Werewolves on Wheels
Michel Levesque
Dark Sky Films/MPI

R1 DVD

Werewolves on Wheels is a superb anomaly, it combines a biker film with werewolves and horror !! This is such a truly bizarre combination that it has never been tried before or after! Made in 1971 it still holds its own as a very unusual exploitation come cult horror classic and it is great to see it released in such a high quality edition.

A violent biker gang known as “The Devil's Advocates” rides the roads led by Adam and his girl, Helen. They are on a road trip to the desert when things begin to go terribly wrong. While resting at a service station, Adam has his fortune told (by gang member named Tarot no less) and the cards tell of a strange path ahead leading to disaster. The next stage of their journey is to a peculiar secluded monastery, where they decide to make camp for the night. During the evening, Helen is kidnapped and initiated via some strange rite where she performs a topless dance with a snake and skull. Of course the gang breaks up the ceremony, rescues Helen and hits the road once again. But Helen has been changed, she now has the curse of the werewolf, she bites her boyfriend and from then on the bikers are hunted by a strange creature intent on violence.

This is certainly a film which will only appeal to a “certain” audience; it is a cult shocker which will be loved by those entranced by quirky exploitation cinema. Its plot is not “intuitive” to say the last and not especially well thought out and the dialogue is limited but this makes it even more enigmatic. Many of the scenes are impressive, even artistic and the werewolf looks pretty damn good for the period !

Werewolves on Wheels was produced Paul Lewis a frequent collaborator of Dennis Hopper who had only two years before directed the classic cult biker road movie Easy Rider. In addition, it is the directorial debut of Michel Levesque who would go on to work as the Art Director on various Russ Meyer films, so there is some surprisingly and unexpectedly fine cinematography in Werewolves on Wheels as well as a solid dose of sex and violence.

Dark Sky Films presents this film in an anamorphic widescreen edition that preserves the films original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The image is colorful, sharp and flesh tones are good. Considering the age and origin of the film this is a truly high quality release.

There is an English language track that is presented in Dolby Digital mono which is generally crisp and clear, the mix is good and there are only occasional problems and this is obviously due to the original source material.

Extras include theatrical trailers for Werewolves on Wheels and The Losers, two radio spots and a photo gallery with lobby cards, stills and posters from the film. There is also an interesting commentary track with director Michel Levesque and writer David M. Kaufman.