Game of Werewolves (2011) User Reviews

Pretty good Spanish horror/comedy in which the sympathetic starring goes back to his village and finds amazing surprises

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 10 July 2013]

This Spanish horror/comedy Game of Werewolves has been heralded as as "A Spanish Shaun of the Dead, only with Werewolves¨. "Attack of the Werewolves¨ or ¨Lobos De Arga¨ is a Spanish language film and an entertaining one at that . ¨1910, in a remote village, a terrible curse has fallen on the evil Marchioness of Marino and her son transforming him into a bloodthirsty werewolf who preys on the residents of the village¨. One hundred years on , the only male descendant of the Marino family , returns his village . After 15 years, Tomas (Gorka Otxoa) , a not very successful writer, comes back to the village in Galicia where his family comes from , Arga , apparently to get an award . He returns home to a warm welcome from the villagers but things aren't quite what they seem. After a century of being terrorized by the vicious werewolf, they plan to break the curse by sacrificing him 100 years to the day when the original curse fell . But he doesn't know the real reason why he is there, to end with an old curse that is been haunting the village for the last hundred years . At the village he meets an old friend (Carlos Areces) , his editor (Secun de la Rosa) , the priest (Manuel Manquiña) and a bit later on appears his grandmother (Mabel Rivera) . The village of Arga has been cursed and it is up to Tomás to remove this affliction . The townsfolk need his blood and his sacrifice in order to remove the curse .

This title blends horror elements with comedy , tongue-in-cheek and action ; so, the tone of the film is light-hearted . Lobos De Arga knows many forms, this film has also been called Game of Werewolves and Attack of the Werewolves which is the United Kingdom title ; if one directly translates the Spanish title into English, then it becomes the much simpler Werewolves of Arga . It's a veritable buffet of the cream of recent Spanish horror plenty of action , laughs , and werewolves attacks . Likable acting by Gorka Otxoa as Thomas , an unsuccessful writer lured out to a remote rural village who must defeat the villagers and pit his wits against a violent beast in . Enjoyable main cast and agreeable support actors deliver one of the most engaging, hysterical, action packed and wonderfully shot werewolf movies in years . Intriguing and thrilling musical score by Sergio Moure who has demonstrated his particular talent on dark atmospheres such as ¨The Body¨, ¨Thesis on a homicide¨ and ¨Kidnapped¨ . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Carlos Ferro , showing splendidly Galician sets . This Spanish horror-comedy Attack of the Werewolves was much praised by critics as well as public during its European festival run . The motion picture was originally made by director/writer Juan Martínez Moreno who formerly directed "A Good Man" and "Two Tough Guys" . He clearly demonstrates sound knowledge of the genre he deconstructs with heartfelt accuracy . Rating : Good , above average . Well worth watching .

Wolves of Arga

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 1 December 2012]

I guess the normal title wasn't fancy enough, so they decided to spice it up for the international market. Unfortunately the movie didn't make enough money in Spain (as the director told the audience in attendance at the Festival I watched the movie). So a Sequel/Prequel is not very likely. Still if you like horror comedies, you will enjoy this one too, for exactly those things.

It's not a movie with a lot of weight or a lot to say, it's just entertaining and a nice way to pass the time. The characters are good and the story moves along quite nicely too. Some jokes might have more meaning in Spanish, but you will get quite a lot with the subtitles too. I'm sure this director has a few other funny things up his sleeve for the future.

A Solid Entry in the Werewolf Sub-genre

[Becks_Hush · 7/10 · 17 November 2017]

Foreign horror - it's always somewhat less regarded against the Hollywood machine and yet when we think of films from other shores there's a recurring theme: they are, for the most part, FANTASTIC. And thankfully are growing an ever faithful audience. Whether it be a comedy horror, a splatter fest or an hardcore horror there's something for everyone.

Werewolf films, certainly good ones are not always easy to find and Game of is easily one of the best, beautifully fusing humour and horror into one.

