Mon voisin le loup garou

I don't get the lukewarm reviews as "Never Cry Werewolf" (2008) is a worthy addition to the werewolf genre. Yes, it rips-off the plot of a popular film from two decades earlier, "Fright Night" and, yes, it is a made-for-TV flick, but despite these factors it delivers as a half-serious/half-comedy werewolf flick.

PLOT: A mysterious man (Peter Stebbings) moves in next door to teenager Loren (Nina Dobrev) and she concludes that he's a werewolf. Of course, no one believes her so she enlists the help of a washed-up reality show actor (Kevin Sorbo).

Like I said, "Never Cry Werewolf" only plays it semi-straight, so don't expect the dead-serious vibe of, say, "wolfen" or even "Red Riding Hood."

Stebbings is reminiscent of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine here and is excellent in the role. But he's clearly at least 36 years-old and so it's a bit disturbing that he's literally sniffing around a 16 year-old girl.

Nina is good as the protagonist and has a cute look, but I prefer her friend in the story, Angie, played by Melanie Leishman. Melanie may not be as cute but she has better curves. In any event, her role is too small.

As always, Sorbo is extremely likable. He plays a reluctant hero in this one.

The film was shot in Brantford & Hamilton, Ontario, and runs 87 minutes.

FINAL WORD: Although "Never Cry Werewolf" loses points for blatantly ripping off "Fright Night," the bottom line is that it's entertaining from beginning to end. The werewolf lore is sound and the cast is solid. In addition, the werewolf looks menacing and there's a lot of goofy gore. It's just a fun film. What more do you want from a low-budget werewolf flick?

GRADE: B-

jdanvers is correct, a small part of the plot resembles Dracula. However, this movie more closely resembles "Fright Night". Here's why. Kid notices something is wrong with next door neighbor, and comes to realize neighbor is a werewolf (ok, in Fright Night the neighbor is a vampire). Nobody will believe the kid. So, the kid enlists a wacky TV star to help destroy the monster. In fact, the movie is almost a remake, just substitute werewolf for vampire.

Having said that, I actually enjoyed this movie. The actors were attractive, the plot moved rather well, and the actor playing the werewolf was pretty good. The special effects weren't horrible, although I don't understand why the werewolf always breathed and drooled all over the intended victims for extended periods until they managed to get away.

Overall, you could do a lot worse, especially for a Sci Fi Channel original.

For a Sci-Fi(I'm sorry, SyFy:)movie this was a pretty good amount of fun...if you dig 1.werewolf movies 2.corny horror and/or sci-fi movies you will enjoy this. It had a good amount of humor and didn't even bother to try and take itself seriously. The acting was decent and the characters were familiar archetypes, the effects weren't horrible(but they weren't stellar either), and it was just fun. Just remember it's a Sci-Fi flick so shut off your higher brain functions and enjoy...it's got werewolves!:) Lately Sci-Fi has been the "Disaster of the Week Channel" and totally veered away from monsters and creepy stuff, so this was nice to see...

Everyone knows peroxide is good for werewolf nips.

Jared Martin (Peter Stebbings) is new to the neighborhood. After moving in the sleazier people in the neighborhood are mysteriously dispatched or missing. This does not go unnoticed by the next-door neighbor. Yep, Loren (Nina Dobrev) suspects Jared of being a werewolf. Of course, no one believes her.

The movie has good graphics but is peppered with really noisy second-rate songs. The dialog is contemporary and a tad on the campy side.

Animal Wrangler Violetta Hessing did a great job but is lost in the presentation. She also worked in the series of "Ginger Snaps" (2000) another Canadian werewolf movie.

I'm certain this will not be the only review of this film that will declare this, but this film, while enjoyable by the standards set by Sci-Fi channel movies, is one of the most unabashed rip-offs of a film I have ever seen.

To confirm what others have said, YES, this film does indeed borrow every single plot device imaginable from the 80's classic, Fright Night. It does this to such an obvious extent, that it makes the movie hard to enjoy on certain levels. First and foremost, there is no real suspense, or even curiosity when you can instantly tell that you have seen everything about this movie once before. It follows the Fright Night blueprint so closely, that anyone who remembers anything about FN will instantly be able to guess ahead as to where this movie is headed.

This may have been made as an ode to Fright Nite, but no such declaration is ever made, leaving me to believe that it is simply the result of a lack of imagination, and originality on the part of the filmmakers.