The Real Wolfman

Director - Claire Callahan (Nightmare Next Door)
Starring - George Deucher and Ken Gerhard (Monsterquest)
Release Date - 2009
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When most people think about the classic Universal monster movies most immediately think about Dracula or Frankenstein and for good reason.  Both films are iconic and images from these two films are ingrained in pop culture and set the stage for most Halloween decorations.  They truly are classic horror films.  However, as entertaining as both films are I often find myself picking the Wolfman over these two films.  I just really enjoyed the characters and the lore the story was centered around.  When it was announced that the History Channel documentaries Frankenstein: The Real Story and The Real Wolfman was being released together I really wanted to see it.  Mostly because of the Wolfman doc.

     The documentary follows a retired police detective and an active cryptozoologist that travel to France to investigate the Beast of Gevaudan which is believed to be a wolf that killed over 100 people between 1764 and 1767.  The retired police detective sets out to prove that it was the work of a serial killer while the cryptozoologist attempts to prove the existence of werewolves or possibly a prehistoric hyena that secretly survived in the woods nearby.

    




The second I tossed this movie on and hit play I could tell exactly what type of documentary/show I was in for.  It was almost a play by play reproduction of one of my favorite television shows, Monsterquest.  Sadly, this was not as entertaining as most of the episode of that show.  The special was uneven and not properly planned.  The interviews conducted in this one are very one sided.  The only skeptic or person fully emerged in the myth is the police detective.  Sadly, this makes for a very uneven special.  When dealing with the paranormal, supernatural, and cryptid I prefer to see people from both sides of the coin.  Makes for a very informative documentary while showing the same topic from a different perspective.  The information given in the film is very biased as well.  The film follows two people trying to investigate a story that happened over 200 years ago.  This was a bit of a stretch and left no room for possibilities.  Finally, the special rolls just like a continuation of Monsterquest but not as entertaining.  Its more of a reality show than a documentary but that doesn't make it entertaining.  Overall, The Real Wolfman was a very disappointing experience.  The special was boring, disorganized, and a complete waste of time.  Skip it.