Late Phases: Night of the Lone Wolf [Blu-ray]

Late Phases is the first English language film from Here Comes The Devil director Adrián García Bogliano. The film tells the story of Ambrose McKinley (Nick Damici), an armed services/Viet Nam veteran now blind and put into the Crescent Bay retirement community by his son, Will (Ethan Embry). The first night there, a full moon, his neighbor Dolores (Karen Lynn Gorney) is killed and Ambrose is viciously attacked by a savage wolf-like beast. His seeing-eye dog, Shadow, is mortally wounded fighting it off, saving the man’s life. The defiant Ambrose is determined to get answers and soon finds out these attacks occur once a month and the police pass it off as some animal that lives in the nearby woods. They also don’t seem too concerned about the seniors that are it’s victims. But, Ambrose begins to put the hard to believe pieces together and realizes he has one month to find out who this shape-shifter is and a means to stop it, by the next full moon. However, his lycanthropic opponent knows he’s coming and is preparing, too…to make sure it’s a war Ambrose won’t win.I really liked this flick! Not only was it a solid and refreshing take on a werewolf story but, a well made tale of a tough old man who won’t give up. Director Adrián García Bogliano, from Eric Stolze’s tight and clever script, quickly establishes McKinley’s stubborn character, his closeness to Shadow and the mundane life of Crescent Bay, so, when the vicious attack comes in the first act, we get it’s full impact. We are then taken along for the smoldering ride as the blind veteran begins to investigate the identity of his lupine invader and make his plans to stop it on the next full moon. The suspense is turned up as we get our reveal a bit early and the cursed individual begins to prepare his counterattack. All this builds up to a very tense and bloody third act showdown between the blind ex-soldier and his lycanthropic enemy. It all works so well because, Bogliano takes his story seriously, generates the proper intensity and we like McKinley and are rooting for the stubborn vet to do what others don’t seem concerned enough to do. There are some minor flaws. McKinley comes to the werewolf conclusion rather quickly, an obnoxious cop character’s dialog is a little too obvious in it’s intent to convey the lack of concern for the seniors here and the climax could have actually played out a bit longer but, otherwise I liked what they accomplished here. It’s suspenseful, intense and has some vicious and very gory action. Technically, the low budget movie is sound, too. There is nice cinematography from Ernesto Herra who shot Here Comes The Devil and a very atmospheric score by Wojciech Golczewski. The werewolf suits and transformations use charming prosthetics and are very effective. There also is some really good and plentiful gore, as well as, a convincing job aging star Dimici about 20 years.And as for Dimici… he is another reason this works so well. There is a really strong performance here by the Stake Land writer/actor. Damici creates a man who is handicapped by the horror of war and accepts it as punishment for deeds he committed in battle. He is stubborn, difficult but, also strong and determined. He makes the crotchety old man very likable and gives him a lot of depth and we go right along with his quest to see this creature brought down. We totally believe that he would give his life to see this fiend stopped, if necessary. We also get nice work from Ethan Embry as his son. The dynamic between the two really works and we get Will’s frustration at how difficult Ambrose is but, yet he still wants to take care of him. The two have good chemistry and make this film really gel with their relationship dynamic. In support, and all doing good work, are familiar faces like Lance Guest (The Last Starfighter), House of the Devil’s Tom Noonan, the legendary Tina Louise as a catty housewife and a small role from the incomparable Larry Fessenden. A good cast that makes this film come together almost perfectly.I really liked this flick a lot. It’s very well directed. It’s suspenseful, intense, the last act provides some really gory action and it has some nice emotional depth. It’s a refreshing take on the oft-told werewolf tale and it is a well balanced mix of horror, mystery and character drama. The FX are charmingly old-fashioned prosthetics and it’s briskly paced despite the middle act being an intentional slow burn. Highly recommended for something a little different and a horror made for adults at a time when PG-13 teen-centric fright flicks are making up most of what the genre is offering.

Worth a go if your in the mood for this sort of thing. Not stereotypical.

Okay, So movie reviews always get down voted on here for some reason because people are expecting a professional siskel-esque style review so I debated whether or not to even leave one but I had to for this movie... Expect spoilers... Here it goes -Yes, it kinda took an idea from Buba Hotep but who cares Buba Hotep was a fun Idea for a movie that hasn't been overdone yet, and although no one can really top Bruce (in the B-movie world anyhow) I don't feel that was the aim of this movie. Late Phases definitely took itself far more seriously than Buba Hotep did and had a measurably more dynamic plot (not just a showcase for ol' Bruce)... and truth be told it was just a good movie. That being said production value was a tad bit low on the werewolves (so use your imagination for f### sake) but acting and plot more than made up for it, not to mention the small subtleties in the movie were fun. You don't go into a B-movie like this expecting A movie production value, or a plot like this expecting to be blown away, take it for what it is (a B movie) and have fun with it. That being said Nick Damici was awesome in it, screw it, he was superb in it. He plays a surely old veteran who is a retired, blind, widower and has to move into a retirement community as his son is busy starting his own life and doesn't seem to have the time for him. When he gets to this community attacks start almost immediately and he has to use a combination of his former military training, investigative questioning and cunning to get to the bottom of the crime and battle a deadly foe... This is a fun simple good V. evil plot. If you are in to B movies I would recommend buying this one, it is worth it. Five stars from me. and screw your down votes, I don't work for IMDb so you get what you get off of Amazon Reviews you dam movie review snobs.

It may not sound like much to say that this is one of the best, if not the best werewolf movie ever made, but it actually goes well beyond just that, and is simply a great movie, period.The pacing is excellent, the acting is spot on, editing is superb, direction, practical effects—there isn't even much to nitpick here. There is a shot or two that aren't very convincing, but the effects and direction is so well done that it somehow doesn't hinder the experience. The overall result is that good.A movie like this is nothing without the right protagonist, and in Nick Damici's Ambrose we have what is nothing short of iconic. If Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood's character from Gran Torino were merged into a singular human, Ambrose would be the result, and that result wouldn't at all be disappointing. It's hard to imagine either of the former characters taking on werewolves and being able to hold their ground, but with Ambrose I never doubted him for a second, even without his sight.You cannot have a werewolf movie without a transformation, and here too we not only have something that lives up to the lofty standards of An American Werewolf in London, but in many ways surpasses it with its direction, editing, practical effects, and creature design. When seeing just how many films rely on CG to try and convince the audience of a fantastical event, it's clear this movie's transformation scene should be a case-study (along with AAWWIL) on how practical effects done correctly will always be the gold standard.I've seen this movie twice now, and each time the characters and story have stuck with me for while afterwards, which was not something I was expecting of a werewolf movie before I watched it the first time. Even if you have no interest in horror movies or creature features, what Late Phases offers goes beyond that and just gives you a damn good movie. I look forward to viewing #3.

For something that got a lot of critical praise, I found it boring, neither scary nor witty. The acting was OK but the wolves were pretty bad and the effects below par. Don't bother. I'm giving my copy to charity.

Amazon tiene un gran servicio, tuve un inconveniente y me lo resolvieron ágilmente y con un gusto por comprar con ellos. La película llego en perfectas condiciones y adelantado en tiempo, tiene sub en español.

Not good at all completely predictable and doesn't hold you at all