| “ | Not exactly. Not in our traditional 'white man's movie monster' sense. | ” |
| - Noel |
- For the episode, see MST3K 904 - Werewolf.
Werewolf is a 1996 supernatural thriller directed by Tony Zarindast and written by Zarindast and Brad Hornbacher. It features an international cast.
Plot[]
Werewolf
Archaeologists working in Arizona find a werewolf skeleton. The ill-tempered foreman, Yuri gets into a fight with his crew. In the course of the fight, one of the workers is scratched by the werewolf skeleton. This greatly alarms his fellow diggers, especially Joel. The head archaeologist details what he knows of werewolf behavior as described in Native American mythology. The scratched worker turns into a werewolf and is killed by his fellow diggers.
Joe Estevez in Werewolf
In suburban Flagstaff, a writer named Paul Niles arrives to take up residence in a house he has inherited. He is invited to a party where he is introduced to Natalie Burke, one of the archaeologists. Paul takes a romantic interest in Natalie and she reciprocates. Yuri is jealous and behaves badly, which leads to his expulsion from the party by his boss Noel. Yuri walks to the laboratory and schemes to create a new werewolf. He drugs a security guard (played by director Tony Zarindast) and injects him with blood he earlier drew from the previous werewolf. Yuri's plan works, but the new werewolf attempts to drive himself home, crashes into some oil drums, and dies in the ensuing fire.
The following day, Paul visits the lab at Natalie's invitation. He gets into a fight with Yuri, who attacks him with the werewolf skull. Paul is scratched by the skull, and soon starts showing symptoms of lycanthropy. He attacks people at night, but remembers little of it. Finally, Natalie and Yuri witness him changing. Yuri plots to capture Paul and take him to the lab, and convinces Natalie to help him. Werewolf Paul kills Yuri, and he and Natalie (now a werewolf herself) reunite.
Cast[]
- Jorge Rivero as Yuri
- Richard Lynch as Noel
- Federico Cavalli as Paul Niles
- Adrianna Miles as Natalie Burke
- Joe Estevez as Joel
- R.C. Bates as Sam, the Keeper
Notes[]
Adrianna Miles in Werewolf
- Skin-Walker (known as yee naaldlooshii in the Navajo language) is in fact a part of Navajo culture, though the werewolves in this movie are depicted like traditional movie werewolves and not like skin-walkers.
- Several scenes from Werewolf were shot on the campus of Glendale Community College in Glendale, California. The lab scenes took place in the old Physical Science building before it was refurbished in the early 2000s. The footbridge that crosses Verdugo Road, in front of the College, is seen in several nighttime shots.
- Director Tony Zarindast had purchased the stock shot of the car driving into the oil drums and exploding before shooting. He had his personal car painted to match the color of the car in the stock shots. This creates a notable mistake in the film: The original chase car is a Ford Taurus, but changes into a Plymouth Acclaim for the explosion sequence (which is later noted by Mike and the Bots).
- To help keep the film on schedule and on budget, actors Randall Oliver, R.C. Bates, Joe Estevez, and Richard Lynch performed their own stunts.
- Yuri's hair seems to have several colors and styles throughout the film, which apparently takes place over the course of only a few days. This appears to be due to the inconsistent lighting and styling.
MST3K Connections[]
- Joe Estevez also portrayed the Soultaker in Soultaker.
- Actor and makeup artist Mark Williams (pool player) was also makeup artist for The Brain.
- Actor and stunt driver Bruce Paul Barbour (party guest) was stunt double for Lee Van Cleef in Master Ninja I and Master Ninja II, stunt driver in City Limits, and stuntman in The Incredible Melting Man.
- Foley artist Renato Marinelli also did sound effects for Warrior of the Lost World.
- Special effects technician Enzo Diliberto also did sound effects for Warrior of the Lost World.