Synopsis: After 15 years, Tomas, a not very successful writer, comes back to the village in Galicia where his family comes from, Arga, apparently to get an award. But he doesn't know the real reason why he is there, until it's too late...

Immediately what springs to mind is that the three main characters: Gorka Otxoa, Carlos Areces and Secun de la Rosa are fun, interesting warm characters with heart and soul. A rarity since some characters in horror you delight in their grisly deaths -

These guys aren't those. As funny as they are, clearly there's a real bond between the actors/ characters that comes through and makes them joyful to watch.

Equally the setting of the film based in one small place means there is ample opportunity to create long dark spaces, dimly lit chambers with golden candlelight as a guide and atmospherical surroundings. All of which are done to blistering swell effect,

Speaking of effect/s I'd be remiss to forget the creature make up. How nice it is to see largely practical effects. Yes I don't mind CGI but there's something altogether more charming about practical old school effects, sure there's some CGI but it's really not that noticeable I feel.

The humour is fantastic, there's so many moments that are laugh out loud; the finger scene is ridiculously funny and it never tries too hard to make us laughing coming across with a natural flair.

And it must be said the final twist is a fun howler!

I dislike reviews comparing this to Shaun of the Dead this is both different and interesting without the need for comparisons.

Want a good werewolf flick? Check this out and as far as foreign horror goes this is an hilariously Spanish jab at the werewolf sub genre.

Naschy would have been proud.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 11 October 2015]

The death of Paul Naschy in 2009 marked the end of an era for fans of Spanish horror; no longer would legendary lycanthrope Waldemar Daninsky prowl the countryside terrorising simple villagers. Still, it would be just a mere two years before the Spanish hills were alive again with the sound of howling, director Juan Martínez Moreno's 2011 comedy/horror Attack of the Werewolves delivering not just one baying beast, but a whole slew of slavering hairy horrors ready to rip unwary Iberians to shreds.

Gorka Otxoa stars as writer Tomás Mariño, who is lured back to his childhood village of Arga by desperate locals hoping to break the 100-year-old curse that has seen them plagued by a ravenous werewolf. By sacrificing Tomas, a direct descendant of the woman who incited the curse, they hope to end the monster's reign of terror, but their plan backfires, resulting in an even worse curse befalling them.

With the balance tipped more in the favour of comedy than horror, this one might not be best suited to those seeking a truly terrifying time, especially considering the rather long wait before the first werewolf makes an appearance. Fortunately, there are just about enough decent laughs to keep matters trundling along until the werewolfery kicks in, after which the fun really begins, with a narrow escape from a tunnel via the use of a decaying corpse, a very amusing scene involving severed fingers and a hungry dog, and a great finale which features numerous leaping werewolves (these are extremely athletic monsters) and a smattering of gore.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Beware, the werewolves are all around!

[mario_c · 7/10 · 27 February 2012]

Tomas (played by Gorka Otxoa) is a writer that hasn't found many success in Madrid, so in order to get some inspiration, he decides to spend some days back to the village where did grow up, Arga, a very small town in Galicia. When he arrives there, everything seems to be peaceful and calm like it always was. However, Tomas didn't know about an old curse that haunts his family, but he will find it out on the worst way…

It's a horror comedy about werewolves set in Galicia (northwest of Spain) and it's really funny, hilarious at parts. As the director (Juan Martinez Moreno) said in FANTASPORTO (film festival in Oporto) it doesn't pretend to be a satire or a parody to this kind of horror films but an homage to this cinema, especially done in the 80's. Some of the jokes are really great. Technically this movie is also well done, as it has very "decent" special effects. The plot is simple but captivating and the acting is good too. I easily score it 7/10.

More comedy than horror, but quite funny.

[krachtm · 7/10 · 19 October 2012]

First of all, I'd like to say that I appreciate someone trying to return some manner of bestial ferocity to mythological creatures. For those of us tired of melodramatic art movements, like Gothic Romanticism, it's a breath of fresh air to see a monster who, for once, isn't sexy and erotic.

On the other hand, this is still an ode to Gothic horror -- it just has all the soap opera parts ripped out and replaced with black humor. So, if you're expecting a radically different approach, then I think you'll be a bit disappointed.

