The Werewolf of Fever Swamp : One Young Canis Lupus

Rating: 2.5 out of 4

Werewolves may be temporarily off the big screen; but these beasts are prowling once again in four recent video releases: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Huntress, Bad Moon, and Werewolf. Unfortunately, only Fever Swamp shows some originality - the others show banality. Coincidentally, Fever Swamp is the only affordable one ($9.95 - $14.95 price range) of the four!

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is part of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series - a series of chillers aimed at young audiences, both in book and television formats. In Fever Swamp, a young man of 13 and his family move into a depressing, eerie, and foreboding swamp, so that the boy’s father can carry on his research (which is based upon releasing into the swamp deer brought up in captivity). The boy investigates the swamp and comes across another boy his own age, one who lives in the swamp with his parents and quickly befriends our young hero. The city boy also encounters a dangerous old hermit who is rumored to be... a werewolf! After a few misadventures, including a murder or two, the monster’s identity is revealed - but at a terrible (if not slightly predictable) price. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is atmospheric, scary, and (at only 43 minutes) guaranteed to give you “Goosebumps!”

I hate ranking on werewolf films because, along with vampire movies, they are my favorite type of horror story. If this is to be the quality of endeavor, however, I’ll take vanilla! Enjoy The Werewolf of Fever Swamp