Werewolf Woman

Great film ....i love euro horror movies...im in love with em

Warning SPOILERS!!! Even though this has the title of a horror film, this is actually a tense Italian psychological thriller. Daniela Neseri (Annik Borel; PRISON GIRLS - 1972) is a very troubled woman. The film opens with Daniela having a nightmare where she is stark naked and dancing wildly to some voodoo music inside a circle of fire. She dances like she is reaching a climax and when that occurs, she is writhing on the ground. When she turns over, she looks like a wolf woman. She hears some townspeople off in the distance who are looking for a werewolf. They are carrying torches and getting closer. When one man gets too close, she attacks him, biting him on the neck and cleaving his face in two with a hatchet (a really gory effect). She wakes up screaming in terror, unable to talk, and her rich industrialist father, Count Neseri (Tino Carraro; THE CAT O'NINE TAILS - 1971) comes running into her bedroom. He notices a small photo of a female ancestor on her bed, a woman who lived in the "Forest of Sales" who, legend has it, turned into a werewolf during a full moon. The Count reveals to Daniela's psychiatrist (Elio Zamuto; VIOLENT NAPLES - 1976) that she hasn't been herself ever since she was raped when she was a teenager and that he moved into the family mansion in hopes that a change of scenery would make her feel better, but she has become obsessed with her ancestor since she found the photo in the attic. The arrival of Daniela's sister Elena (Dagmar Lassander; THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY - 1981) and her new husband Fabian (Vito Domenighini) stirs something deep inside Daniela. She has a deep-seated hatred for her sister and Fabian looks just like the man whose face she cleaved in half in her nightmares. She daydreams that she is naked and making love to Fabian, but she has more pressing problems. She thinks she hears her ancestor calling to her, saying, "You belong to us!" (and a large lizard crawls up her body, resting between her breasts!). Is all this in her head? That night, while peeping through the bedroom door, Daniela spies on Elena making love to Fabian, masturbating while moaning. Fabian hears her and gets up to investigate, walking outside (it is a full moon), where Daniela his waiting for him, nude for all the world to see. They begin to make love, but something stirs within Daniela, causing her to kill Fabian by biting him on the neck and tossing his dead body down a ravine. Daniela thinks she is a wolf woman, but is she? The next time we see Daniela, she has been committed to a mental asylum in a catatonic state. Her psychiatrist tells another doctor that if she has another attack, rather than pumping her full of drugs, they should restrain her. Elena comes to visit her sister and Daniela tells her that she saw her making love to Fabian and then yells out, "You whore! Go **** yourself, you dirty bitch!", forcing the orderlies to tie her to the bed. This doesn't sit too well with Daniela and that night a female nymphomaniac patient sneaks into her room, unties Daniela and starts kissing her naked body (!) Daniela kills her with a knife she had hidden under her body (where did she get it?) and escapes the institution by hiding in the backseat of a car driven by a female doctor (Felicita Fanny; THE BIG BUST-OUT - 1972). The doctor sees her and crashes the car. The doctor is in serious condition, but alive, and Daniela escapes, walking down the road. She spots a peasant girl making love to a man in a barn, getting turned-on in the process. In case you haven't guessed by now, sex equals death to Daniela, so when the man leaves, Daniela kills the young woman by biting her neck and breasts. The police are called in when the bodies start piling up and Inspector Modica (Frederick Stafford; Hitchcock's TOPAZ - 1969) and his partner Arrighi (Andrea Scotti; THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS - 1974) go to see the Count when they notice the wounds on the peasant girl bear a striking resemblance to the wounds on Fabian's body. The Count tells them that Daniela is very sick and that he has no idea where she is. Elena overhears the conversation and now realizes that her sister killed Fabian (she originally thought he was killed by a pack of wild dogs). Meanwhile, Daniela hitches a ride with a dirty old man that can't keep his hand off her thigh. The next time we see her (we are made to think she killed the old man), she is living in the house of a young man named Luca Mondini (Howard Ross; 5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON - 1970). He is a movie stuntman and treats Daniela like all women want to be treated: Like a human being. They fall in love and a month passes without any incidents (There is a scene where she shoots Luca with a pistol and he falls off a building, but it is revealed that it is just a stunt he is performing for a movie!). She calls her worried father and tells him not to worry, she's in love, but will this love last or will there be more deaths in the future? Daniela can't seem to catch a break as, while Luca is at work, a trio of rapists break into the house and sexually assault her. When Luca comes home, the rapists are waiting for him. A fight ensues and Luca is killed when one of the rapists stabs him in the stomach with a switchblade (it's the way he stabs him which makes this scene stand out). Daniela then goes on a murder spree, killing two of her rapists in an auto junkyard. She kills the third one (the one who killed Luca) by burning him alive. Inspector Modica and Arrighi put two and two together and the chase is on. Will they capture Daniela before she kills anyone else? The answer is found in the Forest of Sales, the same location where her ancestor was killed (There is also an epilogue where a narrator explains that Elena died in an insane asylum and the Count committed suicide!). This atmospheric thriller (originally titled LA LUPA MANNARA ["The Wolf Woman"), directed and written by Rino Di Silvestro (WOMEN IN CELL BLOCK 7 - 1973; DEPORTED WOMEN OF THE SS SPECIAL SECTION - 1976), is less about horror and more about a woman's fragile psyche. The nudity and sex in this film almost reach pornographic levels, as Silvestro has a habit of showing Daniela's private parts in extreme close-up, something not acceptable in films of this type back in the '70s and even up to this day in the United States. If you have seen the U.S. theatrical version, titled THE LEGEND OF THE WOLF WOMAN (distributed by Dimension Pictures, on VHS from VCI Video & United Home Video and on fullscreen DVD from Full Moon as part of their "Full Moon's Grindhouse Collection"), be aware that this version is missing over ten minutes of footage, most of it extreme nudity & sex and graphic gory violence (Silvestro is listed as "R.D. Silver" on the prints of this cut). This film would not have worked if not for the exceptional, brave performance of Annik Borel, who exposes her soul (and so much more!) for all of us to see. She is simply fantastic. Frederick Stafford died a tragic death in 1979 at the age of 51 when a plane he was traveling in crashed into another plane mid-flight over Lugano, Switzerland. The DVD & Blu-Ray, from Raro Video, is the only way to watch this film. It is uncut and in widescreen, with the option to watch it in Italian with English subtitles or English dubbed. When I have this choice, I always go for the original language, even though it is obvious Stafford and other actors were speaking English. The disc also contains a 2008 interview with Silvestro (he passed away in 2009), who is very passionate about this film (he calls it a "tragic, terrifying pathology"). This was his first film where he had complete control and he is proud of it. You will be, too. It's not pretty, but life is not pretty, is it? Also known as TERROR OF THE SHE WOLF. Also starring Osvaldo Ruggieri, Isabella Rosa, Maria Renata Franco and Salvatore Billa, Willy Pepe & Pietro Torrisi as the rapists. A Raro Video DVD & Blu-Ray Release. Not Rated.