The plot is straight out of a Lovecraft or Poe tale, and, indeed, it name-drops both authors halfway through the story. The setup is pretty standard for Gothic horror: a small, rural village; a cursed bloodline; a horrible secret; and, of course, a large mansion. Still, the tropes are used well, making for an engaging and frequently funny story. The humor is very black -- think more like Re-Animator than Evil Dead. Unlike An American Werewolf in London, the comedy part dominates the movie, with little time actually given to gore, horror, or special effects. Of course, this is understandable, given the small budget, but it would have been nice to see more horror, at least.

a horror comedy you should definitely sink your teeth into

[chrichtonsworld · 16 February 2013]

Now this is a horror comedy you should definitely sink your teeth into.No pun intended.Lobos de Arga is an example where horror and comedy are nicely balanced and is filled with surprises and twists.It also doesn't shy away from showing blood and gore.The werewolves portrayed don't mess about.There is a genuine threat coming from the werewolves which is good since visually they might not be the most convincing or scary.Through their fierceness and actions however it becomes clear these are proper monsters (in your face Twilight).Lobos de Arga is a fast paced film but has a good build up where it sets up the mood and ambiance first before the craziness takes the upper hand.How crazy?Well,so much is happening,I would not know where to begin.Take my word for it you will root for the characters and at the same time laugh at them because of some of the events they have to go through.The main characters are extremely likable including the Jack Russel named Vito.What are you waiting for go see this at once.A must watch!

Bloody funny

[one9eighty · 7/10 · 12 August 2015]

"Lobos de Arga" A slow starter but well worth the investment, this Spanish film is "Shaun of the Dead" meets "Wolfman" and doesn't fail to deliver. Don't be put off by the subtitles because the narrative and acting in this is great, very tongue in cheek and dead pan at times but thoroughly enjoyable, you won't need to be a foreign film fan to be able to enjoy this. 100 years after a curse a young writer travels back home to the village of Agra, where he intends to pick up an award and the freedom of the village. Tomás is the writer who thinks he is to be honoured when in fact he is the direct descendant of the werewolf curse. The truth is the that villagers intend to use him to end the century old curse. Can Tomás escape or will the werewolf curse prove to be the alpha ingredient to total blood lust and carnage? Plenty of black humour, plenty of blood and guts, nods to famous horror classics, lots of fun, definitely worth a watch.

The Spanish countryside has a hairy secret...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 6 August 2013]

Alright, well Spanish director Juan Martínez Moreno comes out of nowhere with this movie and totally breathes life into an otherwise stale werewolf genre.

Don't let the fact that "Lobos de Arga" is a Spanish werewolf movie throw you off, because this movie is awesome. Just as what "Shaun of the Dead" was to the zombie genre and "Lesbian Vampire Killers" was to the vampire genre, then "Lobos de Arga" steps up and puts a much needed comedy twist to the genre.

"Lobos de Arga" is the story about Tomás Mariño (played by Gorka Otxoa) who travels to his old childhood village, thinking he is about to be celebrated for his slight fame as an author. Little does he know that the village is plagued by a hundred year old curse where a werewolf is rampart, and that his bloodline is needed to end the curse.

The story was actually good and managed to incorporate enough comedy without it turning into a laugh-fest. And the amount of comedy that was here was used at all the right places, with funny comments, funny events and effects.

As for the people hired for the various roles, then I will say that people did surprisingly good jobs with their given roles and characters. And there was a lot of cool and interesting details to the characters and much witty banter in the dialogue.

The effects in the movie were really great as well, and the werewolves looked really cool. Even the transformation scenes were great, despite being a bit 'simplistic' by today's possibilities of CGI effects. But it worked out well, because it had that late 1980's werewolf transformation feel to it. And it was just right on the money.

Being a Spanish movie, of course the dialogue is in Spanish, but it shouldn't be a thing to scare away the audience, because they will lack out on a great movie.

