With the IMDb Horror board's October Challenge coming up,I started to search round for Hammer Horror titles to view for the challenge.Originally thinking that I'd stumbled across a forgotten Hammer title,I was surprised to discover,that despite having a Hammer cast,the film itself was not a Hammer Horror!,which led to me getting ready to uncover the legend of the werewolf.
The plot:
19th century Paris-
Going against their tradition of killing an entire family,a pack of wolves decide to raise a baby human called Etoile.Going passed the woodland area one day,a travelling circus suddenly run into a "wolf boy",who the circus owner decides to grab,so that he can make the boy the star attraction.
Years later:
Having found a family in the circus which he has never had in his life before,Etoile finds his family turning their back on him,when Etoile discovers that he is a werewolf.Running away from the circus,Etolie soon gets a job looking after animals in a rusting zoo.One day as he is cleaning the cages,Etoile catches a glimpse of some women visiting the zoo from a near by brothel.Getting left breathless after catching a glimpse of brothel girl Christine for the first time,Etoile soon discovers that he is unable to control his primal instincts.
View on the film:
Whilst the title takes place in Paris,each of the cast members leave behind any attempt to do a French accent,by instead focusing on the movies dissection of the werewolf.Making his film debut, David Rintoul gives a striking performance as Etolie,with Rintoul making sure that no matter how much blood the werewolf gets covered in,that Etolie's desperation to break out of the werewolf cycle can be clearly seen from behind the fangs.Searching for the mysterious creature,Peter Cushing gives an ultra-smooth performance as amateur detective Prof. Paul Cataflanque,whilst Ron Moody hits the movie with some fantastic seedy charm as the zoo keeper.
Initially appearing to set its sights straight for the jugular,the screenplay by Anthony Hinds instead allows the viewer to slowly uncover the sense of fear & confusion that Etolie discovers. Whilst this rather daringly approach does allow for the audience to enter Etolie's mind,it also does lead to moments of paternal terror feeling rather dry.
Following the route of Hinds screenplay,director Freddie Francis uses extremely stylised first person shots to show the horror that Etolie inflicts,with Francis also showing a sharp eye for quick edits during the gore scenes,which allow the viewer to make their own full image of the terror taking place.Along with the sharp violence,Francis also cleverly uses misty colours which give the title an unexpected Beauty and the Beast atmosphere,as Francis shows this legendary werewolf to be one with a real bite.
The plot:
19th century Paris-
Going against their tradition of killing an entire family,a pack of wolves decide to raise a baby human called Etoile.Going passed the woodland area one day,a travelling circus suddenly run into a "wolf boy",who the circus owner decides to grab,so that he can make the boy the star attraction.
Years later:
Having found a family in the circus which he has never had in his life before,Etoile finds his family turning their back on him,when Etoile discovers that he is a werewolf.Running away from the circus,Etolie soon gets a job looking after animals in a rusting zoo.One day as he is cleaning the cages,Etoile catches a glimpse of some women visiting the zoo from a near by brothel.Getting left breathless after catching a glimpse of brothel girl Christine for the first time,Etoile soon discovers that he is unable to control his primal instincts.
View on the film:
Whilst the title takes place in Paris,each of the cast members leave behind any attempt to do a French accent,by instead focusing on the movies dissection of the werewolf.Making his film debut, David Rintoul gives a striking performance as Etolie,with Rintoul making sure that no matter how much blood the werewolf gets covered in,that Etolie's desperation to break out of the werewolf cycle can be clearly seen from behind the fangs.Searching for the mysterious creature,Peter Cushing gives an ultra-smooth performance as amateur detective Prof. Paul Cataflanque,whilst Ron Moody hits the movie with some fantastic seedy charm as the zoo keeper.
Initially appearing to set its sights straight for the jugular,the screenplay by Anthony Hinds instead allows the viewer to slowly uncover the sense of fear & confusion that Etolie discovers. Whilst this rather daringly approach does allow for the audience to enter Etolie's mind,it also does lead to moments of paternal terror feeling rather dry.
Following the route of Hinds screenplay,director Freddie Francis uses extremely stylised first person shots to show the horror that Etolie inflicts,with Francis also showing a sharp eye for quick edits during the gore scenes,which allow the viewer to make their own full image of the terror taking place.Along with the sharp violence,Francis also cleverly uses misty colours which give the title an unexpected Beauty and the Beast atmosphere,as Francis shows this legendary werewolf to be one with a real bite.