Customer Reviews

The Real Wolfman

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was definitely hoping for more. I was most certainly not expecting the plot of "Brotherhood of the Wolf" a movie released in 2001. Which by the way is a very entertaining movie, much more so than this "documentary".

There were some annoying factual errors in the show.

First the narrator states, at least twice, that the beast gave rise to the werewolf legend. The Beast of Gevaudan killed in the mid 1760's. Written werewolf legends have been around since at the very least 1st century A.D. Rome. Unless of course you count the Epic of Gilgamesh which has brief mention of a man turning into a wolf and hails from the 7th century B.C.

Second it is stated in the show that the beast was killed by a silver bullet, giving rise to the idea that silver bullets could be used to kill werewolves. Again a much older idea, which is probably why a silver bullet was used, it was the accepted method to kill werewolves according to already existing legends. If you think you're trying to kill a werewolf, then you go with the folklore you grew up with.

Finally at the end they did some interesting and pointless testing of ballistic performance of silver bullets vs. lead bullets, using a Marlin lever action rifle chambered in .444 Marlin. The ballistic characteristics and precision of which bear almost no resemblance to the black powder muzzle loading firearms of the mid to late 18th century. However they did get it right that silver is inferior to lead as far as terminal ballistics go. Still I would not volunteer to be shot with a silver bullet.

All in all I was disappointed. The show seemed to prefer to focus on the differences between the police officer and the cryptozoologist and their individual takes on the case. Instead I would have preferred to see a greater emphasis on the actual case itself and the effects on the surrounding countryside.

I first saw this show when it came out a few months ago. At first, I was hoping it would be the ultimate documentary on Werewolves, much like Vampire Secrets (History Channel) is the definitive documentary on Vampires. Turns out that this documentary is about the elusive Beast of Gevaudan, and features renowned cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard. Informative and a great thing to watch on a gloomy day.

In a time where the history channel is trying to improve ratings with reality shows, this documentary came out and I watched it on the Tube, and later purchased it. Its my favorite monster story for those of us who believe such things still exist. But the investigation kind of goes sour when they use a 44 marlin rifle to replicate silver ballistics. Such shots should be taken with a muzzleloader loaded with a round ball, preferablly patched, a smoothbore most likely the tool of the French peasant. They also didnt take into account that Chastel could have lied about using a silver bullet in his actual weapon upon firing. Its a terrifying documentary that one needs to watch. Its about as real as it gets.

An animal expert and homicide police investigator are sent to France to investigate the murders caused by a savage beast from 1764. This documentary had interesting inspirations for the basics of the werewolf legend. I will leave it at that and see it for yourself. 5 out of 5 star rating.

Really disappointed. Did not hear anything new or interesting on the subject and the "investigators" were stilted and also boring.