The Curse of the Werewolf
Release date: 1961-05-01
Votes: 170
Genres: Horror
A child conceived by a mute servant girl transforms from an innocent youth to a killer beast at night with uncontrollable urges.
Reviews
Wuchak
***Conceived by rape and born on Christmas results in…*** In mid-1700’s Spain a mute servant lass (Yvonne Romain) is raped by a mad beggar and her child is born on Christmas day, which is considered blasphemy by the local religious folk. As an adult, Leon (Oliver Reed) leaves his adoptive parents to work at a nearby winery and develops a relationship with the owner’s highborn daughter (Catherine Feller). Unfortunately, an animal spirit seeks to dominate his soul as he struggles to suppress the beast within. The only werewolf flick made by Hammer, “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) was based on the novel “The Werewolf of Paris” by Guy Endore, but the location of the story was switched from France to Spain because there was a Spanish set available after a film about the Spanish Inquisition was scrapped due to opposition from the Catholic League of Decency. It’s interesting that Oliver Reed doesn’t even appear until the movie is past half over with only 45 minutes remaining (not counting his eyes in the opening credits). Reed had that gripping Brando-like brooding magnetism and his mounting anguish is displayed well. We realize Leon’s innocent, but in the grip of some kind of curse unjustly thrust upon him. The movie is unassuming and has the confidence to take its time with the entire first half being a set-up, which some modern viewers find boring and extraneous. But watch closely and there are several gems to be gleaned. For instance, Leon’s name is the reverse of Noel and it is love that keeps the fiend within at bay, whether paternal love or romantic love. The pure affection of Cristina is the only answer to soothe the savage beast, but she’s kept from him. The fools. The setting of 18th century Spain makes for a nice change of pace in a Hammer flick; and the look of the iconic creature itself was unique at the time and very effective, partially due to Reed’s brawny appearance and heavy charm. The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes and was shot in England (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Surrey). GRADE: B
JPV852
Some respectable prosthetic effects and fine work by Oliver Reed and Catherine Feller, but kind of plods along at times. but ultimately found it to be entertaining, especially the finale. **3.5/5**
Movie Recommendation
Taste of Fear1961-06-05A wheelchair-bound young girl returns to her father's estate after ten years, and although she's told he's away, she keeps seeing his dead body on the estate.More...
House of Dracula1945-12-07A scientist working on cures for rare afflictions, such as a bone softening agent made from molds to allow him to correct the spinal deformity of his nurse, finds the physical causes of lycanthropy in wolf-man Larry Talbot and of vampirism in Count Dracula, but himself becomes afflicted with homicidal madness while exchanging blood with Dracula.More...
The Phantom of the Opera1962-06-25A London opera house is haunted by tragic events on its opening night, but when its star is kidnapped, a producer tracks down the Phantom who is intent on seeking his revenge.More...
Frankenstein Created Woman1967-03-15A deformed tormented girl drowns herself after her lover is framed for murder and guillotined. Baron Frankenstein, experimenting with the transfer of souls, places the boy's soul into her body, bringing Christina back to life. Driven by revenge, she carries out a violent retribution on those responsible for both deaths.More...
The Devil Rides Out1968-07-20The powers of good are pitted against the forces of evil as the Duc de Richelieu wrestles with the charming but deadly Satanist, Mocata, for the soul of his friend. Mocata has the knowledge and the power to summon the forces of darkness and, as the Duc de Richelieu and his friends remain within the protected pentacle, they are subjected to ever-increasing horror until thundering hooves herald the arrival of the Angel of Death.More...
The Kiss of the Vampire1963-09-11Honeymooning in Bavaria, a young couple becomes stranded and is forced to stay the night in the area. Doctor Ravna, owner of the impressive chateau that sits imposingly above the village, invites them to dinner that evening. Their association with Ravna and his charming, beautiful family is to prove disastrous.More...
She1965-04-18The lost city of Kuma is ruled by the cruel, arrogant, beautiful queen, Ayesha, gifted with eternal life. She lures Leo Vincey into her world, seeing in him the reincarnation of the lover she long ago murdered in a fit of violent jealousy. Against all advice Leo is determined to stay and Ayesha persuades him to bathe in the flame of eternal youth... with disastrous consequences.More...
Line of Demarcation1966-05-25It is based on upon the memoir Mémoires d'un agent secret de la France libre et La Ligne de démarcation by Gilbert Renault under his pseudonym Colonel Rémy. A small village in the Jura is split by the river Loue which creates the line of demarcation between Nazi occupied France and freedom. A French officer, Pierre, is released by the Nazi soldiers to find his chateau converted into a German command centre. Whilst he is obliged to co-operate with the enemy, his wife Mary supports the resistance movement and is willing to risk her life for it. The Nazis step up their activity against the resistance, insisting that any who attempt to cross the line of demarcation will be shot. When his wife is arrested, Pierre decides to switch his allegiance.More...
The Night of Counting the Years1969-01-27Set in 1881, a year before the start of British colonial rule, it is based on the true story of the Abd el-Rasuls, an Upper-Egyptian clan that had been robbing a cache of mummies they have discovered at tomb DB320 near the village of Kurna, and selling the artifacts on the black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members made a crucial decision when the Antiquities Service arrived.More...
