Is It Really That Bad ? Wolvesbayne

Werewolves in horror films have entertained audiences worldwide for many years. No matter if we are talking about classics such as The Howling from 1981, or one of my personal favourite werewolves film known as An American Werewolf In London, there are some films that still remain a high level of quality. Unfortunately not all film makers can make great werewolves films, and i would like to mention 2 of them you might as well avoid. Let us start with The Howling: New Moon Rising released in 1995. The original film The Howling is a classic werewold film, and i still enjoy that film even today. But since we are talking about The Howling: New Moon Rising we should be honest. Not only is this the worst sequel in The Howling franchise, this is a really horrible werewolf film as well. First of all the characters, not a single one you care about honestly. And the werewolves looks really silly, as if that was the best they could do. Considering this film was released in 1995, i know they could have done a much better job with the werewolves. If you want to see how you should not make a sequel, then watch The Howling: New Moon Rising ( there is a risk you will feel sick, just so you know ). The second film that comes to my mind is also released in 1995, simply called Werewolf ( also known as Werewolf: Rest In Beast. I only saw this pile of shit on VHS back in the 90´s and i still remember how bad it is. The werewolf scenes are so stupid, you laugh out of misery. The acting is just as bad as Jim Bakker´s evangelical predictions So i think you should not see the 1995 film Werewolf at all. Thankfully it is not easy to find these days. Since i choose some films in my segment Is It Really That Bad ? that are supposed to be bad according to critics, i came across a film called Wolvesbane. Vampires and werewolves fighting ? Well, how can i say no to that ? I got myself a DVD copy, to see if this would be the film that made my summer perfect. Is Wolvesbayne a future cult classic, or a film that no one will remember at all ?

In 1887, the powerful vampire Lillith ( Yancy Butler ) is vanquished by a vampire counsil and four amulets avoid her return to the world of living. In present day, the greedy realtor Russel Bayne ( Jeremy London ) is pressing Alex Layton ( Christy Carlson Romano ) to sell her store of esoteric products. Alex refuse to sell the store, since this store was opened by her mother. While Russel is driving home, he is attacked on the highway of some kind of beast. It turns out to be a werewolf, and he is bitten by the beast. Meanwhile, a vampire clan led by evil Von Griem ( Mark Dacascos ) is planning to bring back Lillith to life, with the help of the amulets. If Lillith returns, nothing will ever be the same again.

If you are expecting a masterpiece with vampires and werewolves, you won´t find it here in Wolvesbayne. However, there are a few details i do enoy with the idea of the plot. We have seen something similar before in the Underworld franchise, so this is nothing new. To see vampires mixed together with werewolves in the same film, is of course fun, even if you can tell the budget is limited here. I have to say i especially enjoy a werewolf transformation scene, about 20 minutes into this film. It may not look great, but gives you a feeling of old school werewolf transformation. Let´s get into the characters for a while. The best character in this film is without a doubt Alex Layton, played by actress Christy Carlson Romano. She is tough, and at the same time has a good heart. She is without a doubt one of the strongest characters in this film. Legendary action actor Mark Dacascos is the character Von Griem, and even if i always enjoy seeing Dacascos it feels like he should have had more scenes than what he has here. Actress Yancy Butler ( who i especially remember from the Kick Ass films, and the Van Damme classic Hard Target ) is fun to see as the character Lillith. You could say she brings something tasteful to the plot, when some of the other actors fails to deliver. Overall, this is a very typical B horror movie that smells TV from 700 miles away. And if you are ok with that, then you might have some fun with this film. My biggest problem with Wolvesbayne is that the mixture of vampires and werewolves does not work that well. I do enjoy the vampire clan concept, but when they mix it all together with werewolves it becomes clear they have problems making sense with the plot. Wolvesbayne have some fun moments, but not enough to make this film stay in your memory. If you love the Underworld, franchise check thouse films out instead of Wolvesbayne, and i guarantee you will have more fun.

Rating: DD