The Curse of the Werewolf

A horror film set in eighteenth century Spain. A beggar comes to a town. On the marquis's wedding day he is taken to the palace, made an object of entertainment, then thrown into the dungeon and forgotten. He stays there for years. The only person who brings him food is the jailer's mute daughter. The girl grows up. When she refuses the marquis she is thrown into the same dungeon and meets the beggar there. She becomes pregnant and escapes. She takes refuge in a scholar's house and dies giving birth. The child is born on Christmas night. According to the film this is one of the conditions of a curse carried from birth. Leon grows up. Strange things happen at the house when he is small; animals die and the boy remembers nothing in the morning. Love holds him. His family and the priest believe love can prevent the transformation, and for a time it works. Then Leon leaves home. He takes work at a wine cellar and the nights in the town begin. From there the film is a story of transformation. A tavern, a prison, a bell tower and a crowd. What the narrative is interested in is not the monster but cruelty: the film builds the curse not as a supernatural accident but as the consequence of what a marquis did. The creature appears late. The transformation scene is in the last section and until then the narrative is entirely drama. In the source novel the story takes place in Paris. The production moved it to Spain because sets left over from a cancelled Inquisition film were standing at the studio, and the film was shot on them. Oliver Reed's first leading role came with this film. Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain and Catherine Feller are in the cast. Terence Fisher directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes classical British horror and period productions. Who it is not for: anyone expecting quick horror; the first half hour is entirely the previous generation's story and the monster is barely seen.