Very weird

I do not mind dubbed films, but the information stated that this was the English language version incorrectly.

No gore, not much wolf action. the girl is some what pretty. you get to see her nude in the wolf get up that has large dark nipples, thats the highlight of this movie. The cover art is better then the movie. if your looking at buying this movie, try to see it for free.

There are only two possible ratings for this film; one star or five stars and a sense of humor. If the idea of Italian werewolf pseudo-porn sounds intriguing, you won't be disappointed, if it doesn’t… you'll hate it even more than you think.

Really ticks me off to rent movies that day they’re English but are not

Horror Movie

I didn't mind the movie, but I was expecting something else. A movie about a woman who turns into a werewolf - as one would expect, based on the title. I expected nudity based on the cover, and didn't expect an amazing movie. The movie opens with what looks like a witchcraft ceremony with a naked woman writhing on the ground. This woman with a really bad werewolf make up job hides in the bush and attacks a man in what appears to be the days of pilgrims. I can't gloss over the bad make up - the nose etc... was more like the sort you'd see John Candy wearing in that movie where he's supposed to be a Wookie or something (Spaceballs?) - and included a wee tiny bit of fur that seemed to be glued on her nose and a couple of places, like a dog with mange. Pilgrims catch her after she attacks one of them. Do they shoot her with a silver bullet - no. They burn her at the stake - like a witch. Fast forward a couple hundred years and an ancestor of her's is a complete psychopathic murderer who THINKS she is her late ancestor and a werewolf. She goes on an insane killing spree - mostly in the nude. Ripping throats. At no point in the movie does she physically change into anything. By the end of the movie you will be more familiar with her private parts than those of anyone you know. Even during a morgue scene with a lesbian victim who performed oral sex on her before being slaughtered by her. Police go in, she's on a slab naked. No sheet covering her that they pull down to see the wounds, she's just lying there completely naked and that's the focus of the camera. No pentagrams on her hand. Nobody shooting silver bullets at her. None of the traditional werewolf movie stuff. I would say, apart from all the nudity this movie is more like "Silence Of The Lambs" or a documentary about a real life psycho killer. At some point after her history of abuse, she meets a truly nice man and things are going well. Then 3 thugs break into the guys house and gang rape her. Thing is, there is no plot set up, the man and woman kept to themselves, the rapists didn't see her at the market and follow her home or something, yet seemed to know she was there - they peep in the house window at her before attacking, but they seemed to know more about her and her boyfriend than someone randomly looking in a window should know. The boyfriend comes home to rescue her and is stabbed by one of the rapists. The woman seeks revenge. And here again, there is no proper plot set up. She shows up where at least one of her attackers works - a junk yard. She gets revenge on 2 of them there, then later goes directly to the home of the third attacker, the one who murdered her boyfriend - and set his house on fire with him in it. Begging the question, how did she know where he lived. You don't see her following him or anything that would explain how she knew where to find the creep. In this respect - the movie was very hard to follow and make sense of. Otherwise, I didn't mind the movie. But I enjoy b-movies and the like as much as the classics like "Citizen Kane" and "The Wizard Of Oz". But it won't be to the tastes of many people. Women in the movie are not treated with any respect at all btw.

