Le Monstre aux filles

Just last week, I finished reading Guy Endore's classic 1933 novel "The Werewolf of Paris," a highly intelligent, insightful look at this legendary creature of modern-day folklore. Last night I watched the 1961 Italian/Austrian coproduction "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory," a film that is hardly classic, overly intelligent or insightful, but that did come as a nice treat for me anyway. To my great surprise, this is not the teenage lycanthrope panty raid that I had been expecting, or the camp fest that the title would lead one to anticipate. The film deals with a series of brutal murders in a young women's reformatory school in what is supposed to be the U.S. but feels distinctly European. To its credit, the movie boasts some pretty creepy atmosphere, effective music, very passable B&W photography, and very decent acting (although it's hard to tell for sure about that last with the terrible dubbing). It feels like a cross between a monster flick and an early Italian "giallo," with a dash of mystery thrown in. Who IS the werewolf? Is it the new, hunky blond professor with a secret in his past? The lecherous old teacher who's being blackmailed by one of the students? Or howzabout the Igor-like, handicapped handyman? Most viewers will never guess; I know I didn't! The Maltin book inexplicably gives this film its lowest "BOMB" rating, but I think the editors there are being way too harsh. Although "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" is nothing great, it still deserves some respect for the effective and well-put-together thriller that it is.

Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory was scripted by Ernesto Gastaldi, and anyone who knows that name won't be surprised to find out that despite being a werewolf film, this is also a clear precursor to the entire Giallo sub-genre. The film features themes that would go on to become the staple of the Giallo; including a setting full of attractive young girls, and an unknown killer who is picking them off. It has to be said that this film was ahead of it's time, and as the title suggests, the killer in this film is a werewolf, and it would seem that the main inspiration for the scriptwriter was the Universal classic 'The Wolf Man', although themes from more wayward titles such as 'Psycho' definitely shine through. The plot focuses on a dormitory for tearaway girls. When one of them is murdered, apparently by a werewolf, suspicion falls on the new science teacher at the school. Naturally, the crime is attributed to some wolf-like creature, and when the murders continue; the detective on the case ends up getting a surprise!

The film is shot in black and white, and looks very cheap throughout. This is certainly a reflection on the budget restraints, although they don't harm it too much as the mystery plot is often enough to pull it through. The scriptwriter would certainly improve as his career went on; with his collaborations with ace director Sergio Martino representing his best work. As you might expect, there isn't a great deal of violence and murder in the film; a reflection on the time the film was made, although this doesn't hurt the film too much as a plot like this doesn't always need blood and guts to succeed. The cast doesn't shine too much, and it's not hard to see why many of them didn't go on to receive cult status, although Carl Schell does stand out; mostly because he looks a bit like Peter Lorre. The conclusion to the story doesn't contain much in the way of surprise, as it's always obvious what the murderer is; although the way that the ending plays out is good in that it inspires some thinking. Overall, while this isn't a particularly good film; it deserves extra plaudits for its influence and frankly bizarre plot, and is definitely worth seeing for Italian horror aficionados!

Everything is almost perfect in this underrated horror movie, except the stupid theme song, which was probably added for American distribution only. The scenes in the woods are atmospheric and thrilling due to competent cinematography. The main plot (who is the werewolf stalking a girls reformatory?)might be simple, but it is supplemented with an intriguing subplot of prostitution and blackmail centered around the reformatory. No surprise that the script is by Ernesto Gastaldi who wrote some of the masterpieces of Italian horror cinema in 1960s.

I just finished this movie for the first time and found it entertaining. I personally enjoy old black and white horror films since I grew up with them. This one keeps you guessing and is certainly worth watching if you get the opportunity.

There is something bleak and disjointed about this film. First of all, I appreciate the fact that it has an interesting story and a few obstacles thrown in the viewers path. The movie is as much psychological as it is horrific. I don't like slasher movies and am bored with them, especially the ones out of the era where this movie appeared. It turned out to be kind of an atmospheric werewolf movie. It's deliberately misleading at times. Characters are there for no other reason than to confuse us. But it plays by the rules. The main female figure is quite pretty. The rest of the girls seem rather the same and there's a stuffy restraint all around. Nevertheless, there are some attacks, pretty good special effects, and an interesting conclusion.