Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory 11/05/19
Italian horror from the early 1960s covers a wide quality range, from eerie hauntings to tacky, lurid vampire romps. For one of his first major credits, ace giallo scribe Ernesto Gastaldi cooks up Lycanthropus, a murder mystery in which the savage slashing committed by a drooling maniac with a hairy face, wild eyes and saber-toothed fangs. You saw the poster out front, kid — do you think it might be … a werewolf? Director Paolo Heusch’s thriller is no classic, but neither is it stupid — and the original Italian language option on this disc reveals good work by a spirited cast. Dreamy Polish starlet Barbara Lass is a much more assertive, independent female than what we expect from conventional Italo horror fare. We also get to discuss a musical milestone added to the film’s U.S. release, the rather clever pop novelty song The Ghoul in School. On Blu-ray from Severin Films.
11/05/19