It’s day 20, campers, and what would be a walk through horror cinema without a werewolf movie? With that in mind, today’s entry is the 2014 flick Late Phases. Ambrose McKinley (Nick Damici) is a blind Vietnam vet who moves into the secluded retirement community of Crescent Bay. On his first night there, he hears his neighbor being attacked by something, then he himself comes under attack, with the attacker mortally wounding his seeing eye dog. Ambrose is told that incidents like the attack are common in the community, with the police laying the blame on wild dogs. Naturally, these “dog attacks” seem to coincidentally occur during the full moon. Ambrose comes to realize something else must be behind the attacks, and takes steps to defend himself.
The movie offers a fresh take on the werewolf genre, especially with its blind protagonist in Ambrose. Having a werewolf prey on a senior citizens community at the fringe of the city near the woods works well. Director Adrian Garcia Bogliano (Scherzo Diabolico) doesn’t waste any time on showing us the monster, and gets quickly to the first vicious attack. Damici (Stake Land) gives us a very likeable character in Ambrose, despite his gruff manner. Other members of the cast are also good and include horror movie veterans like Lance Guest (Halloween II, Jaws: The Revenge) and Tom Noonan (Wolfen, Monster Squad, Hell on Wheels). The werewolf itself looks pretty good, as do the gore make-up effects. Late Phases proves to be an entertaining movie, and a nice addition to the list of great werewolf movies. Now showing on Netflix. 8/10 stars