First the Good news. My dear fellow citizens in the B/2 Blu Ray zone, YES you can play this US Raro Blu Ray disc on your B/2 region player. Strange enough, Amazon describes all Raro Video Blu Ray disks as region A/1. I own most of their Blu Ray titles now and they never mention a region on the package, only that it's meant for being distributed in the USA. All their latest Blu Ray releases seem region free, but up to now I can only tell you from experience that this is thru for `Nightmare City' & `Werewolf Woman'. (Sorry, did not try the other titles yet, but they all seem the same) I learned about `Werewolf Woman' first from the Much - no - Very! Much loved & Admired `Video Nasties' series, directed by Marc Morris & Jake West. At this moment 2 volumes are issued. (Sorry, I should be honest - my good friend who watched ahead of me called me one day and said I should watch the W section! "Werewolf Woman" was already a Must Buy on his list.) `Werewolf Woman' is introduced, almost at the end in the second volume, because of the alphabetical order (W, you know ...) by writer, film critic & London FrightFest Co-Curator, Alan Jones. Mr Jones speaks here with passion of his experience with Rino Di Silvestro films. When rather mentioning Silvestro's WIP (Le deportate della sezione speciale SS) movies as personal favorites, he sure admits `Werewolf Woman' or `La Lupa Mannara' is Silvestro's Most Iconic title. There is also some reference to a certain Mr. Tarantino Q, who - we could have thought it - loves the film, and I admire the Raro Video producers - with all respect to Q. Tarrantino - Not using this as a cliché commercial quote on the package. The creator of this film, Rino Di Silvestro (aka R.D. Silver) is said to be an Italian writer/director, specialized in raw & graphic low-budget exploitation who achieved his enduring Cult Cinema Status with the, as cited on IMDB: "outrageously trashy and leering soft-core horror schlocker La Lupa Mannara (1976)" The great thing with Italian Low Budget exploitation is that it's mostly made with - a low budget indeed - but with the help of High Skilled cinema makers. This results many times in a Fascinating mix of Naivety, Strangeness, Od & Bizarre Beauty combined with Splendid Cinematography, and don't forget the Music! While Umberto Lenzi's "Nightmare City" can be enjoyed because of it's naive bringing of zombie / vampire action, Werewolf Woman is far less a laugh. It's a Dark, Bizarre, Erotic Exploitation work with the typical mixture of moments. As with many Exploitation movies the storyline contrasts or does not give you exactly what it promises in its Title & Movie poster. (I think the biggest contradiction between Title & actual Film is Val Lewton's "Curse of the Cat People", but that's another story) "La Lupa Mannara" makes good for your expectations at the very beginning, a strong Ritual start, where also most of the publicity photos are taken from. After that we go the other way - more psycho - drama - violence & sex, and we learn not to take the term "Werewolf Woman" literally. I recognized immediately the comparison of one of the other reviewers here with Meir Zarchi's "I Spit on Your Grave". I've seen the film once now, and can't say it was my best "Exploitation" discovery / film experience - BUT - it left a feeling for more & the promise it might become better and better after second, third ... view. You know how that goes. And oh yes - following the start of this review - there is No Bad news, Raro's Blu Ray is beautifully presented, packaged, etc., ... as we are used of them. To me they are the `Eureka - Masters of Cinema' variation for Italian Film Oddities. The Film is best seen with Italian language & English subtitles. But one can choose for English dubbing - sometimes that works great for the B-experience. And oh Yes - Don't forget the Music! There is an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD: The Highly respected Spanish "Quartet records" label, issued | Lallo Gori's | Soundtrack: "The Legend of the Wolf Woman", almost same date with Raro's Blu Ray here. Beautifully done but Issued with only 500 copies - limited that is - so be quick! It's a beautiful collector's item, but more: Good Electronic Beat, Avant-garde like, Horror & Giallo style Drama music.

Già il DVD era pregevole, ma con questa edizione si è fatto un salto in avanti. C'è chi lamenta l'uso di filtri che avrebbero piallato le immagini togliendo nitidezza, ma personalmente non sono d'accordo. Non capisco perché le prime slipcase della Raro USA venissero messe in vendita senza sigillatura, col risultato che arrivavano puntualmente rovinate. Solo l'amaray interno ha il cellophane. "La lupa mannara" infatti mi è arrivata con la slipcase rovinata. Audio Italiano PCM dual mono e sottotitoli in inglese removibili. Extra: la stessa intervista al regista Rino Di Silvestro di 20 minuti, già presente sul DVD e anche qui in formato standard. Il trailer italiano e americano. Infine un booklet in lingua inglese di 8 pagine redatto da Chris Alexander, giornalista di Fangoria..

Very great presentation of this title. There are no scratches and it solves the problems of the Shriek Show version which cropped the movie on all 4 sides. If you already own Lucio Fulci,Dario Argento and Mario Bava, then look for titles like this one. Also coming soon from Raro Video: SLAUGHTER HOTEL and LONG HAIR OF DEATH.

i cannot see it there is a problem with the bluray i got they say violation of something and i cannot see it