Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory (1961)

Simply A Masterpiece

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A Masterpiece!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Isn't that title reassuring? It simply conveys the message that watching this film is the equivalent of wading into a lake of Fontina cheese with only Grissini as an oar.This is a werewolf film where the werewolf kills only one person in the entire film and even then it was by accident. It also plays out more like a giallo as folks within the film are murdered, savaged by dogs, commit suicide etc as we sit there trying to figure out who the killer is. Or, if we look closely enough, we can spot which actor is barely hiding under that werewolf makeup.Of course, these days the film would be called Jimmy Saville In A Women's Dormitory and be far far scarier, but back in those days people were more trusting of their light entertainers so what we have here is a girl's reformatory school (full of skanky Italian women) where the men are so sleazy one consoles himself following the lycanthropic murder of his beau by immediately hitting on his beau's best mate. Way to go, Sir Walter! Sir Walter also endears himself to the audience by leaving creepy caretaker Walter to be killed by the locals.Basically, one of these guys is a werewolf, someone's covering up the killings, and it's up to Priscilla (Polish, but extremely Italian looking Barbara Lass) to get to the bottom of the problem, along with teacher/suspect Dr Julian.The best bit was when the werewolf got ravaged by a dog and everyone started looking for a guy with a bum arm, which meant they descended on Walter, who obviously has a bad arm birth defect. Way to go, villagers.This is a stupid, but enjoyable film that shows you what the Italians would shortly be capable of.

If you like low budget B&W horror films from the 50s and 60s, you'll probably like this movie.Overall,, it's decent for one of those cheapy foreign fares.It's well directed and the story good.The real issue is how slow the film moves.Some would fine it moody, but I find it a bit boring.And of course, being done in the 60s, it's not too provocative, despite taking place in a girl's dorm!Some people commented on a cheesy soundtrack.I didn't have a problem with it.Oh, and BTW, I'm not 100% sure the monster is a werewolf. He sure doesn't look like one.

I was punched in the gut so hard it dropped me to the floor. Writhing in pain, I was suddenly kicked in the genitals. As the intense pain overcame me I blacked out thinking "What have I done to bring this punishment upon me?" At least that is how I felt as I watched disk 3, side A of Mill Creek's 50 Chilling Classics collection. After laboring through Haunts I turned my glazed over eyes to Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory a.k.a. Lycanthropus. With a title like that it leaves little mystery concerning the plot.A new professor arrives at a reform school for girls the very same time a student, prisoner, whatever the hell they are is murdered. When the campus faculty that is staffed by morons find the body they note how the wounds seem to be from a "vicious animal". Let me pause in query as I ponder what could possibly be the culprit. Could it be said werewolf in the title? Maybe. Do I care. Absolutely not. Barbara Lass is hot in an early sixties way and definitely poke worthy for a smelly deadbeat hippie of that time. This is an Italian-Spanish production of the typical American werewolf movie of the fifties. At times you can see the characters speaking English and in other scenes the lines are clearly foreign. The ending is a head-scratcher as it is never explained how or why the culprit became a werewolf to begin with or the motivation for the attacks. You can probably guess who the werewolf is within fifteen minutes anyway. Do yourself a favor and put this foaming dog to sleep.

Just last week, I finished reading Guy Endore's classic 1933 novel "The Werewolf of Paris," a highly intelligent, insightful look at this legendary creature of modern-day folklore. Last night I watched the 1961 Italian/Austrian coproduction "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory," a film that is hardly classic, overly intelligent or insightful, but that did come as a nice treat for me anyway. To my great surprise, this is not the teenage lycanthrope panty raid that I had been expecting, or the camp fest that the title would lead one to anticipate. The film deals with a series of brutal murders in a young women's reformatory school in what is supposed to be the U.S. but feels distinctly European. To its credit, the movie boasts some pretty creepy atmosphere, effective music, very passable B&W photography, and very decent acting (although it's hard to tell for sure about that last with the terrible dubbing). It feels like a cross between a monster flick and an early Italian "giallo," with a dash of mystery thrown in. Who IS the werewolf? Is it the new, hunky blond professor with a secret in his past? The lecherous old teacher who's being blackmailed by one of the students? Or howzabout the Igor-like, handicapped handyman? Most viewers will never guess; I know I didn't! The Maltin book inexplicably gives this film its lowest "BOMB" rating, but I think the editors there are being way too harsh. Although "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" is nothing great, it still deserves some respect for the effective and well-put-together thriller that it is.