Night of the Wolf Movie Download

8 / 10

Get Off My Lawn, Werewolf
Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)

Rating: 3.9/5 stars

A blind Vietnam veteran is all that stands between a hungry werewolf and the frail residents of a retirement village in “Late Phases” – a sprightly horror movie about finding new purpose for old bones. Our gruff hero is Ambrose (Nick Damici, far from geriatric), a brusquely independent widower who’s closer to his guide dog, Shadow, than to his harried son, Will. Deposited in his new home at the Crescent Bay Retirement Community, he quickly deflects a delegation of glammed-up grannies scenting fresh meat. They’re not the only ones: A terrifyingly gory first night will leave poor Shadow flayed and Ambrose’s closest neighbor chomped to bits.

Working in English for the first time, the Argentinian horror director, Adrián García Bogliano, forgoes the veiled menace of his last film, the 2012 horror-mystery, “Here Comes the Devil”, for something altogether less subtle. Scripted by Eric Stotze, (“Under the Bed”), “Late Phases” is unequivocally a werewolf flick (even if the word ‘werewolf’ is never once uttered in it), but the film nonetheless wears its genre skin loose, instead preferring to focus on the receding life of its cantankerous protagonist, shining bright in his own late phase. We may get to see the lycanthropic creatures that Ambrose can only hear and smell, but nonetheless Damici proves by far the film’s greatest special effect, making an utterly convincing transformation from sighted, fifty-something actor to a much older blind man, even as he embodies a complex, nuanced war veteran who has regrets still to address, and important words still to say to his adult son (Ethan Embry) – and Ambrose, a tough old soldier who still carries a gun despite his lack of sight, is not one to go down without a fight.

After both his faithful German shepherd and friendly widow next door are fatally attacked by something big and wild, Ambrose’s suspicions begin to mount. The police insist that “attacks like these happen all the time around wooded areas”, the vet reveals that they have been a monthly occurrence at Crescent Bay, but Ambrose knows exactly what is going on and what needs to be done – and refuses simply to be easy prey. It all seems pretty mysterious initially, but Ambrose doesn’t take long to put the pieces together: full-moon murders, howling, that rank scent of alpha dog he smelled when the intruder broke into his house, and the fact that Crescent Bay residents are peculiarly prone to getting themselves killed by savage beasts. The place has a werewolf problem. But who’s the beast? Is it lanky Father Roger (Tom Noonan), ageless sex-bomb, Clarissa, (Tina Louise), affable lay minister Griffin (Lance Guest), or how about the guy in the iron life-support contraption; no one would ever suspect him, right? As he waits for the next full moon to come, Ambrose spends four weeks sounding out the community for suspects and meticulously preparing for the beast’s return.

Budget is the biggest noticeable limitation fighting against “Late Phases”. This means that a certain amount of forgiveness is required to allow “Late Phases” to tell its story effectively. Damici is so good as Ambrose, but he’s not old enough for the part and his stagy old age makeup highlights this fact. Also, too many props bear resemblance to what appears to be glued-on paper labels. But, if these corners were cut to get a decent werewolf transformation scene, then we’ll allow it. Because, in the end, Robert Kurtzman’s old-school effects produce a rivetingly shaggy creature that seamlessly blends with the movie’s homely feel the sort of B-movie effects that’s like a welcome detour from the glitzy, big-budget, CGI VFX we’re accustomed to.

We don’t get as many werewolf films as we do zombies and vampires, so we’re always left hungry for more. In this aspect alone, “Late Phases” more than satiates our desires. The movie is a sly, rueful rarity that plays its monster-movie tropes straight, but also gives them a poignant little twist. It uses old-school monster suspense and scares to present an allegory of the cruelly inexorable ravages of senescence and death. Besides, there’s always junk-food pleasure in seeing a questionably funky-looking werewolf take the business end of a silver-loaded shotgun to the face. Ultimately, “Late Phases” is a fun werewolf flick with an exciting, climactic last stand.Read More