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15 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable, But Still One of the Most Blatant Rip-Offs, 14 May 2008
5/10
Author: Chad Kuhns from United States

I'm certain this will not be the only review of this film that will declare this, but this film, while enjoyable by the standards set by Sci-Fi channel movies, is one of the most unabashed rip-offs of a film I have ever seen.

To confirm what others have said, YES, this film does indeed borrow every single plot device imaginable from the 80's classic, Fright Night. It does this to such an obvious extent, that it makes the movie hard to enjoy on certain levels. First and foremost, there is no real suspense, or even curiosity when you can instantly tell that you have seen everything about this movie once before. It follows the Fright Night blueprint so closely, that anyone who remembers anything about FN will instantly be able to guess ahead as to where this movie is headed.

This may have been made as an ode to Fright Nite, but no such declaration is ever made, leaving me to believe that it is simply the result of a lack of imagination, and originality on the part of the filmmakers.

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17 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
It may be a blatant rip-off of Fright Night, but Never Cry Werewolf is still plenty of fun, 1 June 2008
8/10
Author: Marty Brooks from South Carolina

I usually don't like rip-offs to popular movies. Never Cry Werewolf happens to be an exception. For a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, it's well acted and made (Kevin Sorbo's role was unexpected and hilarious). Nina Dobrev, the young actress who played the lead role, was one of the best parts of the film. Not only is she sexy, she managed to carry the film throughout its 87 minute length (2 hours if you include commercials). Well, I enjoyed it very much. It felt very much like an old 80s horror film - fun, entertaining,some scares and plenty of humor. The film, while it does have some moments where you see blood, really isn't that bloody or gory. The gore scale is kept to a minimum. Which is for the best, I never can get into all the torture porn horror movies that are released just about every week. I have become ineffective against high amounts of graphic violence and gore.

Paul Jones handled the special makeup and creature effects in the film. Before this, he's done two other werewolf films that I know of: The original Ginger Snaps and the ABC Family Original Movie Nature of the Beast (which was also good but a little bit too goofy).

Never Cry Werewolf reminded me of both Fright Night and Disturbia.

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13 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Immensely Enjoyable!, 14 May 2008
8/10
Author: Relaets from United States

First note that I have different scales for Sci-Fi Channel Originals and regular movies - an 8 for this movie does not mean the same as an 8 for what you would go to the theaters to see. But amongst sci-fi channel movies, this was a classic!

The characters were more or less believable, acting was okay, Kevin Sorbo was DELIGHTFUL as always, save for a few spots the special effects were pretty decent, some funny parts, some scary-ish parts (in a kid sort of way), all making for one very fun to watch movie.

Only complaints were, 1, it looks like it was shot in 1980 or so, you know, with the kind of off lighting and low quality image; 2, the middle 30 minutes or so really seem to drag on; and 3, some of the werewolf shots are really bad, in one I actually got confused and thought the werewolf was a trick or treater wearing a really bad costume, because (I kid you not) you could actually see that he was wearing a monster glove, because you could see where it stopped and his real arm began.

Overall, if you think you can overlook its flaws, and if you like some of the other sci-fi channel movies, you'll probably like this one. If not, stay away.

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10 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Not Bad, 12 May 2008
5/10
Author: wsmith-26 from Ventura, California

jdanvers is correct, a small part of the plot resembles Dracula. However, this movie more closely resembles "Fright Night". Here's why. Kid notices something is wrong with next door neighbor, and comes to realize neighbor is a werewolf (ok, in Fright Night the neighbor is a vampire). Nobody will believe the kid. So, the kid enlists a wacky TV star to help destroy the monster. In fact, the movie is almost a remake, just substitute werewolf for vampire.

Having said that, I actually enjoyed this movie. The actors were attractive, the plot moved rather well, and the actor playing the werewolf was pretty good. The special effects weren't horrible, although I don't understand why the werewolf always breathed and drooled all over the intended victims for extended periods until they managed to get away.

Overall, you could do a lot worse, especially for a Sci Fi Channel original.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Not too bad...., 27 September 2008
6/10
Author: childofkorn13 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

*****WARNING!!!! SPOILERS!!!! **************

This movie wasn't that bad, but I don't think it was that great either. In most films, werewolves are portrayed as hungry, psychotic animals that just wish to rip the hell out of everything and everyone in its' path. I actually enjoy those films, but it's nice to see a little bit more than that. Peter Stebbings' portrayal of the werewolf was perfect. He managed to be both seductive and dangerous, sly but crazy, all by the simple cock of his head or squint of his eye. He radiated with sexual tension that made his character very addicting. Nina Dobrev was equally as charming. I enjoyed her innocence, curiosity, and her childish fights with her brother. The werewolf was supposed to have found his soul-mate in her, but the whole premise reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood. It was a cute story, but it didn't focus as much on that relationship as I would have liked. Throughout the film, I began to feel that something was missing and wanted to see more interactions between Jared and Lauren. I thought the scene where Lauren is in the gun shop looking for weapons and a fight erupts, involving Jared's dog, is just too far-fetched and kind of ridiculous. Being underage, Lauren shouldn't even be in a gun shop, picking out any kind of weapon, even though she is with the chicken-delivery boy. And what kind of a person starts a ferocious fight in the middle of a crowded store..especially in a store that sells guns!! What did they think the outcome would be? I don't mind cheesiness, so I didn't expect exotic special effects, but there were some scenes that I just laughed at. I already knew the outcome of the story and would have loved to see it end a different way. I would have enjoyed the movie much, much more had the ending not been so predictable. So, I do recommend this film, if you're home to watch it. It had its' moments and those moments kept me watching. So, ENJOY!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Better than it should be, 23 May 2008
Author: slayrrr666 (slayrrr666@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles, Ca

