THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (1973)
Article 3198 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-22-2010
Posting Date: 5-17-2010
Directed by Nathan Juran
Featuring Kerwin Mathews, Elaine Devry, Scott Sealey
Country: USA
What it is: Werewolf movie

A young boy (whose parents have separated) accompanies his father on a camping expedition. When they are attacked by a werewolf, the father is bitten. Soon the boy has to contend with the fact that his father has now also become a werewolf… but no one will believe him.

You know, the basic concept behind this movie has some promise; I can see possibilities in how the lycanthropy could play an interesting role in the son’s having to deal with the separation of his parents. Unfortunately, the movie itself doesn’t do much with the premise, and the clumsy, poorly written dialogue, the weak acting (especially from the boy), and certain ideas that don’t make that much sense (why would a werewolf bother trying to bury the head of one of his victims in a barn) all combine to make this one a real disappointment. As it is, the most interesting sequences involve a commune of Jesus freaks who unexpectedly (even to themselves) turn out to have the ability to battle the evil of the curse; the fact that they’re largely played for comic relief doesn’t really hurt this, but I do wish they were actually funny as well. Somewhere in here is a better movie trying to get out.