AN EROTIC
WEREWOLF IN LONDON
U.S.A. | 2006
Directed by William Hellfire
Starring
Misty Mundae
Anoushka
Ruby LaRocca
Color | 68 Minutes | Not Rated
Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC | 2-disc set)
POP Cinema/Seduction Cinema
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7
     8   10 = Highest Rating  
Guest Review by Troy Howarth
A voluptuous werewolf (Anoushka) infects an American (Misty Mundae) with her disease, unleashing a series of erotically-charged murders...
    You've got to hand it to writer/director William Hellfire: he knows how to deliver the goods. A thinly veiled homage to the odd Italian horror/sex hybrid Werewolf Woman (1976), the film cribs its title from John Landis' celebrated blend of horror and humor, An American Werewolf in London (1981) — if only to justify allowing the production to move to London for some overly touristy location shots. Furthermore, in its linkage of sexual arousal and lycanthropy, the film has a lineage in Terence Fisher's classic Curse of the Werewolf (1961). The film has its shortcomings, no question, but it works as unapologetic erotica.
    The attractive cast is key to the film's success. In one of her earlier roles, Misty Mundae (AKA "Erin Brown" - The Rage, Chantal) gives off plenty of heat as the film's tragic victim and eventual monster. The role isn't terribly demanding, unless one counts the sheer volume of nipples she's required to nuzzle on, but the uninhibited actress does everything that can be expected of her. The central character, however, is technically in the hands of Polish sexpot Anoushka — her thick accent and relative inexperience in the thesping department don't enable her to flesh out the role of the tormented lycanthrope, but she seems more than comfortable in her various lesbian encounters... and really, isn't that all that matters? Some viewers will no doubt disagree, but this reviewer is of the opinion that the show is stolen by the ravishing Ruby LaRocca. She's a capable actress and handles the dialogue and emotions of her character well enough, but in terms of sheer sex appeal she consistently steals every scene she's in. LaRocca came to the film with a good deal of experience in the erotic direct-to-video scene (earlier highlights include the likes of Peeping In A Girl's Dormitory, 2000) and she certainly knows how to dominate a scene — her bondage-themed seduction of Mundae, for example, is a literal showstopper. The remainder of the cast is filled out by the photogenic likes of Darian Caine and Julian Welles (Lust for Dracula), both of whom play horny nurses destined to meet an unpleasant end — though fortunately only after strutting their stuff in enjoyably protracted encounters with the newly infected Mundae. With the exception of Mundae and LaRocca, however, none of these actresses demonstrate the highest caliber of talent... but again, in this context, it feels a bit churlish to say so. In any event, even the least gifted of them look like towering thespians compared to the genuinely bizarre John Link, who plays a London newspaper editor with all the capability of a distracted five year old.
    Director Hellfire (Vampire Strangler) makes the most of the various sex scenes, so it seems a bit unfair to dwell on the film's less than stellar attributes. The dialogue is often unspeakably awful — try as they might, the actresses simply can't give their exchanges much in the way of credibility. Fortunately for the viewer, Hellfire seems more interested in having them swap saliva and other bodily fluids instead of spouting a great deal of gobbledygook. As mentioned before, the location filming in London feels a bit gratuitous and half-baked, especially since the sexual shenanigans are confined to indoor locales surely attainable Stateside. Even so, the director is to be commended for aiming to please his audience — there's sex aplenty, the women are all enthusiastic and photogenic, and though the average scene goes on for a decent length of time it never becomes tedious to watch. It may not be much of a horror movie, but as far as softcore sex films are concerned, An Erotic Werewolf In London is a winner.

Seduction Cinema's two-disc edition of An Erotic Werewolf in London is also a winner. Disc 1 kicks off with the feature (naturally), which is supplemented with an audio commentary, an interview with Ruby LaRocca, and trailers for other Seduction Cinema releases. The film is presented fullscreen and looks perfectly adequate. Given its shot-on-video origins, it would be unreasonable to expect it to look stunning, but the transfer is sharp and free of authoring defects. The soundtrack has plenty of oomph, though the crude resources of the production results in some hollow-sounding location dialogue. Rest assured, though: those moans and groans come through loud and clear. The commentary track features Hellfire and producer Michael Raso, and they do a great job of detailing the film's complicated on-and-off-again production schedule; it started shooting in 2001 and wasn't finished entirely until 2006 (to be released on DVD in 2008), and the observant viewer will notice that the performers look a bit different in some of the set-pieces filmed at later dates. That the film managed to see the light of day is something of a miracle, and at the risk of sounding like an apologist (again, this is hardly Great Cinema) Hellfire and his crew deserve a pat on the back for putting it together as well as they did. The interview with a newly-tattooed (and still absolutely gorgeous) LaRocca shows the actress to be a down-to-earth, utterly likable horror fanatic.
    Disc 2 includes a never before released bonus feature, Night of the Groping Dead (48 min.). This amateurish blend of gore/softcore lacks the production values present in the main feature, which is saying a lot, but it does offer fans of LaRocca and Mundae some viewing pleasure. The film isn't in the best of condition, as an onscreen disclaimer warns, but it is watchable — even if you just opt to fast forward to the good bits of fetish-tinged sex action. The second disc is rounded out with trailers for other Mundae films, an enjoyable bonus if ever there was one for connoisseurs of the pixie-like actress. An illustrated booklet of detailed liner notes by Ed Grant completes the package. 9/09/08

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