Love Is My Profession1958-09-17Married French lawyer Andre defends succesfully the case of Yvette, who committed a robbery. He falls in love with her, but she isn't true to him.More...
Captain Clegg1962-06-13A captain and his sailors investigate the rampaging "Marsh Phantoms" terrorizing a coastal town, but their search is hindered by a local reverend and a horrifying curse.More...
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde1920-03-18A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.More...
My Mom's a Werewolf1989-05-11The frustrated housewife Leslie visits an animal shop to purchase a flea-collar. Unknowing that the owner is a werewolf, she accepts his invitation to lunch and later in his apartment. Through a bite in her toe he starts her slow transformation in a werewolf. Home again, she desperately tries to hide the often disgusting process from her family, but her daughter Jennifer and her - from horror magazines well educated - friend recognize what's going on, and help to kill the non-human.More...
My Friend Irma1949-10-14Prototype dumb blonde Irma and her slacker, wheeler-dealer boyfriend Al interfere in the love life of Irma's level-headed room mate Jane.More...
Tomahawk1951-02-05In 1866, a new gold discovery and an inconclusive conference force the U.S. Army to build a road and fort in territory ceded by previous treaty to the Sioux...to the disgust of frontier scout Jim Bridger, whose Cheyenne wife led him to see the conflict from both sides. The powder-keg situation needs only a spark to bring war, and violent bigots like Lieut. Rob Dancy are all too likely to provide this. Meanwhile, Bridger's chance of preventing catastrophe is dimmed by equally wrenching personal conflicts. Unusually accurate historically.More...
Loch Ness: They Created a Monster2023-11-11The hunters of the Scottish folklore creature camped out on the shores of the loch throughout the 1970s and 1980s, chasing but never finding the dinosaur-like creature.More...
The Three Musketeers1973-12-11The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming a King's musketeer. He meets and quarrels with three men, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, each of whom challenges him to a duel. D'Artagnan finds out they are musketeers and is invited to join them in their efforts to oppose Cardinal Richelieu, who wishes to increase his already considerable power over the King. D'Artagnan must also juggle affairs with the charming Constance Bonancieux and the passionate Lady De Winter, a secret agent for the Cardinal.More...
Bay of Angels1963-03-01A bank clerk is drawn into the risky world of a gorgeous gambling addict.More...
The Pit and the Pendulum1961-08-23In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.More...
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle1992-01-10A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize Peyton's true intentions -- to destroy Claire and replace her in the family. The nail-biting suspense builds quickly in this chilling psychological thriller about deception and bitter revenge.More...
Similar Movies
Nosferatu
1922-02-16The mysterious Count Orlok summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok's servant, Knock, prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.Saw IV
2007-10-25Despite Jigsaw's death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises to test him to the limit.The Shining
1980-05-23Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.Shaun of the Dead
2004-04-09Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.Braindead
1992-08-13When a Sumatran rat-monkey bites Lionel Cosgrove's mother, she's transformed into a zombie and begins killing (and transforming) the entire town while Lionel races to keep things under control.The Evil Dead
1981-09-10In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.Evil Dead II
1987-03-13Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording an evil power is unleashed taking over Linda's body.Army of Darkness
1992-10-31Ash, a handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk, is time warped backwards into England's Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty and faces legions of the undead.Clown Motel: Spirits ...
2019-06-11A group of "Ghost Hunters" coming back from an old ghost town and a bachelorette party returning home from Las Vegas stumble across the "Clown Motel" located in the middle of nowhere. Though no one is there to greet them, the two groups decide to stay for the evening. After a wild night of partying, they awake to find their vehicles sabotaged, leaving them stranded, left to discover if this motel is truly abandoned, or if it is home to souls of the clowns who once lived there.The Ring
2002-10-18Rachel Keller is a journalist investigating a videotape that may have killed four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring so she can save herself and her son.Next Door
2005-03-11After Ingrid leaves John, he allows himself to be pulled into a mystical and scary world where it is impossible to separate truth from lies.Frenzy
1972-05-25London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.Jaws
1975-06-20When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.Silent Hill
2006-04-21Rose, a desperate mother takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town's terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.Un Chien Andalou
1929-06-05Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.Interview with the Va...
1994-11-11A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.Angel Heart
1987-03-06A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a singer on an odyssey that will take him through the desperate streets of Harlem, the smoke-filled jazz clubs of New Orleans, and the swamps of Louisiana and its seedy underworld of voodoo.Murrain
1975-07-27When a mystery illness infects the pigs of a village farmer and a local boy is also taken ill, the villagers try to convince a veterinarian that it is caused by a curse from a woman they believe to be a witch.Scream 7
2026-02-25The seventh installment in the 'Scream' franchise. Plot TBA.Blood: The Last Vampi...
2000-11-18In Japan, the vampire-hunter Saya, who is a powerful original, is sent by her liaison with the government, David, posed as a teenage student to the Yokota High School on the eve of Halloween to hunt down vampires. Saya asks David to give a new katana to her. Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demon.