Scream of the Wolf

Director Dan Curtis had an impressive track record after developing the memorable character of Carl Kolchack, played wonderfully by Darren McGavin, in both "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler", and also the one-off "The Norliss Tapes" with Roy Thinnes.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the same success here, though it does start off strongly with an innocent motorist being killed by a mysterious creature(a werewolf, perhaps?) Several more murders occur, until the twist at the end which is...underwhelming, to say the least. Peter Graves and Clint Walker face off as uneasy friends on opposing sides, since Walker's big game hunter is coldly indifferent to the deaths. He plays it menacingly, but his character(as well as Graves') come off quite flat, and there is little else to distinguish this film and make it memorable. Too bad.

A big-game hunter has come back to town and he helps to hunt down a notorious wolf in the area but he soon believes that the wolf has two legs - a werewolf.

This is one of the better made for horror-thriller TV films. It's always fun for me to watch a good werewolf movie and yes this one is good. This one is not overly graphic or bloody - it's just a good "hunt down the werewolf" tale.

If you want a good double feature watch "Scream of the Wolf (1974)" along with "Moon of the Wolf (1972)" (another good made for TV werewolf story).

8.5/10

This made for TV movie is from Dan Curtis...and that should come as no surprise as Curtis made a living making low-budget horror films and TV shows--such as the original "Dark Shadows" as well as excellent made for TV films about Dracula, Kolchak (the reporter that investigates monster sightings), possessed African dolls, Frankenstein and others. Most of his work was very good though I wouldn't place "Scream of the Wolf" among his best films.

Some creature has been tearing folks to pieces and John (Peter Graves) is a hunter who's been given the task of killing whatever it is. However, he soon notices that the footprints go from a wolf-like creature to human...but he won't allow himself to believe it's a werewolf. When he tries to get help from a clearly nutty associate, Byron (Clint Walker) has a strange reaction--he's totally disinterested in killing the creature and even seems to be completely ambivalent about all the deaths!! Clearly the viewer is being led to believe that Byron is most likely the wolf-man. And, clearly, Walker's character is about as subtle as a 2x4 upside your head! He's a super freaky weirdo and Walker looks as if he had fun playing this guy. And, although Graves is the leading man in the film, your attention is drawn to Walker whenever he's on the screen. So is Byron the werewolf or is there some other explanation? And, how does this movie end up being very much like the classic film "The Most Deadly Game"?

Considering the budget for this film was pretty low and the ABC movies were made quickly, how they handled the whole werewolf aspect of the story was an interesting idea that worked very well. Not the best movie of the week I've seen but very memorable and fun...in a kooky sort of way. Well worth seeing...and a lot better than the surprisingly low overall score of 5.1 (as of this review).

A rural community is shaken by gruesome killings in the woods by what appears to be a werewolf (the tracks near the bodies shows four paw prints that soon become two, and then disappear); former hunter-turned-writer Peter Graves assists the local sheriff in unraveling the mystery. Not-bad TV-made thriller has interesting subjective camera-work along with the proverbial fog in the woods and snarling sound effects. Graves is solid, as usual, and has a few intense scenes with maniacal 'old friend' Clint Walker, but it's too bad writer Richard Matheson felt the need to cover all his bases plot-wise. The more explanations we get in the finale, the more ridiculous it all begins to seem. Director Dan Curtis also produced, in what appears to be a case for The Night Stalker. Robert Cobert is responsible for the erratic music score.

A series of grisly attacks has the police stumped. So, they call in expert John Wetherby (Peter Graves), who calls in big game hunter Byron Douglas (Clint Walker) who is basically a turtleneck-wearing block of granite with enormous sideburns.

When more deaths occur, Wetherby tries without success to convince Byron to help him track down a creature that defies classification. Byron tries to convince Wetherby that mankind is useless and weak, even terrifying a restaurant patron to prove his point.

When Wetherby's girlfriend, Sandy (Jo Ann Pflug) is nearly killed, he decides to hunt the beast. When Wetherby asks Byron for help again, Byron challenges him to arm wrestle. His misanthropic machismo knows no bounds! Can the monster be stopped, before it mutilates more emasculated milquetoasts of modern mankind?

SCREAM OF THE WOLF is another made-for-TV horror movie from Producer / Director Dan Curtis. While not as stellar as some of his other offerings, it's certainly worth a viewing or two. Be sure not to miss the big, semi-shock finale!...