Lone Wolf (1988)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

I remember this to be the first werewolf film I ever rented (but not the first one I ever watched; I was already familiar with Oliver Reed, David Naughton and "Eddie Quist" at the time, not in particular with their names, of course, but more with the werewolf films they're attached to). Ripe enough to tell right from wrong, but not aged enough to tell the difference between a good or a bad movie. So, I remember enjoying LONE WOLF back then, but as years passed by I knew I had to re-visit it eventually and re-evaluate things. Found me an old VHS tape of it and re-watched it. And boy, is this one silly and downright bad low-budget production at moments. Horrible 80's hair-do's and clothing. Horrible 80's hard rock music (it features a pretty awful rock band in the film, trying to struggle their way to fame but they never go beyond playing in the same club over and over again). Very bad acting from most of the cast members. A cast that's supposed to by playing teenagers in high school but they all look much older. Lots of colorful, oh-so-typical 80's lighting. Retarded attempts at humor on rare occasions. And so on and so on...However,... the film does have two more or less redeeming qualities. One is that the plot is constructed as a mystery. Granted, it's painfully easy to guess who the werewolf is, but it is somewhat entertaining to see how the filmmakers are desperately trying to set the viewer off on the wrong foot numerous times. Secondly, there's the werewolf. And, yes, the film features a brief transformation-scene. Hooray for that! It looks a bit clumsy, but they did the best with the little means they had, and we get the works (teeth growing, pointy ears appearing, face stretching, claws bursting through fingers, hair growing). Other than this scene, the werewolf is previously shown throughout the movie mainly in brief close-ups (the eyes, the mouth, the teeth, the claws,...) or silhouettes. Fair enough. It all looks a bit fake, of course, but still neat to look at. There's a bit of gore too, stuff like hearts ripped out, a face torn in half and a guy getting his head ripped off. The film even has a little twist in its tail (sort of a surprise shock ending) that I totally forgot should have been coming because I was so amused by the dumbness of the rest of the movie.I can't really recommended LONE WOLF to anybody, but it is a fun bad werewolf flick. I'd put it right up there with other late 80's straight-faced shenanigans like MINDKILLER (1987) and THE BRAIN (1988).

The other's reviewer completely failed to acknowledge how entertaining this movie really is. If you enjoy bad horror movies at all, you will certainly be pleased. Foremost, it is not boring in the least... the main weakness of most films of it's caliber. And it is quite funny; both intentionally and otherwise. I have a special place in my heart for horror films shot on video, and this is probably the best of that category. The cinematography is very similar to that of most PBS instructional programming. I just love it, and have introduced it to many others who agree. The filmmakers should be commended for making such a great movie on such a low budget. And a special note to the other reviewer; mullets and jokes about them are no longer funny (and were long dead when you wrote your review). Get over it.

~Spoiler~Guitar licks and werewolves aren't the greatest combination. Lone Wolf is just plain bad. Very little budget or effort was put into this movie. It's still the "Breakfast Club" of horror films. Eddie the rockin' rebel, Joel the computer nerd, Julie the popular chick, Deirdre the town sl*t, and Colleen the punk reject all team up to take on the werewolf. See what I mean; someone's a John Hughes fan. The best thing the film had going for it was the beast was given little screen time. This gives the viewer the impression that the werewolf make-up looks good. So, unless you're a connoisseur of 80's hairstyles, stay away. After all "this isn't Michael J. Fox we're dealing with here."

We've seen the story a thousand times before, quiet community, new kid in town, and then...squirrels start disappearing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure things out, Werewolf. What follows is a celluloid skidmark that would make J. Piquer Simon wince and scurry into the night mewling. I've seen bad porn movies...a lot. And what's more, most of them were better acted than this. Jiminy, even the casual walking shots were more forced than a Brian Dennehy sex scene. I guess you save money if instead of actors you just use some people you met in a bar after last call. Our heroes look a little long in the tooth to be highschool...hell, they look too old to have kids in highschool. The ages would be more distracting if the acting wasn't so heinous. It really belies description. All I can say is I long for the restraint of a young William Shatner. The more I think about it, I believe this movie was shot in Bizarro world, where such acting would be considered good actually. And when I say Bizarro world, I of course mean Canada. Mullets abound in this wretched little film. Be forwarned. Peace.