"Lobos de Arga" is a great movie that you owe to yourself to watch, especially if you enjoy werewolf movies, and/or enjoyed "Shaun of the Dead" or "Lesbian Vampire Killers".

This movie gets a 7 out of 10 rating from me. You shouldn't be missing out on this particular Spanish gem.

Funny and scary

[sim-sean · 8/10 · 2 May 2020]

I watched this twice ~ when it was released and again, now after 9 years. Still laughed as loud as I did the first time round. The characters were a bunch of bumbling fools, but the type that you kept rooting for to survive. Some good scares and gore but in done in a good B-movie way. Great popcorn movie, and a nice way to enjoy the evening. Definitely worth the rental.

Seriously funny, seriously scary

[Chris_Docker · 8/10 · 10 April 2012]

Director Juan Martinez Morena (LOBOS DE ARGA) complains that he's tired of seeing vampires and werewolves that are 'cool and f**kable.' He wants monsters you can believe in when you go to bed at night. Not the Bugs Bunny horror of CGI that couldn't fool a five-year old. His werewolves will have maximum special effects and stunts but minimum computer graphics. With a limited budget (much of which went on hair from China), Moreno dishes up a picture that is by turns seriously scary and seriously funny. Meet Thomas, a hapless failed writer who holes up in his parental village of Galicia, Northern Spain. A hundred years ago, his great grandmother cursed the village after abducting and forcing a gypsy to procreate with her. Thomas doesn't know a werewolf is out to get him. He doesn't know the villagers are out to get him. Mayhem ensues. But with a cutting edge comedy narrative you'd better examine yourself for bruises after you leave the cinema. When you laugh that hard, it's easy to forget the damage from where you kept jumping out of your seat. Lobos de Arga is a frank and sincere homage to movies such as An American Werewolf, and swooped the audience awards at the Edinburgh Dead by Dawn horror film festival to come first in competition.

A masterpiece except for the detail it is not signed by Polansky.

[MAstilleroF · 10/10 · 6 January 2021]

If this film had been signed by Blake Edwards, Wilder or Polanski, and it had been shot in English in a lost village in Romania, instead of Juan Martínez having shot it in Spanish around Santiago de Compostela, we would be talking about a masterpiece.

Thanks so much to Juan Martínez.

Scary, humorous, surprising twists and very fitting music score

[JvH48 · 8/10 · 25 October 2012]

I saw this film as part of the Imagine film festival (SF/fantasy/horror) Amsterdam 2012. All classical ingredients for a horror movie were included: old buildings, isolated village, an ancient curse, main character related to cursed family, no outside help to be expected, and so on. Nevertheless, entertaining throughout, due to a perfect mix of humor and tension. This combination works out perfectly to fill up a feature film length (97 min).

Music was classical/symphonic with low bass strings on one hand, and non-classical parts on the other hand. Nice contrast working out very well at appropriate places.

Surprising twists throughout. In short: expect the unexpected at all times. Even when you think you can predict what follows, something else happens. This film ranked 10th for the audience award, with an average score of 8.08/10.

The greatest werewolf movie since many, many full moons!

[Coventry · 8/10 · 20 April 2012]

