Ambrose (Nick Damici) a blind Vietnam veteran, moves to a retirement community with his guide dog Shadow. On the first night they are victim of a vicious attack. Ambrose finds a large animal claw embedded in the wall and begins to suspect the assailant may not be an animal but a werewolf. As well as the threat of imminent attack Ambrose has to deal with a difficult relationship with his son Will (Ethan Embry)
Lots of hints are dropped that something is very wrong in the small community. Strange things happen one a month when the moon is full, dogs go missing. The neighbours are overly friendly at first but soon become suspicious of the new resident.
Late Phases is the first English-language film from ‘Here comes the Devil’ director Adrian Garcia Bogliano and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Setting the horror in a retirement community with quality actors was a smart move, with a group of sexy but tedious teenagers this could have been another Zombeavers. Both Nick Damici and Ethan Embry are great in their roles and there is some interesting support from genre veterans Rutanya Alda (Amityville 2, Mommie Dearest) and Tina Louise (The Stepford Wives) as overbearing neighbours.
Late Phases has a real old school vibe to it, all the effects are practical and very effective. I’ve seen some complaints about the wolf costume itself and I think you’ll either love it or think it’s terrible. It reminded me of The Howling crossed with Gremlins. It’s elegantly filmed, pacey and has some great suspense scenes and gore.
OVERALL SUMMARY
There’s a new wolf in town in this enjoyable retro thriller
