In the wake of 1969's Easy Rider there was a flood of low-budget biker flicks hitting the drive-ins throughout the early 70's. Werewolves On Wheels is one of those movies, but with enough of a twist to the premise that it turns out to be one of the more interesting cross-genre B-movies of the time. And while it's much too slender on horror (and werewolves for that matter!) and a bit too heavy on the "peace and love" philosophy of the time, it's still a completely watchable time that any fan of pre-80's low-budget cinema should add to their collection.

Even the opening shot of the movie resembles Easy Rider, simply in the fact it shows our motorbike gang tooling down a long stretch of desolate American highway. The gang is the "Devil's Advocates" (the same gang name and jean jackets were used in distributor Fanfare's The Losers a year prior) and they're just an unwashed looking bunch who are driving all over the country looking for a good time.

They're also looking to cause some havoc and that's obvious when they stop by a local gas station and harass the people getting gas beside them. After beating up one of them they retire to the store attached to the station which gives us one of many scenes of the gang generally being delinquent while one of the members known as "Tarot" (Duece Berry) gets all spiritual and attempts to broaden the gang's horizon and get them in touch with "Mother Earth".

While on their travels they come across a temple filled with robed figures and after they're given free wine and bread by them they all slip into a deep sleep. From there the leader of the mysterious monk-like followers, "The One" (Severn Darden, who's character spends most of the movie referring to himself in third person), kidnaps the gang leader's girlfriend and there's a big drawn-out Satanic ritual filled with chanting, cat sacrifice, blood dipped bread eating, and some naked dancing with a snake.

Seems, "The One", wants her for his masters bride and the gang doesn't agree. They beat on the cultists and take-off, little realizing that the ritual will soon cause some of them to turn into werewolves - from there the gang starts getting killed off as it leads to a finale that contains all the horror elements missing from the first two-thirds of the movie.

Werewolves On Wheels is a product of its time. It's loaded with scenes mimicking the "free spirit" movement of the time (there's many scenes of the gang dancing and taking drugs) and the script by David M. Kaufman and director Michel Levesque is pretty loose and all over the place. But it's generally well made, the at times organic sounding score by Don Gere (and the soundtrack of songs for that matter) is pleasing, and it has a fairly decent first werewolf attack. It does, however, feel like it's been padded with all the partying going on and multiple shots of the gang cruising along.

As a drive-in flick, this is curiously enjoyable stuff with okay monster effects and solid acting (Stephen Oliver is quite good as gang leader, Adam) - but if you're expecting a straight-out horror movie that cashes-in on the appealing title you might be a little bit disappointed. (Chris Hartley, 2/28/06)

Directed By: Michel Levesque.
Written By: David M. Kaufman, Michel Levesque.

Starring: Stephen Oliver, D.J. Anderson, Duece Berry, William Gray.

Picture Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: Wow! I must say Dark Sky have certainly impressed me with this release. Being the first title I've seen from this smaller distributor, I'm amazed at just how great they've made this low-budget 70's movie look. There's some mild print damage, but that's not a problem considering the rest of the transfer looks sharp (especially since this was long available only VHS looking dirty and worn-out) with minimal grain.

Extras: While the features here aren't overly substantial, they're a pleasing batch for fans of drive-in cinema.

There's a trailer (plus a trailer for The Losers), a photo gallery of posters and ads, 2 radio spots, and a listenable commentary with Levesque and Kaufman that's moderated by David Gregory of Blue Underground.

Visit Dark Sky Films for more info and to order.