Late Phases (2014)
Last Watch Date - October 31, 2022
Total Times Watched - Once
Comments
I tend to like werewolf movies even if they're kind of clunky, so I think you should keep that in mind. This one was recommended to me as a "really good" werewolf movie with "not so great" special effects.
I'll start with the effects. The werewolves look comical - more like a sort of weird dog? Kind of like giant papillons with crazier teeth. The weirdest part to me here is that all of the wolves look the same. Normally you see a distinct difference between male and female wolves, but that's not the case here. It makes it difficult to tell who is attacking and who has been put down as things progress, but it's not a huge deal I guess. You kind of know how this fight is going from the outset.
The story is incredibly minimal. I wonder how they pitched this to financers. Maybe something like "it's a werewolf movie." End. I would say "no spoilers" but there really isn't anything to spoil here. An older blind man moves into a retirement community with his guide dog. He is attacked by a werewolf, which he immediately suspects due to his heightened sense of smell. Then he plans for the next month to end the attacks by setting up traps and getting silver bullets.
There isn't much in terms of mystery with who the main wolf is. And with the story as sparse as it is (there's also a little subplot about the man and his son having an off relationship), there isn't a ton here outside of a few workout and trap montages. While this movie was 96 minutes in run-time, it could've easily been 60 minutes and lost nothing. It's not exactly boring to watch, but it's also not all that engaging.
The highlight of this movie was seeing people I knew from other things. Like Tom Noonan from House of the Devil! Or Tina Louise from Gilligan's Island! Or Ethan Embry from Empire Records! (Or maybe you know him as Mark from Marc). It was a well-acted movie despite the story being a bit middling.
Recommended?
There are definitely much better werewolf movies, but it wasn't bad. Like I said, I like this kind of movie.
