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THE WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK
(1975)
Directed by John Moffitt
Shocking Videos DVD-R
Reviewed 08.24.06
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It From Shocking Videos!
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
You can mess with Dick Clark. You
can mess with Dick Clark's friends.
You can even mess with Dick Clark's
family. But damn it, don't mess
with Dick Clark's dune buggy. That's
crossing the line.
OK, enough of the fast talk. The
Werewolf Of Woodstock is "A
Dick Clark Teleshow" from 1975.
Get it? The mastermind behind American
Bandstand didn't make it to the
top by throwing money out the window.
When the chance arose to articulate
a forceful shot-on-video statement
that would both skewer hippies AND
depict a werewolf commandeering
a dune buggy, the writing was on
the wall. America needed a 65 minute
wake-up call. On January 24, 1975,
Dick Clark picked up the phone.
Woodstock is over. Still, farmer
Bert (TV superman Tige Andrews)
refuses to simmer down. Since his
house shared fieldspace with all
the "dirty freaks" and
"hippies," Bert seeks
retribution; a revenge like no other.
Smash the garbage cans! Snap the
lumber! Yell a lot! Naturally, a
bolt of lightning turns Bert into
a werewolf, but he always remembers
to change out of his pajamas before
leaving the house. When a hot lickin',
cat screamin' band visits the abandoned
Woodstock field to record a demo,
Werewolf Bert blows his stack. Again.
Thunder and lightning constantly
bellow, but it never rains. Cops
talk. Werewolf Bert jumps through
a window (in slow motion) and kidnaps
a girl. She says, "I understand
your pain." Mr. Clark, you've
got my number.
What a concept. Feeling like an
episode of Filmation's The Ghost
Busters as interpreted by David
"The Rock" Nelson,
The Werewolf Of Woodstock
does not rip you off. Cheap werewolf
action and perpetual ridiculousness
make sure of that. Phaser sound
effects bloat the soundtrack. Werewolf
Bert looks like a giant Shih Tzu
puppy. Everybody plays it dead straight.
Wooded attack scenes are strangely
shivery. The air dried up at times
with the ol' talk 'n' walk padding,
but I wasn't particularly thirsty.
Ergo, I was constantly satiated.
I just found out that Dick Clark
doesn't even own a dune buggy. Now
that's crossing the line.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The Werewolf Of Woodstock
hasn't been broadcast since the
late 1970s. It also missed out on
the VHS shake-up that followed soon
after. Therefore, expectations run
pretty low. Although the picture
quality was smudgy and slightly
doubled at times, I was anticipating
much worse. Colors were still there
and the sound was a bit muffled,
but audible. Absolutely no compression
was evident. Big plus. There were
a few tape rolls, but the source
was obviously a broadcast master,
as fades are present for commercial
breaks.
EXTRAS
Take it up with Dick.
FINAL THOUGHTS
"He hated everything!"
Bert's pissed, but you won't be.
Though never mind-blowing, The
Werewolf Of Woodstock balances
hilarity, surprising wildness, and
odd late-nite chills quite nicely.
Dune buggy not required, but strongly
recommended. |
Pain understander
Listen to his heart
Bert's Bandages
Let there be drums
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