ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Tim Hayes Werewolf Hunter is an elegant Gothic horror film that hearkens back to the days of Hammer, but with the production capabilities of today. The film is not an action packed mixture of violence and CGI transformations like many werewolf films of today have degenerated into but an actual leisurely paced film that takes the time to develop its characters. At no time during the film is the viewer ever told that yes this is real or no it is not. It is up to the viewer to make their own decision. The film deals with the true story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, a man arrested in 1851 for the murder of more than 13 people in rural Spain. He became known as the Werewolf Of Allariz because his defense against these charges was that he could not control his animal urges since he was in fact a werewolf. Some liberties are taken with the case. One character in the film, Antonio, was never actually proved to have existed since he was never found. Also, the ending merely provides a possible explanation since the truth of the matter is unknown to anyone. Paco Plaza has crafted a truly special film that is unfortunately hampered with a dreadful direct to video title but you should get past that and give this one a shot.

slayrrr666 "Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunter" is an interesting and original take on the werewolf genre.**SPOILERS**In 1851, a series of wolf attacks is plaguing Europe, forcing Manuel Romasanta, (Julian Sands) and his family, Maria, (Maru Valdivielso) Teresa, (Luna McGill) and Barbara, (Elsa Pataky) to move to a new village. As the attacks continue, the authorities, District Attorney Luciano de la Bastida, (Gary Piquer) and Professor Phillips, (David Grant) try every effort in their power to try to end the threat, but are unable to stop them. When they determine that a man is responsible for the murders, she is convinced that the likely suspect is Romasanta. Struggling to believe the story even though she doesn't believe it, when finally confronted with the evidence of who the killer is and what their intentions are, she must fight to stay alive against the overpowering enemy.The Good News: This is one of the more interesting werewolf films around. It has a the feel of a serial killer film while in the context of a werewolf as the main villain. It takes its time getting to the point, allowing the audience to get a feel for the characters and to submerge themselves in the story. We're given the opportunity to get to know these characters, to observe their lives as the killer walks undiscovered amongst them. To make what is essentially a character study film about werewolves is pretty original and allows for a nice watch. When the film decides to abandon the thriller aspect and goes for the action set-pieces, it gets more interesting. The sequence where a victim is trapped inside a burning horse-drawn carriage traveling through the forest out of control is a hauntingly beautiful image and a fantastically suspenseful scene. Trying to see how the escape will occur is really nerve-wracking and is given an extra shot by the fact that it's on a moving obstacle. A nice bit that adds to the film. That it also includes a really ripping transformation sequence is nicely included. For a change, it's from a wolf to a man, and there's a change in how it plays out that's quite a real surprise. This helps it out from the pack that show this feature. It's all done in real life as well, and there isn't any CGI to be found in the scene. These help it rise above the traditional werewolf fare.The Bad News: There are some really big problems with this one. The biggest one is that, for a period piece, it never really gives the feeling that this was supposed to take place then. Everything looks too clean and feels too modern. It's not the best look for the movie. The other big problem is that this a more talkative film than I would have liked it to be. For only being an hour and a half, it really does manage to drag itself out in almost endless dialog and exposition that never really seemed to interest all too much. Thus, it rambles on for the first thirty minutes, before it actually sets itself down into the story and gets moving. That leads into the middle section, where the film features a lot of these conversations instead of doing anything for the sake of the plot. It's all a love story angle that's being played out with a let-down on the werewolf action. That really slows the film down and it never really recovers from that. That also plays out when it becomes about the hunting down the killer. The action doesn't come at all and is all spoken in order to be revealed, and that just makes the film a lot harder to get through than normal. What hurts the film the most, more so than the other factors, is that there isn't a werewolf at all in the film, in the traditional sense. The only one on display is shown as a wolf rather than a werewolf, and it makes it all the more confusing when there's shots of interaction between the others and the wolf is shorter than the victim. That really takes the dread and fear out of the situation really quickly when the main villain is so not terrifying. There's really no reason why it had to have been done in that manner, since it would really make the situation more frightening knowing that the killer was in this manner. It's a really annoying technique that only irritates and doesn't frightening. All in all, these factors really dampen the film from what it should be.The Final Verdict: While this isn't the greatest werewolf film ever made, it's got enough good features in it to really be worthwhile for werewolf fans. It's a pretty slow film, so it's got to be recommended for only the most patient and understanding members of the audience, as they are going to be the ones who can stand who slow the pace of this one really is.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Full Male and Female Nudity, scenes of children in danger and animal violence

daniel Carbajo López In the forest of Asturias, some horrible killings have altered the quiet existence of the zone inhabitants. Manuel works as a seller and he is used to walk through this dangerous paths. Anyway, he seems to keep a deep secret in relation to the deaths. This movie claims to be based upon reals things, (a lycantrop that lived at the end of XIX century, and maybe due to this reason it is not as much exaggerated as much other terror films that are usually made. Curiously it is quite loyal to the truth, which is unusual in this kind of film. Anyway, despite the feeling of a sick atmosphere is quite well done, neither the actors nor the history have the thrilling emotion that this kind of movies should have to be interesting. Sometimes boring, it is not one of the best films I've seen lately. It has a good setting (a curious plot and a well scenario), but the directing is not as good as it should, be, which is bad for the film in the whole.

Joe Davis I'm a sucker for werewolf movies and when I saw the DVD cover of Werewolf Hunter; that and its' title had me picking it up ASAP! I read the back and knew then that it wasn't a straight up werewolf movie but it still sounded interesting so I got it.The movie is based on true events of a serial killer named Romasanta. He was caught tried for killing 15 people in 1852. He claimed to have hunted them down as a wolf (werewolf) and had hunted many times with a man called Anonia who was also a werewolf. Blah, blah, blah, he was sentence to life instead of death and died in captivity.Now the movie takes a different approach to the the above events but most of the characters are there... Romasanta and Anonia. I was afraid the movie would try to trick you into thinking he was really a werewolf or leave you with questions but it didn't. It took you through a nice recreation of the original events with some decent added story.If you like horror thrillers...not a bad rent!