Scream of the Wolf (1974)

A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect that it isn't a wolf but an animal that can take human form.

Director:

Dan Curtis

Writers:

Richard Matheson (teleplay), David Case (story "The Hunter")

Stars:

Peter Graves, Clint Walker, Jo Ann Pflug

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Graves	...	John Wetherby
Clint Walker	...	Byron Douglas
Jo Ann Pflug	...	Sandy Miller
Philip Carey	...	Sheriff Vernon Bell
Don Megowan	...	Grant
Brian Richards	...	Deputy Crane
Lee Paul	...	Student
Jim Storm	...	Boy (as James Storm)
Dean Smith	...	Lake
Randy Kirby	...	Brian Hammond
Vernon Weddle	...	Newsman
Bill Baldwin	...	Reporter (as William Baldwin)
Orville Sherman	...	Coroner
Bonnie Van Dyke	...	Girl
Grant Owens	...	Deputy Bill

Storyline

A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect that it isn't a wolf but an animal that can take human form.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | retirement | big game hunter | hunter | death | 

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Taglines:

Death comes out of the woods on four paws and returns on two feet. A beast? A human? Only the dead know.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

From the story "The Hunter" by David Chase.

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Goofs

At about 13 minutes into the movie, Byron says the Sheriff's name wrong. He calls him Bellus. The Sheriff's name is Bell.

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Quotes

John Wetherby: The prey will always do the unexpected!

User Reviews

Not Much Balance

This film would have been much better if it had some balance. There were no strong supporting actors at all, with Graves and Walker providing outstanding roles and the rest just falling flat on their face.

Graves worked well as the slowly weakening ex-hunter, while Walker did an amazing job portraying the evil and creepy (and still strong) wolf hunter. However, the rest of the actors (especially Graves' girlfriend and the police chief) did a horrible job with their characters.

The fact that the kills really arent portrayed in a gory fashion makes the film feel like less a horror movie and more of a suspense/murder mystery, which bothered me a bit. Additionally, the ending, though a double twist (from not surprising to surprising to not surprising again) was a bit hard to swallow, that and it ends much more abruptly than I would have wished. Overall, not a high recommendation, but still a fairly good representation of low budget 70s fare 5/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hunter

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metromedia Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1