Never Cry Werewolf (2008)

I see other reviews are hip to the mind numbing mediocrity of Canadian movie industry output by the low scores this pointless flick got. Feel sorry for your Canadian cousins as we must endure this mindless juvenile dreg on all our cable channels – we have no choice – plus we subsidize these "Ed Wood" film makers with our taxes.Enough background on the reasons for Canadian film mediocrity. I just want to point out a few common traits of all these Canuck film bombs. First, all through the screenplay and dialogue you have the typical preachy Canadian politically correct ideals pushed down your throat, regardless if it destroys continuity, character development or time period or props. Messaging, always political messaging – in this bomb there was the inevitable scagging of all the urban centric political bogey men - firearms, hunters, males and hunting. The next thing is the juvenile dialogue and conceptualization in Canuck flicks – that's on display here in spades. Then there are all the technical issues like cheap sound, camera work, props, makeup and of course, acting. The people these low budget directors recruit from college drama clubs are unskilled, stiff and of course juvenile.All in all this is another Canuck stinker that broke out of the public subsidized Canadian arts gulag and jumped the maple leaf curtain to US cable distribution – still stinks south of the 49th doesn't it. Can't recommend this movie to anyone with tastes more evolved than a high school junior from Podunk Nebraska.

I don't get the lukewarm reviews as "Never Cry Werewolf" (2008) is a worthy addition to the werewolf genre. Yes, it rips-off the plot of a popular film from two decades earlier, "Fright Night" and, yes, it is a made-for-TV flick, but despite these factors it delivers as a half-serious/half-comedy werewolf flick.PLOT: A mysterious man (Peter Stebbings) moves in next door to teenager Loren (Nina Dobrev) and she concludes that he's a werewolf. Of course, no one believes her so she enlists the help of a washed-up reality show actor (Kevin Sorbo).Like I said, "Never Cry Werewolf" only plays it semi-straight, so don't expect the dead-serious vibe of, say, "wolfen" or even "Red Riding Hood." Stebbings is reminiscent of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine here and is excellent in the role. But he's clearly at least 36 years-old and so it's a bit disturbing that he's literally sniffing around a 16 year-old girl.Nina is good as the protagonist and has a cute look, but I prefer her friend in the story, Angie, played by Melanie Leishman. Melanie may not be as cute but she has better curves. In any event, her role is too small.As always, Sorbo is extremely likable. He plays a reluctant hero in this one.The film was shot in Brantford & Hamilton, Ontario, and runs 87 minutes.FINAL WORD: Although "Never Cry Werewolf" loses points for blatantly ripping off "Fright Night," the bottom line is that it's entertaining from beginning to end. The werewolf lore is sound and the cast is solid. In addition, the werewolf looks menacing and there's a lot of goofy gore. It's just a fun film. What more do you want from a low-budget werewolf flick? GRADE: B-

There're gruesome killing going around, and a girl suspects that her next door neighbor is a werewolf.Loren (Nina Dovrev) suspects that her next door neighbor is a werewolf, and is responsible for all the killing that going around. He has a dog that's also a werewolf. Loren goes shopping for a crossbow to protect herself with her self proclaimed boyfriend. At the store Redd, an ex TV host/adventure hunter is giving a seminar. Loren's next door neighbor's dog turns into a werewolf in the store, and her boyfriend gets bitten by the werewolf, and turns into werewolf himself. If the original werewolf is killed before midnight, the curse will be undone, and her boyfriend will turn back to normal. Will Loren and Redd be able to pull this off ?The plot is simple, but with some good special effects, and comedy, this movie keeps the audience interested to the end. Kevin Sorbo who played Hercules appears as the hunter. Not particularly a masterpiece, but not a bad production either. It's a solid middle of the road horror adventure comedy that can stand on its own. Nina Dovrev puts in a great performance as the main character. It's better than many werewolf movies than those made in the past, and worth seeing.

I'm certain this will not be the only review of this film that will declare this, but this film, while enjoyable by the standards set by Sci-Fi channel movies, is one of the most unabashed rip-offs of a film I have ever seen.To confirm what others have said, YES, this film does indeed borrow every single plot device imaginable from the 80's classic, Fright Night. It does this to such an obvious extent, that it makes the movie hard to enjoy on certain levels. First and foremost, there is no real suspense, or even curiosity when you can instantly tell that you have seen everything about this movie once before. It follows the Fright Night blueprint so closely, that anyone who remembers anything about FN will instantly be able to guess ahead as to where this movie is headed.This may have been made as an ode to Fright Nite, but no such declaration is ever made, leaving me to believe that it is simply the result of a lack of imagination, and originality on the part of the filmmakers.