Dominic Brunt is known to most in the UK as the vet about town, Paddy, from the long-established soap opera Emmerdale. He has long been moonlighting as a director of horror and exploitation movies, debuting with 2013’s Before Dawn, in 2022 he made his fourth feature, Wolf Manor. I would hate it if I missed the opportunity to mention 2017’s Attack of the Adult Babies while I am on the subject of Lightbulb Distribution’s latest acquisition.
While filming a vampire movie in an old abandoned country house, the cast and crew’s schedule overruns by a day, forcing them to stay around for the full moon. This proves to cause more than budgetary problems, as each individual is picked off by the resident werewolf. With the werewolf genre, the quality can be incredibly hit or miss. For every An American Werewolf in London, there’s a Twilight, for every Dog Soldiers and there’s a Van Helsing. Thankfully this latest entry from director Dominic Brunt, while not reaching the heady heights of the Landis classic, has enough about it to make for a fun romp, with plenty of claret for good measure.
While there is no major transformation scene like the aforementioned classics, the facial prosthetics give this beast a unique look all of its own.
Set around the filming of a low-budget vampire movie, Crimson Manor, the crew have overran their shoot by a day, something they had been explicitly warned against by the paranoid and jumpy locals. The opening of the Wolf Manor introduces us to the cast, from barely seen extras to the star of the show, Oliver (James Fleet), a veteran actor who appears to hold himself in a higher regard than his station. And like all great thespians, Oliver has a drinking problem. We are also shown around parts of the local village, namely a pub, while two members of the press try to find the set. This is where the film, intentionally, leans into the American Werewolf In London homage, with references to staying off the moors, as well as the untrusting and rather unhelpful patrons of the local watering hole.
The blood and guts don’t take too long to surface. A journalist is picked off, sparking mayhem as the titular werewolf revels in its bloodlust. Limbs and heads are gleefully lopped off, windows are splattered with their gnarly matter, and more than one insufferable character is given a painful end.
Werewolf movies are often judged on the quality of their werewolf, and the effects team have done a decent job with a limited budget. While there is no major transformation scene like the aforementioned classics, the facial prosthetics give this beast a unique look all of its own. My only gripe would be that while moving, the monster appears more man than beast, but this a trivial issue, and overall it looks great.
At a tight 70 minutes, Wolf Manor is more than worth your time, and will hopefully spark enough interest to encourage indie filmmakers to make more werewolf films. There’s also plenty for Werewolf completists to enjoy. Alongside spatterings of gore and some decent comedy moments, it is a gleeful ode to what has came before.
WOLF MANOR is out now on Lightbulb Film Distribution DVD
Hi I’m Joel co writer of Wolf Manor. Thanks for such a great review! Co writer Pete and myself are massive horror buffs and the film is a celebration of horror