Late Phases

All cheer (or howl…) for this brand new and instant horror gem! Every year there are hundreds of zombie movies being released and only very few of them are worth checking out. Every year there are several vampire movies being released and even less of those are worth seeing. Per year there are just a handful of werewolf movies coming out, so if you stumble upon a worthwhile one nowadays, you should really cherish it. But "Late Phases" is more than just a worthwhile werewolf movie… It's a fantastic and awesomely entertaining werewolf movie; arguably the best one since… I don't even know since when! To be honest, my personal expectations towards "Late Phases" were quite high from beforehand, because I've been following the work of the young Spanish-born director Adrián Garcia Bogliano and, so far, he didn't make a single bad movie. "Cold Sweat", "I'll Never Die Alone" and "Here Comes the Devil" are all terrific films. Of course, werewolf stories are tricky and this is also the first time that Bogliano directs a film that he didn't script himself, but still I was more than confident enough about the great potential of "Late Phases". But what makes this such a good effort, apart from Bogliano's skills and influence? Well, Eric Stolze penned down a sublime screenplay that is original, innovating, suspenseful, fast-paced and – most of all – traditional! Yes, "Late Phases" is finally another movie that respects the old-fashioned werewolf trademarks (full moons, silver bullets, etc…) without serving them as dull clichés or in a satirical way. Ambrose McKinley, a blind and deeply embittered Vietnam veteran is dropped off by his son Will at Crescent Bay; a quiet community where elderly folks enjoy their retirement and that is located next to a large forest. During his first night already, the friendly neighbor Dolores is savagely ripped to pieces and also Ambrose himself and his loyal guide dog Shadow are attacked by a gigantic wolf creature. It turns out that residents of Crescent Bay are killed off on a monthly basis, but everyone assumes that animals from the woods are responsible and they aren't the police's priority. Moreover, the deputy even literally states that animals are God's way to help the world getting of old people! That's nice! Ambrose links the monthly attacks to the full moon and promptly begins with counterattack preparations. Meanwhile, he gets to know the rest of the neighborhood – or better yet, potential lycanthropes – in his own rude and offensive style. Another thing that "Late Phases" features for the first time since many, many moons is a truly awesome lead hero. Ambrose McKinley, as depicted by Nick Damici, is one cool dude. He uses a shovel as a cane, buys massive tombstones for his dead dog, smokes cigarettes with the local priest and nearly switches off the iron lung of one of his neighbors. Last but certainly not least "Late Phases" also contains plentiful of great gore and make-up effects, coming from specialist Robert Kurtzman. The werewolf transformation sequences are sublime and the carnal damage caused by these delightful creatures is even better. See it!

An ornery, blind army veteran moves into a retirement community, where he finds himself under attack during the full moon. He has one month to prepare his defences for the next phase.

What an odd movie. It has a touch of Coen brothers, some Witches Of Eastwick, and a dash of AWILondon. The lead is played brilliantly, with all that gruff dialogue, and many scenes have a powerful whiff of intra-communal paranoia. It really feels like a sophisticated satire on American values, with lots of wry digs at police, army, church and self-imposed isolation. But in the last act it goes fully literal and loses its touch, with no real reflection on what went before.

Sadly the creatures present as extras in furry costumes, but there is a bit of decent gore - although ultimately nothing is scary. I guess the director has to be blamed for the rushed feel of the final showdown.

The music is a bit generic, but effective in setting the mood.

Overall - great lead performance, but an odd mixture that doesn't carry through.

This movie turned out surprisingly well!

I had seen the title around in the past and never paid much attention. I mean really? A blind older vet against a werewolf?? .... How ridiculous is that whole idea? Well.... Not only was I wrong, I was pleasantly surprised by just how wrong I was.

This was one of the most enjoyable werewolf movies I have seen in a while! I absolutely love the dry, serious personality of the main character. He doesn't talk much and is direct and to the point about things. I love how those gossipy neighbors annoyed him as much as they did me! The acting was on point, all characters believable.

The special effects were not the best but they were good enough! I will take the not so perfect make-up/body suit type of effects over mediocre CGI any and every time! Definitely the right call there. I wish more movies still handled things that way more often. Bad CGI will cheapen any movie.

The story line was really good, and definitely different from any newer werewolf movie I have seen in quite a while. Retirement werewolves, not something you see.... Like.... Ever! Lol. The whole thing was refreshing. It was also extremely refreshing to see a modern werewolf movie actually respect and follow the traditional lore in a traditional way without making a joke out of it or turning the werewolves into actual wolves. Werewolves are not wolves and should be kept that way.

However I will say one thing for anyone already thinking it, because ik that they are. In Twilight, which is the most used reference in the past decade it seems.... They were NOT werewolves. The movies never clairified any of that and completely butchered the books which were actually quite good (yes I read them, long before the movies were even a thing and still have them) unlike the movies. In the last book towards the end the whole wolf thing is actually explained and acknowledged that they were not werewolves but were indeed a race of shapesifters. No more, no less. Completely different species.

All in all I definitely recommend this movie to anyone that still loves and appreciates traditional lore.

"Late Phases" actually turned out to be much better than I had anticipated. When I found this movie, I had not even heard about it, but given the cover and the synopsis of the movie, I decided to give it a go. Plus, it is a horror movie which is always a nudge in the right director for me.

The storyline told in "Late Phases" was actually rather intense. It is the kind of story that you quickly get yourself immersed into. And it was a rather nice approach and twist on the werewolf genre, which just added to the enjoyment of the movie.

There is a good build up of tension throughout the movie and the cast that they had assembled here delivered great performances. Especially Nick Damici, because he really carried the movie quite phenomenally with his performance.

The characters in the movie were also good, they were nicely detailed and fleshed out. And of course brought very nicely to life on the screen by the cast.

There are some nice effects in the movie. And while "Late Phases" is not a movie that is heavily relying on special effects, the team does make good use of these special effect they did put into the movie.

A great story with good performances, and an ending that was rather good and in spirit with the movie. If you haven't seen "Late Phases" already, and if you get the chance to do so, I would suggest you take the time to watch it.

I say surprisingly entertaining, because at first I thought this was going to be campy. I am happy to have been wrong. This was a very enjoyable Werewolf film.

A full cast of recognizable faces, some I was shocked to see again. A couple I had to look up, because I knew them, but I couldn't remember from where, and then it was a cool "Oh YEAH" discovery.

This is a movie that I wish would've had a bigger budget, as the effects could've used some more attention, BUT, too much budget would've sent this to CGI, and that would be bad. Robert Kurtzman and company did a really good job with the make up and creatures, but the story was so good, I would've liked a little more.

And about the story, VERY cool original idea, this kept me watching from beginning to end, with a smile on my face. I've seen so many films in this genre that I am very jaded, and very biased, but this one, this one was fun. Good Job to all involved!!