House of the Wolf Man – DVD Review

The Film:

Usually, when horror fans proclaim that they wish the genre would be like the “good old days”, they’re referring to films of their youth, possibly the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, where horror was simple, yet wet. I nod and accept this fact too, but secretly I yearned for the real glory days of horror, when they opened up on a dark and stormy night, where creatures of the night howled and warned. Where creaky old castles seemed like prime monster real estate. I guess I’m just the genre fan that wishes his horror movies were black and white, fullframe, and in mono.

What should have been a nice homage to that era in Universal’s reboot of The Wolfman was met with mixed results (here), but director Eben McGarr (from the controversial Sick Girl out on Synapse Films DVD) was working on the ultimate Universal Horror homage in The House of the Wolf Man, a seemingly “lost” film from that studio monster mash-up heyday. Oh, and it’s filmed in black and white, fullframe, and mono! McGarr goes tonally and visually verbatim by those old films, which is on one-hand a cool trick. Little camera work, all build-up, then a ten minute monster fight. For anyone who has watched the Universal monster films from the 1940s, which had the studio teaming their franchises up, since profits on these films were diminishing, House of the Wolf Man is a near-perfect relative, even casting Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney, Jr.’s grandson!) as Dr. Bela Reinhardt is really inspired.

But on the other hand, the film is pretty static early on, which doesn’t help most of the actors who seem a little green anyway. The long-winded set-up, while mimicking the style of those films, forces the actors to carry the film, and most are stiff, rigid, and the script doesn’t help. Flat, broad dialogue adds to the stiffness. Yet, even then, it’s kind of inspired by the Poverty Row productions that used the Universal horror films as a template for their nickel and dime production.

But when the monsters clash, it’s horror heaven. There’s been a few homages to these classic films, mostly from director Larry Blamire (Dark and Stormy Night), but never to this extent. House of the Wolf Man features some really awesome sets, that aid the feeling of old Universal films. At times, the writing balances from homage to spoof, which is again, a little irritating. I guess those monster mash-ups from the ’40s were self-aware and mocking, but each tried to offer a serious horror film. McGarr’s writing titters too much, and the humor is off-putting.

Still, who is to complain, when we get a wolf man made for and by fans of the dusty old days? It’s a clever experiment, although it takes a bit to get going, is a blast when it does. The make-up FX are stellar on the wolf man and the Frankenstein monster. The Nate Scott score is perfect. Every one’s heart was in the right place, from the casting of Ron Chaney and the classic beauty of Cherly Rhodes to the monster mayhem, all of which proves that nothing defines horror like black and white. Flaws and all, that’s something to howl about.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Releasing independently by My Way Pictures to various festivals, Taurus Entertainment, a company I’m not familiar with, releases the indie film on DVD. The black and white cinematography looks sharp. The mono sound is at times, too shrill, but I guess it’s all int he spirit of the homage.

The disc sadly doesn’t have much extras, outside of the fun, clever Trailer and a Still Gallery, that shows close ups of the make-up and on-set photos.

Conclusion: It’s unique and fun, but while getting an “A” for effort, the final result is more of a “C+”. Still, the fun wins out.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: