Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory

Rating:
Summary: More "German shepherd in an institute for wayward girls"
Review:
"Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" was also released in the United States as "Ghoul in a Girls' Dormitory," "Monster Among the Girls," although its original title as near as I can determine was "Lycanthropus." Now, you have to admit from the title that appears on the DVD that we are talking about a werewolf running around a dormitory filled with half-naked young girls, but that is not the case. Yes, European films got to more explicit nudity and gore earlier than their American counterparts, but this film still predates that point in cinematic history. Besides, the idea that you a werewolf and ghoul could be interchangeable is not a good sign either and when you see the art that goes with the title card of this film you might be tempted to just turn it off right then and there.

For the sake of argument, let us say you continue. It turns out this particular girl's dormitory is not at a college but a private institute for wayward girls, which makes it pretty much a high class reform school. Or at least, a version of what this badly dubbed Italian production thinks would be an American reform school, which means they are mostly bad girls, but with one good girl, Priscilla (Barbara Lass) for us to root for. The plot is basically that Dr. Julian Olcott (Carl Schell) is the academy's new teacher and becomes the target of chief bad girl, Mary (Mary McNeeran). It seems Julian used to be a real doctor, but there was some sort of scandal. He was cleared in court, but his career was still ruined and now he is starting over as a teacher. As for Mary, this is one troubled kid and before we can clearly number all of her sins she is killed by a creature of the night. Everyone things there are wolves on the loose, but we know better because we have seen the title of the film.

So, basically "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" is a mystery thriller that asks who oh who can the werewolf and/or ghoul possibly be? (actually when we see it in action it is clearly a German shepherd). The problem is that although everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) in this film acts suspiciously and eerie music accompanied just about every scene in the early part of the movie, if you do not know who the werewolf really is you should be punished by not watching MST3K for a period of not less than two months. That means the final tally on this one is that there is no nudity, the transitions of the monster are laughable, and there is no mystery at all to whodunit.

Still, this is an entertaining bad movie, which has some sense of style even if the acting is pretty bad. A couple of the attack sequences are actually staged well, so maybe director Paolo Heusch or somebody there knew what they were doing. It is enough to get you to perk up for a moment and pay attention. Actress Barbara Lass was actually married to Roman Polanski (1959-62) before she left Poland to make movies in Italy, so there is some cache to her presence. She is not really an actress, but even in black & white you can tell she clearly has great eyes. Bottom line is that there are enough decent moments to go along with the deliciously bad parts to make this worthwhile if you like to enjoy bad movies.



Rating:
Summary: The Ghoul in School rules! Low-budget, European style.
Review: For those of us who can't get enough of low-brow horror flicks. The girl's dorm is actually a reform-school for girls, perched on a high Alpine-type mountain. A werewolf stalks the night. The movie is a horror-mystery combination that conceals the identity of the monster until later in the film. The B&W photography is appropriately moody. The emphasis on female pulchritude recalls the Hammer horror cycle of the 1950s and 1960s, without Hammer's rich color photography. (Where's Christopher Lee when you need him?) The werewolf make-up is unfrightening enough for the local PTA "Haunted Forest" at Halloween. This little chiller-thriller can be taken as a harmless time-waster, or as unintentional humor. Good Halloween party tape!

Rating:
Summary: The Ghoul in School rules! Low-budget, European style.
Review: For those of us who can't get enough of low-brow horror flicks. The girl's dorm is actually a reform-school for girls, perched on a high Alpine-type mountain. A werewolf stalks the night. The movie is a horror-mystery combination that conceals the identity of the monster until later in the film. The B&W photography is appropriately moody. The emphasis on female pulchritude recalls the Hammer horror cycle of the 1950s and 1960s, without Hammer's rich color photography. (Where's Christopher Lee when you need him?) The werewolf make-up is unfrightening enough for the local PTA "Haunted Forest" at Halloween. This little chiller-thriller can be taken as a harmless time-waster, or as unintentional humor. Good Halloween party tape!

Rating:
Summary: What a time to be alive...
Review: This really isn't that great a movie, but it's so nice to be living at a time when I can just walk into a Musicland or some such cultural eyesore, and buy a copy of Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory (or Lycanthropus, as it was originally known). Video has grown immeasurably in the last few years, from a time when nearly all Dario Argento titles were out of print to a time when this film, and others like it, are widely available. The film itself is typical German exploitation. Atmospheric, enjoyable, but nowhere near as good as the Dr. Mabuse series or the Edgar Wallace films (Mad Executioners, Strange Countess), and not even comparable to a forgotten gem like The Head. A fun film for an evening of forgotten eurotrash horror, but no classic. Now where are the Mabuse and Wallace movies? When they are commerically available, then it can truly be said that we live in a golden age. Enjoy.