WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS

A deliriously demented, bloodily brazen jolt of breasts, beatnecks, and beasts, this horrific hybrid of the biker and werewolf genres is rude, rough, and rowdy! Pure exploitation joy, this rambunctious exploitation vehicle intermingles cultural commentary with the surface pleasures of rough-riding orgies, fisting-fighting bas-asses, and bare-assed moon-shifting madness. Unevenly paced and written, it retains a bold identity that makes up for what it lacks in sense.

More fun than a gang-bang with wolves, the plot for this sensationalistic piece of sinema is wonderfully bizarre, casting logic to the wind with all the careless abandon of its fighting, fucking, mentally challenged bikers. When 'The Devil's Advocates," a gang of not-so-easy easy-riders led by Adam (Stephen Oliver) and his main squeeze Helen (D.J. Anderson) wreak havoc amongst themselves and the roadways, we get some fast-paced violence with unconsciously serious subtext regarding the cultural prejudice and class conflict between the townspeople and the bikers. More interesting is the political disharmony within the biker's ranks. A subversive degree of reflection runs parallel to the exploitation, yet this is of less interest to the exploitation devotee than the free loving nudity and rough-shed violence of the gang's encounters, filmed with unbridled enthusiasm by director Michel Levesque.

When the gang visits a monastery, they find sinister monks drabbed in black worshipping Satan (who else?). While offering the gang some food, the monks symbolize an unspoken conflict between themselves and the bikers. Subverting our expectations, we are forced to turn our sympathy from them to the bikers. A tasty mass-drugging, a dash of ritual sacrifice, some topless snake-dancing and gyrating-hip splendor ensue when, suddenly, we find that the monks are hungry for Helen to sacrifice herself to their dark god. Incredulous, the bikers beat the hell out of them, smash their temple, and think themselves done . . . quite wrongly of course, as Helen has been entranced by an eldritch ritual and, true to folklore, transforms into a hairy werewolf at night. And while we all like a woman to be wild in bed, sprouting fangs and growing hair on your breasts is a bit much!

The emptiness, grit, and freedom of the Southwest are captured by lush photography, its presence lending both psychical ambience and further tension to this steamy stew of drugs, rock-and-roll, free-living, and lycanthropy. The vast isolation, contradictory welcoming and threatening, mirrors the broad lifestyle of a particular cultural group as well as the more intimate geographies of the individual characters. There are no heroes in this flick; the bikers are as unpleasant as the cultist monks. In fact, it's difficult to find anyone with which whom to identify. Still, as this is exploitation and not a full-out drama determined to study subtleties of the human condition, this absence of likeability actually works to the filmmaker's advantage, depicting a world void of any values save for what their characters make of it - usually, not much. Horror is present in imagery and theme, ranging from physical shocks of violence to the satanic majesty of black magic. The most interesting theme may be the parallel established between wanton, untamed living and the savage sexuality embodied by Helen's werewolf character, as well as by the bawdy connectedness between an untamed conscience and its supernatural incarnation.

Werewolves on Wheels is solid campy fun. Lame werewolf effects and graphic shots of viscera are window dressing for this occult Biker movie, cashing in on the success of both sub-genres. While Satanic spell-craft and misleading (and misrepresented) black magic joins other clichés, and the performances are often tedious, the primal fervour of the movie - and the very insanity of its premise - makes the mingled mess of madness and mayhem oddly enduring. Natural authenticity joins bleeding, brawling hands with roughhouse humor in this harkening back to Grindhouse glory. Levesque evokes dream-logic in an expressionistic world of illogic. This surrealism is mirrored by atmosphere and pacing which makes time appear to stand still.

This transfer retains the feeling of grindhouse while cleaning up the visuals in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1). Dark Sky Films is quickly becoming a favorite as they clearly respect even their more obscure material. No significant grain hampers the film, and colors are solid. No bleeding is apparent, and even the night scenes are clearer than one would imagine. Audio is likewise commendable, including 2.0 mono sound which allows the soundtrack to rock and rumble through the living room, baby!

Extras are of expected high quality, including an involving, exciting commentary by director Michael Levesque and David M. Kaufman (the co-writer). Moderated by David Gregory, who brings a brisk pace to the dialogue, this track digs deep to unearth various interesting tidbits behind the story - as well as the story behind the story. A less favorable photo gallery follows, neither representative or necessary, and, finally, radio spots, a theatrical trailer, and a spot advertising The Losers, which looks interesting but not as eccentric as this piece of groove. Werewolves On Wheels is a hairy, horny ode to the monster within! 6

Review by William P Simmons