Newly released horror movies like "Game of Werewolves" boost up my confidence, hope and enthusiasm that the genre isn't – contrary to popular belief – dead and buried just yet! Even allegedly exhausted and old-fashioned themes, like for example werewolves, can still result in refreshingly original and terrific films; it all just depends on dedicated cast and crew members that demonstrate an obvious respect and worship towards the genre. Heck, "Game of Werewolves" even proves that it's very well possible to make a horror effort that is scary and gross but simultaneously funny and light-headed. Writer/director Juan Martínez Moreno, together with his excellent ensemble cast and crew, clearly has the right attitude towards the horror genre and obviously knows his classics. When he was present at the Brussels Festival of Fantastic Films to introduce the movie to the audience, he stated that he was fed up – like all the rest of us or at least me – with the nowadays portrayal of werewolves and intended to make them iconic monsters again. "Game of Werewolves" is first and foremost an ode to the legendary classic Universal horror movies, in terms of storytelling and atmosphere, and the immortal lycanthrope hits of the 1980's in terms of special effect and transformation make-up ("American Werewolf in London" and "The Howling" of course). I'm usually very skeptic when directors claim they want to revive traditional horror values, but Moreno is one of the first directors who actually deliver their promise! Straight from the moodily narrated opening sequences, you just know the film will be a genuine treat! The narration, guided by neat drawings, tells us about a malignant Duchess who lived in a small Galician town around the year 1900. She desperately wanted to have a child, but her husband couldn't give it to her, so she kidnapped and male-raped a handsome gypsy male that traveled through the region. After she was impregnated, the Duchess ordered the villagers to slaughter the father as well as his entire gypsy community to eliminate any link with the boy's father. Just before dying, one of the gypsy women cursed the Duchess and foretold that her son would turn into a werewolf at the age of 10 and he would terrorize the village for all eternity. The only way for the curse to break would be the sacrifice of a direct descendant of the Duchess. More than a century later, Tomas – a debuting author with a severe case of writer's block – retires to the area to work about a new novel. Little does he know that his great-aunt was the evil Duchess and that he will serve as werewolf bait to lift up the curse. This short description actually just illustrates a very brief part of the film. The story is much more convoluted and elaborated, but it's too much of a joy to discover yourself. Just know that the screenplay is very well-structured, coherent and waterproof. All the main characters are extremely likable, which is also a rare quality to encounter in horror movies, and there's a masterful interchange of sequences that are downright hilarious (the finger!) and sequences that are good old-fashioned scary and tense (the unfolding of the subsequent curse). The finale is grotesque and outrageous without becoming ridiculous and the unpretentiousness of it all is a great added value. The filming locations and scenery are perfect and hallelujah for the special effects. Damn all them films like "Twilight", "Underworld" and whatever else to hell… "Game of Werewolves" is the real stuff!

Really great Spanish comedy-horror

[Red-Barracuda · 8/10 · 5 August 2014]

The sub-genre known as the horror-comedy is one that, to say the very least, has produced quite a lot of uneven films. Most often, the horror is diluted by the comedy or the laughs are too lame. Every so often, though, a movie comes along which gets the balance just right. Attack of the Werewolves is such a film. It begins quite excellently, with a voice over giving us the historical back-story over a series of very beautiful drawings. After that we are right into the story about a writer who returns to his ancestral family village only to discover a curse involving bloodthirsty werewolves.

This really is a skillful mix of frights and laughs. The former is provided by the title monsters, helped by some nice atmosphere and tension. The latter is provided by a genuinely amusing script with several funny lines and additionally some hilarious sight gags – in particular, look out for the finger/dog scene. The cast all acquit themselves very well, the only one I recognised was Carlos Areces who played the writers old friend, I last seen him play the Sad Clown in the insane comedy The Last Circus from cult director Álex de la Iglesia.

This is overall a very refreshingly good film about a traditional monster type. It deserves far more people to see it.

A genre's landmark entry

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 10/10 · 26 October 2012]

Assumed to be returning to his rural home-town to continue work on a new novel, a struggling writer learns that his trip was by design and intended to lift a monstrous curse on the residents of the area and must battle it's deadly effects in order to escape.

This here manages to be one of the more enjoyable and entertaining efforts in the genre in a long, long time and is thus one of the newest classics to be included. One of the best aspects to this one is the utterly enjoyable plot that reeks of old-school Gothic flair updated to modern times, containing a gypsy curse on a small town, the secretive nature of the village regarding the contents of the curse, the oblivious bloodline and the village itself looking like a relic from a Hammer film out in the wilderness and provided a perfect backdrop for the settings to occur. On top of that, the film introduces a vicious and incredibly imposing villain in the main werewolf down in the crypt which is just utterly chilling and gets a stand-out sequence to introduce it in front of the man and his frightened friend. Though, the film really hits it's stride in the second half with the introduction of a second curse that results in the last third of the film and gets some incredibly fun sequences together that have more of a horror edge to it and dropping the comedy. Not that the comedy isn't good, but for once is actually a lot of fun and truly hilarious, with word-play and sight gags combined together to create several riotous scenes that mesh well together with the more serious tone in the rest of the film. Combined with truly spectacular werewolf make-up and a frenetic pace that's never really boring at all, this one is one of the all-time top werewolf films.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and violence-against-animals.

