The death of Paul Naschy in 2009 marked the end of an era for fans of Spanish horror; no longer would legendary lycanthrope Waldemar Daninsky prowl the countryside terrorising simple villagers. Still, it would be just a mere two years before the Spanish hills were alive again with the sound of howling, director Juan Martínez Moreno's 2011 comedy/horror Attack of the Werewolves delivering not just one baying beast, but a whole slew of slavering hairy horrors ready to rip unwary Iberians to shreds.
Gorka Otxoa stars as writer Tomás Mariño, who is lured back to his childhood village of Arga by desperate locals hoping to break the 100-year-old curse that has seen them plagued by a ravenous werewolf. By sacrificing Tomas, a direct descendant of the woman who incited the curse, they hope to end the monster's reign of terror, but their plan backfires, resulting in an even worse curse befalling them.
With the balance tipped more in the favour of comedy than horror, this one might not be best suited to those seeking a truly terrifying time, especially considering the rather long wait before the first werewolf makes an appearance. Fortunately, there are just about enough decent laughs to keep matters trundling along until the werewolfery kicks in, after which the fun really begins, with a narrow escape from a tunnel via the use of a decaying corpse, a very amusing scene involving severed fingers and a hungry dog, and a great finale which features numerous leaping werewolves (these are extremely athletic monsters) and a smattering of gore.
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
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