Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is set in the Galicia region of Spain during 1851 & starts as fear sweeps through the area as several dead, mutilated bodies have turned up recently. The locals suspect Wolves in the forest & a mass hunt to kill as many as they can find begins, meanwhile Maria Pereira (Maru Valdivielso) leaves the area with her fiancé Manuel Romasanta (Julian Sands) & her young daughter Teresa (Luna McGill) but once they are alone in the forest Romasanta kills both of them & then travels back to seduce Maria's sister Bárbara (Elsa Pataky). While Romasanta is sleeping Bárbara finds evidence that he murdered her sister & niece & manages to lead the police to him but when put on trial Romasanta says that he had no choice but to kill his countless victims as he is a Werewolf. A British Professor (David Gant) takes an interest in the case & tries to scientifically prove that Romasanta is indeed a Werewolf & can be cured of his curse...
This British & Spanish co-production was directed by Paco Plaza & certainly wasn't what I expected but unfortunately not in a good way, you see while Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt tries to be different it forgets to be any good with it. Apparently based on a true story which happened in Spain, in 1851 & involving a serial killer named Romasanta who claimed he was a Werewolf in court when captured this could have been a great little film but I found the script very ponderous, slightly confusing at times & I also found it difficult to care about anyone or anything. The film feels disjointed, parts feel missing or edited wrongly & Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is very slow going with very little action or incident. Sure there's plenty of dull human drama & high emotion played out but like I said I never cared about anyone & I never got involved in the story. Ay a little over 90 minutes long Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt could have done with a good ten minutes cut out & a few more moments of horror rather than dull drama. Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt isn't terrible & if you can get into the story & care for the people involved then I could see you enjoying this but I didn't, I couldn't & so I never.
On thing that Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt has going for it is that it's incredibly well made & a visually very nice film, the period locations, sets, costumes & detail is superb & that's the main reason I gave it four stars out of ten & not less. Forget about any real gore or violence, there are some graphic shots of dead mutilated bodies but nothing else. There's a Werewolf transformation scene that unusually has the actual Wolf creature turn into a human rather than the other way around. Apparently the obscure Spanish film The Ancines Woods (1970) is also based on the story of Manuel Romasanta.
Obviously filmed on location in Spain this looks very slick with great photography that captures the period very well, a lack of quick fire editing & shaky hand-held camcorder shots is most welcome. The acting is alright, the performances are better than usual for a low budget horror film but the main name in the cast British born actor Julian Sands.
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, a historic period piece, a horror film, a drama or a murder mystery & ends up somewhere between them all without ever satisfying in any aspect. I just didn't like it despite it's high production values & attempt at doing something original & slightly different.
This British & Spanish co-production was directed by Paco Plaza & certainly wasn't what I expected but unfortunately not in a good way, you see while Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt tries to be different it forgets to be any good with it. Apparently based on a true story which happened in Spain, in 1851 & involving a serial killer named Romasanta who claimed he was a Werewolf in court when captured this could have been a great little film but I found the script very ponderous, slightly confusing at times & I also found it difficult to care about anyone or anything. The film feels disjointed, parts feel missing or edited wrongly & Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is very slow going with very little action or incident. Sure there's plenty of dull human drama & high emotion played out but like I said I never cared about anyone & I never got involved in the story. Ay a little over 90 minutes long Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt could have done with a good ten minutes cut out & a few more moments of horror rather than dull drama. Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt isn't terrible & if you can get into the story & care for the people involved then I could see you enjoying this but I didn't, I couldn't & so I never.
On thing that Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt has going for it is that it's incredibly well made & a visually very nice film, the period locations, sets, costumes & detail is superb & that's the main reason I gave it four stars out of ten & not less. Forget about any real gore or violence, there are some graphic shots of dead mutilated bodies but nothing else. There's a Werewolf transformation scene that unusually has the actual Wolf creature turn into a human rather than the other way around. Apparently the obscure Spanish film The Ancines Woods (1970) is also based on the story of Manuel Romasanta.
Obviously filmed on location in Spain this looks very slick with great photography that captures the period very well, a lack of quick fire editing & shaky hand-held camcorder shots is most welcome. The acting is alright, the performances are better than usual for a low budget horror film but the main name in the cast British born actor Julian Sands.
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, a historic period piece, a horror film, a drama or a murder mystery & ends up somewhere between them all without ever satisfying in any aspect. I just didn't like it despite it's high production values & attempt at doing something original & slightly different.