Fun, fun, fun :)

[natcarr-74-27114 · 9/10 · 6 August 2013]

As you can probably tell from my title, I loved this movie. People have described it as Spain's answer to Shaun of the Dead. This is fairly accurate as far as the entertainment quota goes, and its about as scary as Shaun of the Dead too (1), but the plot not a SOTD rip off. Calling it SOTD only with werewolves is lazy. It deserves to be discussed on it's own merits.

The movie is subtitled which, while never being ideal, doesn't ruin the fun(2). There are a lot of laugh out laugh moments which tells you that is it a genuinely funny script. The characters are great fun and nicely rounded(3). The humour is a bit school boyish, but that never stopped The Young Ones or The Inbetweeners being a hit did it. There's even a plucky pet dog who gets a lot of action and earns a couple of belly laughs.

The werewolves are possibly a tiny bit too "man in fluffy costume" but I admire the director's take on FX vs CGI. Would a CGI werewolf been any better??? No. I very much doubt they had a Lord of The Rings style CGI budget to blow on this movie. Anyway, this movie isn't really about the horror, its an "badult" comedy adventure.

Another minor problem could be the lack of a sexy heroine, but to be honest there are plenty of pure comedic genius moments to take your mind of that(4) and lets face it she'd have been wasted on us non Spanish speakers because we'd be too busy reading the subtitles! All told, Lobos de Arga well worth blowing 90 minutes in front of the TV and I'm planning on getting the DVD (5) too. Enjoy yourself, this movie certainly gets my seal of approval.

(1) - Shaun of the Dead was not Scary. It was a total laugh though. So is Lobos De Arga! (2) - I want to watch a movie. Not miss it while reading the script! Dubbing is an under-rated tool that allows the viewer to revel in the production values of the movie - kinda important if its a horror movie! Lobos De Arga has scenes in old churches and underground tunnels which I loved to check out the scenery but I'm stuck reading the script, admittedly a very funny script but come on! I want my cake and I wanna eat it! (3) - Look out for the hamster joke! (4) - The dutch Horror comedy Kill Zombie! did have a super sexy kick ass heroine. I quite liked Kill Zombie! BUT Lobos De Arga knocks it out of the park as far fun goes.

(5) - Is there a blu ray version? Highly unlikely is my guess, more is the pity!

Not the Best Horror Comedy Ever; but the Second Best this Year

[miltruiz506 · 9/10 · 3 December 2012]

I'm a big fan of horror comedy since I first saw Young Frankenstein. This movie is not quite as funny as Pirannah 3DD, and not as badass, just because seeing Ving Rhames say "I ain't scared of no punkass water," or "BRING ME MY LEGS!" just puts a movie on the HNL of badassery; but it has a plot and dialogue that makes it entertaining enough. Contrasting that to the one Hollywood alternative that has a werewolf in it, which is the Twilight quadrupleogy? Is that what you call it when you make a trilogy into four movies to sell more tickets? Anyways, I have seen this movie panned for the special effects; but I've seen films such as Exorcist: The Beginning, that had a much larger budget and spent a great deal of it on really crappy CGI. The werewolves look just fine as monsters to me, and the wire work was decent. If I were the producer/director,with a few millions more in the budget, I could have made a movie with better production value, and even a better aesthetic (like making the werewolves more wolfish; but faulting a director for not having enough money is not his fault. The unemployment rate in Spain right now is so high, that it amazes me an armed revolution has not taken place yet over there, and obviously working in film production must not be easy, and like seriously, I know a couple of girls that are Twilight fans, and they both told me Breaking Dawn part 2 sucked). Still, this film was very engaging and interesting story, so much so, that you will tend to forgive the plot holes.