Director: Juan Martínez Moreno
Cast: Gorka Otxoa, Secun de la Rosa, Carlos Areces, Luis Zahera, Mabel Rivera, Manuel Manquiña
Running Time: 96 mins
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: Tomás Mariño (Otxoa) is a struggling writer who returns to the town he grew up in (Arga) to receive an award, or so he is told, and to start working on his next novel. However, he soon learns that the townsfolk plan on using him to break a century-old curse plaguing the village and its inhabitants.
If you can power through the slightly shaky opening half an hour, which somewhat laboriously sets up the narrative in this Spanish horror comedy, then the rewards are definitely there for the taking. Moreno, who also wrote the screenplay, clearly demonstrates sound knowledge of the genre he deconstructs with heartfelt accuracy.
He hits practically every beat of the man versus beast horror formula, from the telling of the fantastical origin story of the werewolf in the small town of Arga, to using the stereotypical-villager-plot-device to warn Tomás of impending doom, but the film is realised in a completely absurd and meta fashion that is charming and effective. One pertinent highlight arises when the natives begin to argue amongst themselves, as the intertwining of different curses become too much for them to comprehend, rendering them blathering fools marred by their own indecision.
The appropriate implication of humour is the key tool a pastiche such as this must master in order to win over an audience, especially when lacking any genuine scares, and it does boast moments of impeccable comic timing. The terse dialogue is delivered rapidly and with expertly crafted inflections. Furthermore, when Tomas’ bumbling literary agent, Mario (de la Rosa) arrives on the scene, silly slapstick moments are also thrown into the stylistic mix. The poor effects, which are arguably a tribute to the minuscule budget as much as the tongue-in-cheek style, are also highly amusing; the werewolves are about as terrifying as Michael J. Fox in TEENWOLF.
Instead of just poking fun at the genre and unearthing some ridiculous flaws it possesses, the film does actually offer some original ideas itself, including a couple of ingenious ways to deter werewolves, and a resourceful method by which to rid yourself of a curse that has traditionally been eradicated by self-sacrifice.
The deliciously sardonic humour, moments of inspired innovation, and playfully preposterous nature of ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES should be enough to keep anyone chuckling, especially for the latter two thirds of the film. If you’re a fan of werewolves, you know the horror genre intimately, or you’re half human and half beast, then sink your fangs into this one.
ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES is released on DVD and BLU-RAY on 8th October.
