The Boy Who Cried Werewolf!

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf is a dreadful movie. This 1973 "horror" flick tells the story of how a father and son are accosted in the woods by a werewolf, who is promptly killed. But alas the dad has been bitten and then becomes a werewolf himself. Only his son knows the truth and of course, as the title suggests, no one will listen to him. It's likely because he's such an annoying little shit.

But even with that it's peculiar that no one, especially the local police don't catch on that something is pretty strange with dear old Dad since he's hardly adept at keeping his secrets. Burying a severed head in your own basement is hardly a good way to keep the fuzz off your tail, pun intended.

This movie stars Kerwin Mathews as the father. Likely this casting is a result of his association with director Nathan Juran (this was his last movie) who also directed Mathews in the Ray Harryhausen spectacle The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad fifteen years earlier. The duo did a crackerjack job in that one, not so much here. Dad here is estranged from his wife (Elaine DeVry - a hottie and one of Mickey Rooney's many wives) though he tries several times to snuggle up with her. Their son Richie (Scott Sealey) is torn between them, trying to avoid his Dad's deadly maneuvers and his Mom's self-denials. All his ravings are credited to his having seen his Dad kill a man (the werewolf previously mentioned) and so no one listens of course until it's far too late.

(The curvaceous Elaine DeVry - This Scene NOT in the movie.)

The movie is definitely a product of its times, featuring prominently a hippie commune which purports a worship of Jesus but seems less committed to their faith than one would hope for. The werewolf wanders around the woods, often hiding behind shrubs and whatnot waiting for a victim. He's at his most deadly though when he stands in the middle of the highway and depends on the stupid driving of the locals to crash their cars. Vehicles go spinning over hills several times in this flick. The werewolf in this one seems to have a yen for heads and takes the heads of his victims for inexplicable reasons.

Much attention is made of the werewolf make up in this movie, as the mask here is certainly fitted with a considerable snout. What I noticed was that whenever Dad wolfed out, he rarely damaged his clothes and changed back without memory nor change of wardrobe.

The movie does leave open the possibility of a sequel, but mercifully I don't think there ever was one.

Stay away from this one, unless you are in the mood giggle at your monsters. But beware, you'll want to smack the little kid -- he's that irritating.

Rip Off