes a werewolf. Instead of being bitten by another werewolf, it was a rather convoluted curse. The only problem with this story, though, is logical. You see, Oliver Reed's adoptive father narrates the prologue BUT how he knew most of the details is quite impossible--as Reed's mother was a mute and didn't have communication skills to explain most of the story. Plus, parts of it she couldn't have known! I guess the narrator just read the script, because there was no other way he could have been privy to the information! Despite this serious logical flaw, the rest of the film was very compelling--with Reed making a very sympathetic creature. Plus, like the old Universal films, Hammer did a good job of not showing too much--only letting you see the creature near the very end of the film.

Excellent acting and production values combined with a very interesting though flawed script make this an excellent movie for fans of Gothic horror.