Werewolf Woman (1976) La lupa mannara (original title)

Director:

Rino Di Silvestro

Writers:

Howard Ross
Leslie Daniels (English dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

A true story so brutal and horrifying it was kept from the public for over a century!

Plot:

A woman has dreams that she is a werewolf so she goes out and finds men. She proceeds to have sex with...

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Revenge | Lesbianism | Female Nudity | Rape

Cast

Annik Borel	...	Daniela Neseri
Howard Ross	...	Luca Mondini
Dagmar Lassander	...	Elena Neseri
Tino Carraro	...	Count Neseri
Elio Zamuto	...	Psychiatrist
Osvaldo Ruggieri
Andrea Scotti	...	Arrighi
Frederick Stafford	...	Inspector Modica
Felicita Fanny	...	Doctor in car
Isabella Rosa
Giuliana Giuliani
Anna Mallarini
Maria Renata Franco		(as Renata Franco)
Salvatore Billa	...	Rapist
Pietro Torrisi	...	Alvaro - Rapist
Vito Domenighini
Giuseppe Mattei		(as Pino Mattei)
Willy Pepe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Umberto Amambrini	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Rino Di Silvestro		(as R.D. Silver)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Leslie Daniels		English dialogue (as Tony La Penna)
Rino Di Silvestro		(as Rino DeSilvestro)
Howard Ross

Produced by
Diego Alchimede	....	producer
Albert F. Bath	....	associate producer
Mickey Zide	....	producer

Original Music by
Coriolano Gori
Susan Nicoletti

Cinematography by
Mario Capriotti
Dennis Kull

Film Editing by
Alys Chalmers
Angelo Curi

Sound Department
Leslie Daniels	....	dubbing director: English version (as Tony La Penna)

Production Companies

• Dialchi Film

Distributors

• Dimension Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Saguenay Films (1977) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Jef Films International (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Mogul Communications (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Shriek Show (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Shriek Show (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Trash Mountain Video - Epcott K.K. (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• United Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VBG Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VIP Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Video for Pleasure (VFP) (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS) (Samson Draaiplezier)

Also Known As:

"La lupa mannara" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

USA:79 min | USA:98 min (DVD version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM18 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:(Banned) | Australia:R (censored)

Company:

Dialchi Film

Trivia:

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996. Tarantino had actually never seen the picture before he screened it. He loved it so much that all subsequent Quentin Tarantino Film Fests had a surprise movie added to the end of each all-nighter known as the "Wolf Woman" selection, defined as an outrageous exploitation film sure to wake the audience up. "Wolf Women" selections over the years have included The Blood Spattered Bride (1972) and Goliathon (1977).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wolfman Chronicles (1991)

Occasionally campy and unintentionally funny sleaze but also rather tedious

Don't listen to the misleading title "Werewolf Woman". The Europeans are well known for putting an emphasis on sex and nudity over actual scares in their horror films, but this one here is just a bit too much. "Werewolf Woman" seems to have a sleazy sex scene copped off with the title character going crazy and brutally killing her partner. Fun the first few times, but a hundred minutes of this becomes very monotonous quickly. Shes not even a werewolf, but a schizo chick whose ancestor was hanged for lycanthropy. The film can't even decide its tone, with the first ten minutes (a flashback) being legitimate supernatural horror (I thought I was in for a trash classic after these) to a rather poor character study of the female being repeatedly abused and tortured to a revenge thriller. At the end, the director insists this is based on a true story. Yeah, all right.

To be fair, there are a few entertaining aspects of the production. The title werewolf woman is a looker and there are a few nice gore effects and nude scenes. However, these become rather monotonous quickly. Also, the dubbed dialog is pretty hilarious in a camp fashion, especially the worlds most swinging doctor (he drinks on the job). Unfortunately, the film becomes pretty irritating fast. There's no actual plot or anything else really. Its a shame, because reading a description I felt the film had some real potential. "Werewolf Woman" is far overlong, slow moving, and a bit too pointless, even by the standards of the exploitation genre. (4/10)