On the trail of a serial killer, a pair of cops reach out to an informant for information on the case which lets them in on a tale he knows about a writer returning to his hometown to claim his mother's inheritance and coming across a monstrous curse haunting the village which puts them in grave danger.
Overall, this was a pretty solid and enjoyable if slightly flawed effort. One of the better features here is the setup about the writer returning here and getting in touch with the locals in the community. From the quirky real estate agent that sets him on his way to the relationship featured here between him and the former maid who lives at the house, this comes together to set in motion the features of the main crop of villagers. That this also leads to the discovery of what's going on as the events begin to unfold and their occult practices come to the forefront serves this even better allowing for a great main storyline. That gives the film a highly enjoyable setup to provide a base for some genuinely fun cheesy creature action. The beast itself doesn't get any screentime until an hour in but it comes in grand style with a fun throwback transformation sequence featuring the kind of cheesy practical effects that are required here offering a fantastic sequence. The resulting rampage and action of it running loose in the countryside area provides some fun times while featuring some fine gore as well which makes this frenetic and rather exciting section have some life as it also ties the black magic rites being brought into play as the motivation and backstory for the creature. All told, these factors provide a lot to like here. This one does have some minor issues with it. The main problem here is that the tempo of the film is quite flat and underwhelming which plods along at a disheartening rhythm. The stoic mannerisms and exceptionally talkative setup make this come across as immensely lethargic and plodding rather than anything else making it feel longer than it should. There are also the rather clumsy attempts at comedy that further derail the film, from the cops at the beginning who clown around to the degree they don't appear as genuine police to the silly werewolf make-up and the goofy encounters to stop it which are out-of-place, leaving this with its big drawbacks.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
