Sub-Genre: Monster Movie, Werewolf
U.S. Release Date: June 2007 (DVD)
Running Length: 1 hr. 35 min.
MPAA Classification: R (strong horror violence/gore, sexual content, nudity and language)
Cast: Richard Tyson, Trevor Duke, Kimberly J. Brown, Christopher Shyer, Sarah Aldrich, Clint Howard, David Naughton
Director: Lance W. Dreesen
Screenplay: Lance W. Dreesen
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Big Bad Wolf is a film that takes a slightly different approach to the typical werewolf/horror movie. The plot starts off like countless other horror films: (1) A group of teenagers take a weekend trip to a remote cabin in the woods, (2) on the way they are warned by a crazy local to turn around and go back, (3) after a night of sex, drugs, and alcohol, the shit hits the fan.
The cabin is attacked by a werewolf who, unlike most werewolves, retains most of his human persona. He even spews Freddy Kruger-like quips while terrorizing the teens. While many other werewolf/horror movies end there (with one or two survivors defeating the werewolf at the end), this is just the beginning for Big Bad Wolf.
Two of the teens manage to ward off the werewolf and survive the attack. The plot then turns to a "Who done it?" murder mystery, reminiscent of Silver Bullet, when the teens return home and attempt to discover the identity of the werewolf.
For a low-budget picture, this film was fairly well done. There was a decent amount of brutal violence and gore, with a couple good scenes of gratuitous nudity. There was nothing particularly scary or suspenseful about this film, but the werewolf attacks were vicious (and sometimes a little disturbing) with plenty of blood and guts to satisfy most gorehounds.
Like most low budget films, however, there were a few things not so well done. I enjoyed the variation on the typical werewolf (with it keeping most of its human faculties), but some of his dialogue came off more cheesy than clever. While in costume, the werewolf looked ok, but when he talked his mouth hardly moved, which made him look more like a guy in a werewolf suit. Also, there was a werewolf transformation scene that probably ranks with the worst ever in a film.
That aside, I enjoyed this film and felt that it had horror-schlock entertainment value. If you happen to enjoy silly B-grade monster movies, (with a fair amount of sex, blood, and violence) I think you will enjoy this movie too.
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