By Geno McGahee
There is a magical connection between heavy metal and horror movies. Maybe it was just the time. The time of rebellion where cool guys like me would watch horror movies all the time with my long hair and my Iron Maiden posters pinned to the wall. You heard I wasn’t cool? Who said that?
In LONE WOLF, written by Michael Krueger and directed by John Callas, we get a magical combination of heavy metal, horror and overacting that generates a movie magic that is hard to find. It is not a film that will terrify you, but it is so amusing that you cannot walk away from this one without realizing that it has some worth. If it’s entertaining, it’s good, and this entertaining from start to finish.
Julie Martin (Dyann Brown) is brought to a make out spot with her boyfriend, Skip (Michael Bruen), but he wants to take it too far and she doesn’t want any of it. Skip flips out and gets out of the car. Despite her pleas, he refuses to get back in and she drives away, but he’s being watched. When Julie disappears, a giant werewolf kills Skip and that is only the beginning.
Eddie (Jamie Newcomb) is new to town and he’s had serious issues. He’s living with his aunt and uncle and is the lead in a metal band. He has this aura of darkness around him and it makes him an immediate werewolf suspect. Deirdre (Ann Douglas) takes interest in him and the high school that these crazy 40-year-olds go to has a great divide between the metal heads and the jocks.
At a town meeting, Mr. Harmon (George W. Byers), Skip’s father, is sick of his son’s death being covered up. He storms in and gives an emotionally charged plea to the police, and the overacting by Byers is priceless. I was sort up disappointed that he wasn’t in this more. His teary breakdown was hilarious. Another notable actor was Michael Parker that played the role of Detective Cominski. His continual strange replies and dog impressions were outstanding.
Julie sparks a romance with Joel (Kevin Hart) and they begin breaking down the case and trying to put the pieces together to figure out who the werewolf is and how they can stop it. Eddie joins the group and they begin tracking it down, but with a huge costume party happening at the school, there could be major trouble…and there is.
In one of the coolest scenes of the film, the giant werewolf is killing the kids at the party, including ripping off the head of one of them. I found it funny as the skull-faced teen ran away screaming. It was just funny looking. The reveal is predictable but doesn’t take away from the fun factor of this flick.
LONE WOLF is a huge winner with a big fun factor. It reminded me of ZIPPERFACE. It’s lower budget with over the top acting…near soap opera level acting…and it all works. I found myself laughing throughout the entire thing and being upset when it was over. I wanted more! I highly recommend this one.
Rating: 9/10
