Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt

2004
5.2| 1h30m| en| More Info
Released: 13 May 2004 Released
Producted By: Filmax
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A terror is stalking the land: people are disappearing daily, their bodies appearing covered in savage gashes coupled with precise surgical cuts. The legend of the 'Werewolf of Allariz' spreads across the land like wildfire. When Barbara (Elsa Pataky) falls in love with travelling vendor Manuel Romasanta, she is at first besotted with him - but soon begins to be suspicious of him. What has happened to her sister, who - after being escorted by Romasanta to the city - seems to have disappeared forever.

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
HEFILM Hard to see that this director would one day make the exceptional REC and it's pretty good sequels. But perhaps there are some sparks of seriousness here.This is a big improvement over the previously Brian Yuzna produced Spainish made dog related film I saw (the god awful Rotweiler), this is still little more than a above average production value TV movie. The film has no real focus and it's mostly about characters rather than action or horror so this is a big problem. There is no devotion to making it actually scary and though the actors might be up to the challenge they aren't given much to do. Perhaps should be mentioned that several real birds and wolves seem to have been killed to make this film as well, an always questionable thing to do. Or maybe this is just really well done makeup work in which case extra credit is due.There is a transformation scene that is kinda interesting, though it focuses on a wolf turning into a man rather than the other way around,which it turns out is relevant to the theme of the film. But this is really more of a serial killer movie and there is no attempt to get inside the killer/werewolf's head or to delve into what he does and his twisted reasons. The killer is made obvious from the start so there is no mystery element to keep you guessing and with no depth then you're left with a long dry haul through decent period atmosphere and photography. You either need scares or drama or in the best case both, this offers neither. Oh, like Rotweiler, this features a needless scene of a fully frontal naked man running around. Is this some ongoing theme developing as a trademark for this production company? All kidding and naked men aside this somehow helped lead the director to making the REC films so might be worth a look just to see where and what he had to work with before that.
gavin6942 An uproar is caused when some mutilated cadavers are discovered, giving way to the legend of the "Werewolf of Allariz"... starring Julian Sands! On Netflix, it is listed as "Werewolf Hunter" and has an incredibly stupid cover. This made me dread it as a disposable straight-to-video, poorly made film. The straight-to-video part may be correct, but it is hardly disposable and certainly not poorly made.I love the talk of genetics versus conscious criminality, and also the coroner's analysis of a corpse, showing where canine teeth caused damage as opposed to human blades. I feel like the writer really wanted to capture the science of the time, and the director and effects crew lived up to the challenge. (There is also a pretty cool transformation scene.) I especially love that this film is loosely based on the story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta (1809 - 1863), Spain's first serial killer. Although I have spent more than my fair share of time studying serial killers, I have to say his story was not one familiar to me. So, I appreciate this film bringing it to my attention. Is it accurate beyond the parts about soap made from human fat? Maybe not. But even getting me to look into things more made this worthwhile.
lastliberal Is her a serial killer or a werewolf? That question is left for you to answer.Francisco Plaza's thrill/horror film is based upon true events that happened a couple of hundred years ago in Spain.Julian Sands, who plays Manuel Romasanta has appeared in a lot of horror movies. He is also scheduled to be in Ocean's 13. Will we have a werewolf there? He dispatches his victims in a gruesome manner, some quickly, and some he takes time to enjoy, like the lovely Elsa Pataky.This is not a great film, but it is slightly interesting. It also stars Ivana Baquero, who was in last year's El Laberinto del fauno. More on that film later.
Chris Heath The creature is not a large one. At first glance, it doesn't even seem to be anything more than an ordinary dog.But then you look closer. The wolf's mouth is larger than that of an ordinary dog, the teeth packed more densely together within. The wolf's eyes gleam a sickly yellow colour, and a vicious snarl augments the drool flowing from its mouth.The creature leaps at you with supernatural speed and strength. Its front paws knock you flat on your back, and you feel the freezing earth soaking through your shirt, the full moon gleaming down like a cruel eye, watching you.The wolf doesn't bother with a killing wound; it just begins to tear chunks of flesh from your stomach, ignoring your agonized screams. It will be a long, long time before your body loses all feeling, and everything goes dark.Manuel Romasanta was a traveling merchant and salesman in the mid eighteen hundreds, who, at some point, went completely and utterly insane. He believed himself to be a werewolf, a man who would assume the form of an unnaturally large and brutal wolf whenever the moon was full. Manifesting from this belief was the need to kill, and so kill he did, some sixteen or more people, chosen completely at random, no discrimination. He would slaughter them, devour them and then leave the bodies for others to find.There have been so many movies made that have been based on the lives of serial killers- Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, etc. It seemed a mere matter of time until they dredged up this psychopath from the history books and immortalized him through film. But, of course, being set in the time that it is, and under the circumstances through which the events surrounding the case unfolded, they couldn't have been content merely to make a slasher/thriller sort of thing documenting the life of a serial killer. No, they had to turn it into a werewolf movie.And what a fantastic werewolf movie it turned out to be. I was expecting the sorts of cheesy werewolf effects that we saw in such movies as "Dog Soldiers" and "Underworld" (although to tell you the truth, I enjoyed both of those movies, solely for the action content in them). But groundless were all my fears, for as the movie progresses it becomes increasingly clear that this is not your usual, run-of-the-mill type of werewolf crap, with Romasanta assuming the form of a proper wolf when he transforms. Rather than "Dog Soldiers", it portrays itself more as being along the lines of "Ginger Snaps", with much the same sort of tragic tale at the heart of it.As with seemingly all new-age horror movies, even those done in an older sort of style (such as this one), there is a love story at the heart of the movie. However, true to the bizarre nature of this movie, it is not a happy tale of love that unfolds, rather a twisted tragedy in which neither side comes off any better than the other. For those of you who possess something like a twisted romanticism, I tell you now not to miss this one, you'll regret it if you do.I've already told you basically all you need to know about the story of this movie, and I'm not going to ruin all the twists and turns of the movie so as to spoil your viewing enjoyment. Just be sure not to miss this one, especially if you liked "Ginger Snaps".