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Never Cry Werewolf" is a really nice and impressive werewolf film with a few nice surprises.

**SPOILERS**

Moving into the neighborhood, Jared Martin, (Peter Stebblings) meets up with Loren Hansett, (Nina Dobrey) and her brother Kyle, (Spencer Van Wyck) who welcome him into the neighborhood. Although everyone else around her takes an instant shine to him, she has a nagging feeling about him that she thinks isn't right. The more she watches him across the house, the more she thinks he's a werewolf but despite going online for help, no one believes her story. After getting his friend Steven Kepkie, (Sean O'Neill) onto her side, a confrontation at a hardware store manages to get the attention of Redd Tucker, (Kevin Sorbo) the host of a local hunting show to believe her as well, and realizing that all of their actions have provoked the beasts' fury, they try to put an end to it's rampage before he takes them all out.

The Good News: This was a relatively fun and enjoyable werewolf film. That the beginning of the film is so fun is due to the fact that it's strongly set-up by a fantastic story. This one builds up a really nice and effective mystery with many different kinds of great moves. The film decides to have the revelation come early in the story and that propels long segments devoted to the mystery, actually getting time to do something about it and responds with some great scenes. From the scenes of her spying from a distance, which are pretty creepy as they actually run with her seeing the killings first before doing the normal ones where he does nothing, allowing the film to run with the fantastic notion of her looking through history, from the internet, movies and books and trying to match what has been learned on the actual events, which is fun and quite interesting. The film's really deliberate pacing also produces the fact, and with a couple horror scenes spread throughout the plot allow it to use them in building up the mystery. Some of them, consisting of attacks that are witnessed from afar, are quite well with the several on the prostitutes early on being really good, and once it moves away, either out into the neighborhood or to the hardware store, it doesn't get worse with some top-notch action displayed in both scenes. The hardware store encounter is really fun since it comes with a better revelation than could've hoped for, a really tense stalking scene and some really helpful gore thrown in. It's all apart of the film's best part, it's last half-hour. This is really great, packed with action and fun confrontations, a couple moments of suspense and some more bloodshed thrown in. The rest of the gore in here is not bad either, as there's a clawed hand punched through a stomach from behind, slashed across the stomach, chest, neck and face, bites on the arms and shoulders and a complete meltdown to skin and bones, plus the wonderfully gory way that the lead werewolf is taken out in. The last bit here that works is the werewolf design, suggesting a powerful, intimidating creature with a massive build, large claws, huge fangs and a really memorable-looking snout, giving it more of wolf-like look than most other designs. It's really one of the best ones ever, and should've been shown off more. These here are the film's best points.

The Bad News: This one here doesn't have too many flaws to it. The most pressing, but not-detrimental case against this one is the fact that the beginning of this is played out straight from other films nearly verbatim, and the fact that it's done in such a way allows it to be so obvious that it's ripping them off is something that will put some off. The fact that the film decides to hold off the werewolf until the end is something that is a crime, since the design is so great and memorable, that not being able to see it during the film is a real shame. This, of course, is due to the film's biggest flaw, the slow-building mystery. Because it's so strong and well-thought-out, it has to have a lot to be able to get all of it out to the audience and that means that most of the beginning half of the film is merely exposition. It can get dull since its about the mystery and gathering evidence, and the amount of time doing so is where the lesser time with the werewolf comes from, since it's so great and really deserved to be featured more. The longer build-up also forces the film into less, and shorter, action scenes as well. There isn't a whole lot of confronting the werewolf in here, and the few encounters, up until the ending at least, are all quite shorter than they should be, and are should've been dragged out a little more. These here are all that the film does wrong.

The Final Verdict: A fairly fun werewolf entry, with a fun story and a bunch of good parts to it that makes it rather interesting. Give it a shot if you can get over the similarities or are in the mood for a rather fun and light-hearted werewolf romp, otherwise stick to the others in the genre for a more-traditional werewolf fix.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Make the movie you want to--not just the one you can!!, 13 May 2008
4/10
Author: alanrayford from Detroit, Michigan

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

In 1981 John Landis brought the seminal werewolf film, An American Werewolf in London, to theatres. It wasn't received well, but it has since gone on to become a classic by which all others in the genre are to be judged. Why? Simple, Landis held out for his shooting star. He had a working script for the movie in the sixties, but no one would touch it. That's why he paid his dues and cut his teeth acting in crap films and directing movies like the Blues Brothers and Animal House. After he paid his dues he was finally given cart blanche to do his werewolf film, and it rocked.

