Console
best movie i've ever seen.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Haven Kaycee
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
Paul Andrews
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is set in the Galicia region of Spain during 1851 & starts as fear sweeps through the area as several dead, mutilated bodies have turned up recently. The locals suspect Wolves in the forest & a mass hunt to kill as many as they can find begins, meanwhile Maria Pereira (Maru Valdivielso) leaves the area with her fiancé Manuel Romasanta (Julian Sands) & her young daughter Teresa (Luna McGill) but once they are alone in the forest Romasanta kills both of them & then travels back to seduce Maria's sister Bárbara (Elsa Pataky). While Romasanta is sleeping Bárbara finds evidence that he murdered her sister & niece & manages to lead the police to him but when put on trial Romasanta says that he had no choice but to kill his countless victims as he is a Werewolf. A British Professor (David Gant) takes an interest in the case & tries to scientifically prove that Romasanta is indeed a Werewolf & can be cured of his curse...This British & Spanish co-production was directed by Paco Plaza & certainly wasn't what I expected but unfortunately not in a good way, you see while Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt tries to be different it forgets to be any good with it. Apparently based on a true story which happened in Spain, in 1851 & involving a serial killer named Romasanta who claimed he was a Werewolf in court when captured this could have been a great little film but I found the script very ponderous, slightly confusing at times & I also found it difficult to care about anyone or anything. The film feels disjointed, parts feel missing or edited wrongly & Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is very slow going with very little action or incident. Sure there's plenty of dull human drama & high emotion played out but like I said I never cared about anyone & I never got involved in the story. Ay a little over 90 minutes long Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt could have done with a good ten minutes cut out & a few more moments of horror rather than dull drama. Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt isn't terrible & if you can get into the story & care for the people involved then I could see you enjoying this but I didn't, I couldn't & so I never.On thing that Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt has going for it is that it's incredibly well made & a visually very nice film, the period locations, sets, costumes & detail is superb & that's the main reason I gave it four stars out of ten & not less. Forget about any real gore or violence, there are some graphic shots of dead mutilated bodies but nothing else. There's a Werewolf transformation scene that unusually has the actual Wolf creature turn into a human rather than the other way around. Apparently the obscure Spanish film The Ancines Woods (1970) is also based on the story of Manuel Romasanta.Obviously filmed on location in Spain this looks very slick with great photography that captures the period very well, a lack of quick fire editing & shaky hand-held camcorder shots is most welcome. The acting is alright, the performances are better than usual for a low budget horror film but the main name in the cast British born actor Julian Sands.Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, a historic period piece, a horror film, a drama or a murder mystery & ends up somewhere between them all without ever satisfying in any aspect. I just didn't like it despite it's high production values & attempt at doing something original & slightly different.
Backlash007
~Spoiler~ Brian Yuzna's Filmax production company produces hit or miss movies. Romasanta is one of his hits. Paco Plaza is at the reins and he's leading Julian Sands and Elsa Pataky in a romantic fairy tale that is inspired by true events. The story is quite intriguing. Manuel Blanco Romasanta was a traveling vendor in Spain of 1852 who confessed to the murders of 15 people. He used their body fat to create soap that he sold in various towns. He avoided the death penalty by proclaiming he suffered from a rare disease: Lycanthropy. That's correct, he claimed he was a werewolf. Was he really a so-called wolf man? Or just an insane killer of women? Paco never firmly pushes for one or the other. Even though there are some spectacular wolf attacks and even a reverse transformation (a real highlight), it may all be in the deranged mind of Romasanta. Besides the underrated Sands and the gorgeous Pataky, the other cast members are quite good here. John Sharian (a dead ringer for Brando), Gary Piquer, and David Gant were all perfectly cast. Unfortunately for the film, it was dumped on DVD here in the states. It was also given a title change and the worst and most craptastic cover artwork of all time. Lion's Gate has a knack for hiding low budget dreck in a slick package. It seems they wanted to see if they could do the opposite; disguise a classy, Gothic drama as "Werewolf Hunter." So if you see the title, and are expecting something "in the tradition of The Howling" you will be sorely disappointed.
mailingmaster
Is this a horror or a psychological thriller? To me this is a curious study of lust, betrayal and death. The "true story" is often abused term in movie-making. Only, this time there is no abuse, just artistic freedom. Enjoy amazing scenery of a Spain in 1800's and the symbolic details that all have their meaning: the hands, the birds, the nails. The horror is there but in a subtle form and the visuals are very delicate. However, it seems to me that a lot of horror fans are put off by the fact that this movie is a slow-paced one. Yes, it might not scare you even once but it doesn't matter. This time you will be absorbed by the story with amazing visuals and strong cast that turn this movie into a work of art. If you want something unique as an underrated horror movie worth using for studies of photography look no further. Based on that fact alone it's worth 9 out of 10.
Joe Davis
I'm a sucker for werewolf movies and when I saw the DVD cover of Werewolf Hunter; that and its' title had me picking it up ASAP! I read the back and knew then that it wasn't a straight up werewolf movie but it still sounded interesting so I got it.The movie is based on true events of a serial killer named Romasanta. He was caught tried for killing 15 people in 1852. He claimed to have hunted them down as a wolf (werewolf) and had hunted many times with a man called Anonia who was also a werewolf. Blah, blah, blah, he was sentence to life instead of death and died in captivity.Now the movie takes a different approach to the the above events but most of the characters are there... Romasanta and Anonia. I was afraid the movie would try to trick you into thinking he was really a werewolf or leave you with questions but it didn't. It took you through a nice recreation of the original events with some decent added story.If you like horror thrillers...not a bad rent!
