This film was shot in the midst of science fiction about giant monsters, monsters - mutants and aliens. And this was also reflected in the plot of this film - here the main character became a werewolf not because of any mystical elements. Crazy scientists injected him with serum made from the blood of a mutant wolf. So he does not turn into a wolf at night when the full moon shines - he can become one at any time.
The film has a rather curious visual range - the lighting in it is like the lighting in films - noir. The action takes place in a small town, which gives the plot a necessary element of detachment from the rest of the world.
Stephen Rich, who plays the main role, perfectly played the role of a quiet and peaceful man who does not voluntarily become a monster - in the best traditions of Lon Chaney Jr. (who became famous for the role of the Wolf Man in the film of the same name). His character evokes great sympathy and sympathy. The werewolf's makeup also looks great - as for a low-budget 1950s film.
Curiously, the werewolf in this film only killed those who attacked him, whether he was a robber or mad scientists. So only those who deserved it died at the hand of a werewolf (unless the sheriff's deputy suffered for nothing, but survived). This is a rather unusual innovation.
The very concept of the plot is more like a western - a small town, a sheriff pursuing a villain, a villain hiding somewhere in the hills. A sympathetic antihero. So this is such a mystical western about a werewolf.
It was the first werewolf movie since Universal's horror classics (before that, the werewolf's last big-screen appearance was in the comedy parody Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein). After science fiction filled the niche in the 1950s, classic monsters were temporarily forgotten. And it was this film that began to revive interest in them. Let it not be without science fiction. It turned out this kind of hybrid of Gothic horror and science fiction.
8 out of 10