I bring this up because this movie was the bail of hay which broke this camel's back. I am a huge fan of the genre and every year horror movies seem to get dumber and dumber. Movies like Never Cry Werewolf don't help--not at all. When you have a million dollar idea, you don't try to get by on a buck ten.

The story was flat out bad. Nina Dobrev's character sees one hooker and the next thing you know she's breaking out the silver like she lived in Lower East Proctor. Seriously, WTF? Why didn't her younger brother think it was weird that a grown man, a stranger would give him a ride to school on a motorcycle? For that matter, why didn't his mom, his sister, or anyone else? Also, I'm just curious, but why did the werewolf's dog turn into one of the skinless mutts from Resident Evil at a gunshow, and in broad daylight. Why did the werewolf even have a dog?

The special effects were laughable. A sex criminal has three red lines on his neck, yet is said to have had his throat torn the Hell out. The werewolf looked like a pretty bad ass bear skin rug and was every bit as animated. Aren't lycnathropes supposed to be mobile? Why did the kid who was bitten look more like a tall Ghoulie than and actual lycanthropic understudy, and was that spine thing glued onto his shirt.

Th acting was, well the acting wasn't half good, but it wasn't half bad either. In a more ambitious flick any deficits in the actors performance might have shown, but that was not the case here. Nina Dobrev, Greg Calderone, Peter Stebbings, and Kevin Sorbo did what they could and it wasn't much because this film was doomed. This brings me to my next point.

People look at the horror genre nowadays and laugh. It is dominated by some of the most God awful films you'll ever see. I love horror films, but the preponderance of bad ones is destroying their marketability. I would be more understanding, but there are the Ginger Snaps films which prove a good horror movie can be made under the radar--and in Canada.

Bretton Spencer and John Sheppard--you two can do better than this. I honestly don'tsee how you couldn't. Sometimes you have an idea in your head and you can see it so vividly, but end up having to compromise because someone else is footing the bill. To this I say follow John Landis' example. Pay your dues and bide your time honing your craft. This way you may be able to have a hand in creating a truly memorable horror film. Maybe that way you can actually make the movie you want to--not just the one you can!! I hope your next film is better and not another nail in the coffin of this genre.

To anyone else reading, I say this. Don't try to make what you can't afford the budget for. It will only end up hurting you and breaking your heart when your idea is turned to crap for all to see. Do the right movie for the right money. Hell, with a budget of just $30,000 you can make a damn good short which can get your foot in the door. Just stay true. Don't sell yourself short and make a movie like this.

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Ever seen Disney's Haunted Mansion? This is a darker version of that., 12 September 2009
1/10
Author: spongebobcheer from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! Its true. A werewolf thinks his neighbor is a reborn version of his past lover - - did I mention this neighbor is a teenager? Ew. SciFi needs to stop making its own films . . . they're just getting embarrassing. The blood looks cartoonish. (however, it does look graphic at times,) and the film just never really got exciting. And I don't understand, why they had to add a Indiana Jones 'like' character. That was just uneccessary. Especially when you found out his secret. *cough* *cough*

May I suggest if your looking for a film to scare you, make you feel like your being watched its not this one. Go see Orphan, or Drag me to Hell. Those are worth the money to go see in theaters, however, this movie, isn't worth the money you pay for cable.

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8 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Never cry werewolf too much like Fright Night, 13 May 2008
2/10
Author: poohtiger from United States

I agree with you about being a blatant rip off of Fright Night. I mean it even stages some of the same scenes the same way Night did. Like when he brings home the first girl and takes her upstairs and Loren can see them through her window. The woman screams and the lights go out.. I mean come on. It was too similar to Fright Night which is one of my favorites. And that movie is 23 years old. The producers should have just gone ahead and remade Night. If it wasn't for Nina Dobrev, this would be unwatchable. Even with her it's still pretty lame. Pass on this one. This is one of those movies that SCI-FI channel just loves to show, instead of airing classic good stuff.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
I liked this one for two reasons, 11 September 2009
7/10
Author: azcowboysingr from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I know...it's the most blatant rip-off of Fright Night imaginable...I can't understand how the writer wasn't sued for plagiarism...lol...BUT I liked it for two reasons...both of which are attached to Nina Dobrev's chest...wowza!!! Actually, the acting was credible, the werewolf effects were well done, and Kevin Sorbo was delightful as the has-been TV star who, although a total phony, came through at the end as a genuine hero (Yes, Roddy McDowell did it better but then he was a GREAT actor, not just an competent actor)...In short, while no Academy Award winner, it was fun to watch. I'm going to add this one to my werewolf collection. At least, the werewolf looked good, not like that crummy chow-chow dog they used in American Werewolf in London...what a waste of film THAT one was!!!

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