9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a missed opportunity for MST3K!, October 3, 2001
Samuel Z. Arkoff himself would have been embarrassed by this one! Shoddy production values, stilted acting and a painfully dull, dim-witted script makes Wolfman, by NO means to be confused with the 1941 classic, so bad it is almost beneath even "Midnight Movie" standards.
Actor/Producer Earl Owensby is Colin Glasgow, heir to the Glasgow estate. After many years away from home travelling, Colin is called home to be with his dying father. When he arrives, his father has already passed away. Colin does not know that his father was murdered by his satanic relatives and the evil Reverend Leonard. While home, Colin reunites with Lynn, his long lost love, and becomes suspicious of nefarious activities in his family concerning his father's forged will and why the family won't let him see his grandmother. Soon poor Colin is placed under the family curse and becomes a werewolf. Mayhem ensues as the werewolf goes on a rampage before being hunted by a posse of good old boys that apparently wandered in from another movie. At the movie's end Colin saves Lynn from Reverend Leonard only to die himself as he and the Reverend (who looks like David Grisman) fall out a window and Colin lands on a silver dagger.
Rarely has a film managed to be so completely inept on every level as Wolfman. The actors playing Clement and Elizabeth, Colin's Satan-worshipping cousins, have to be the stiffest evil doers of all time. They preside over the murder of their Uncle like they were waiting in line at the drugstore and when they join Reverend Leonard for their dark ceremonies they sit uncomfortably as if someone were talking too loud during tea time.
The family lawyer who conspires with the family to put the curse on Colin has a memorably akward first scene as the synchronization of his physical and verbal greeting to Colin at the train station is hilariously botched. It is also curious how he is given such a pivotal role early on in the film and then is completely forgotten about. The actress playing Colin's ladyfriend fares no better than the rest of the cast. Her part recalls the tedious romantic subplot of the Lon Chaney Jr. film, but this time the dialogue is nowhere near the level of the already tepid material Chaney and Evelyn Ankers had to work with. It is also interesting how the characters are supposed to be the same age but Owensby is CLEARLY old enough to be her father. The actor playing Colin's friend Dr. Tate looks disturbingly like Colonel Sanders and his mildly annoyed facial expression when Colin tells him that he has dug up his father's grave is priceless. Edward Grady, as the demonic Reverend Leonard, gives the best performance. Faint praise indeed considering this movie.
And while Wolfman is hardly the only movie to feature a dream sequence, it is perhaps the only one that manages to repeat the SAME dream sequence twice. The only difference being that the second time around, it was shot more creatively and the actors remembered to project.
You could write a book about everything that is wrong in this film, which is a shame because the basic idea is that of a promising, atmospheric horror film. Some of the dialogue here goes past Ed Wood territory and into a whole new realm of awfulness. Special mention to Reverend Leonard's stirring graveside sermon. A free box of cookies to the first person who can make heads or tails of what he's talking about. Continuity and logic snafus are too abundant to go into here and wouldn't do justice to the experience of having to watch it yourself.......in which case, you deserve a free box of cookies anyway!
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen, October 12, 2000
This is without a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen! Earl Owensby "stars" in this poorly written, poor acted, poorly everything movie of the classic wolfman story. Although the movie is set in Scotland, all of the actors (with the exception of one or two) speak in a thick Southern accent. The clothing is late 19th century at one point, and then towards the end of the movie the actors are inexplicably dressed in modern clothing. Earl Owensby is known for his independent film studio in Shelby, NC and his entrepreneurial prowess in that field. However, "Wolfman" goes to show that just because you have enough money to produce a movie does not mean that you should! This movie is good for a hoot if you enjoy seeing just how bad a movie can be. What did I like about this movie? That is was over.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not too bad., January 26, 2006
This review is from: Wolfman (DVD)
I am a fan of low-budget horror movies, and this definitely fits that genre. For what it is, the production, plot, and effects are all really good. There is one graveyard scene where they are standing in front of a horrible back drop, but that is the only part that looked really hokey. As in most Earl Owensby movies, the weakness here is in the acting. In this case, however, it is normally so bad that it is humorous and tends to make the movie more entertaining. If you are looking to be artistically enlightened, this is not the movie for you. If you are just looking for a couple of hours of goofy fun, Wolfman isn't bad at all.
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