Wolf Guy (1975) User Reviews

Japanese Action Werewolf

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 18 May 2017]

Sonny Chiba plays the only survivor of a clan of werewolves who relies on his feral, full-moon-activated superpowers to solve mysterious crimes. One night, a bizarre and bloody death in the Tokyo streets plunges him into a far-reaching conspiracy populated by crooked politicians, naked women, an invisible phantom tiger, and a shadowy organization known as the J-CIA.

Steve Kopian writes, "If you look up WTF in the dictionary, one of the top five definitions will be this film." He is not wrong. While this may not be one of he five most bizarre movies out there, it certainly makes every attempt. And if "weird" isn't your thing, there are also copious explosions and a great deal of gun play and squibs in the later scenes, evincing a definite Sam Peckinpah influence. So, there's that.

As author Bryan Senn points out, even though the title is "Wolf Guy", one of the strange things is that Chiba never actually becomes a wolf at all. He has his strength fluctuate based on the lunar cycle, and at its peak he can deflect bullets or even reverse the effects of being disemboweled. But at no point does he howl or even grow the slightest bit of hair.

If one person can be blamed for this bizarre mash-up, it must be writer Fumio Kônami (1933–2012). By this point in his career, he had already made a name for himself with "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion" (1972) and "New Battles Without Honor and Humanity" (1974), both of which are available in the United States thank to Arrow Video. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi's first impression upon being given the story was actually, "Is this worth making a movie out of?" Luckily someone said yes.

On top of all the awesome visuals, there is an unbelievably funky score that I need to have. As noted in other reviews, it would be great is Arrow (and others) would more frequently add a bonus music disc to their Blu releases. We need more love for the soundtracks, too.

For decades the film was presumed lost, and remains tragically little known. Thankfully, Arrow Video has brought it out of the depths and on to Blu-ray. They also give us new video interviews with actor Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba (14 minutes), director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (10 minutes), and producer Toru Yoshida (17 minutes).

So stylish at the start

[christopher-underwood · 5/10 · 5 June 2014]

This film is completely demented. It starts with great flourish, violence, gore and excitement with only a hint of just how over the top it will become. There is a semblance of story at the beginning, however, strange and there is a mystery for us to work out and much extreme violence to deal with.

As the film progresses, though, it begins to get a little bit silly and gradually story and suspense give way to increasingly stupid and facile action which would not have been out of place in a comic. So stylish at the start it is a crime that in the end bombs are being tossed about in some disused quarry.

More Chiba to Enjoy

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 10 August 2017]

Once more Arrow Video brings out a quality edition of a classic Sonny Chiba film for fans of the actor and Japanese cinema to enjoy. This time around Chiba stars in the title role as the Wolf Guy, the last in line of a family of werewolves who now works as a detective who stumbles into a strange occurrence in the big city.

It seems that victims of a mysterious killer end up running down the street screaming about a tiger chasing them. With no one visible they end up ripped to shreds by what appears to be just that, a tiger. Chiba chances upon a victim and begins to look into the case, trying to solve the murders and prevent any more from happening.

As the case progresses Chiba finds that there is more going on here than expected. Corrupt government officials, a murdered singer and a plot to capture him to discover the source of his powers by a secret government organization all come into play at one time or another. It should be noted before you check this movie out that Chiba never turns full werewolf like we are used to. Instead as the moon changes his powers of perception and strength increase instead.

The film may lose something in translation but that doesn't prevent it from being a fun movie to watch. I've said before that one of the great things about foreign films on disc is that you have the chance to witness the world of cinema through the eyes of another culture. That remains true with this release. That doesn't make it bad but it does help to understand why things are done the way they are.

Based on the Manga of the same name, the film has developed a cult following over the years. Unfortunately for fans they've never had a great experience with it since most copies haven't been what many would consider worthwhile. Arrow Video has changed all that with this release, offering a two disc set that includes both the DVD and blu-ray editions of the film. Finally fans can own a copy that allows them to see it in all of its glory.

Arrow has also piled on the extras here for fans like they always seem to do. Included this time are a new interview with actor Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, an interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, a new interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Wes Benscoter and for the first pressing only an illustrated collector's booklet. All of this make this version the one to have on hand for fans of Japanese cinema, Sonny Chiba and those looking for something different.

An Entertaining and Over-the-Top Gore Feast

[Michael_Elliott · 11 June 2017]

Wolf Guy (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Sonny Chiba plays a detective who also happens to be the last member of a family of werewolves. On the force he uses his wolf senses to help solve crimes but the latest group of murders he's trying to solve won't be easy. People are screaming into a madness talking about a "tiger" when the next thing you know their bodies are being ripped apart. It's up to Chiba to try and figure out exactly what's going on.

WOLF GUY is a film that pretty much came out of nowhere to me. I'm a fan of Arrow Video so when they announced it most people were scratching their heads as to what it was. If you're looking for downright bizarre and surreal movies then you've got exactly that with this thing. It's part horror movie, part gangster film, part crime, part sci-fi and just about every other genre out there. You've even got long running stretches where the plot deals with syphilis as if this was one of those nutty sexploitation movies from the era! There's a lot going on here but sadly the film runs out of gas before it's over but more on that in a bit. There's still plenty of great stuff on display here so recommending the film is easy.

For starters, you get some outrageous and over-the-top gore scenes here that will have any gore hound screaming in joy. The scenes of the bodies being ripped apart and blood spewing everywhere certainly would have gotten the film a X-rating had it been released in America. If you thought Chiba's THE STREET FIGHTER was violence you ain't seen nothing' yet! Of course, Chiba is martial arts master so there are a great number of scenes where he has to battle a variety of men. The stunts are well-done and there's no doubt that they add some extra entertainment value. The film also offers up a lot of nudity and some bizarre sex story lines.

As you can tell, WOLF GUY is pretty wild on all exploitation levels. With that said, the film's third act does run out of steam and there's a great stretch of running time where the violence stops. It's really too bad they didn't keep up the pulp level but at the same time there's no question that the film deserves to be better known.

A different kind of werewolf movie

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 2 October 2023]

Wolf Guy was a vehicle for popular Japanese action star Sonny China. I'm pretty much a novice concerning Japanese cinema, only have seen a handful of movies. This film in particular is more of a action piece than horror. Wolf Guy moves along pretty fast with some nice kung fu action, naked chicks and blood. A lot of blood! Sonny China has some nice Wolverine type of pork chops and hair like Mr. Brady. Wolf Guy was different than I expected and for a horror/action hybrid that is 90 percent action works on its own terms. As I stated before I have only seen a few Japanese movies and maybe 2 of those were Sonny China flicks. In any case, I thought Wolf Guy was cool and I will definitely watch it again.

It's fun

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 12 June 2023]

It's called Wolf Guy, but I feel like the main character is a guy far more often than he's a wolf, or even just showcasing some werewolf-like characteristics. The title does mislead a little by putting the wolf part first, and maybe it's on me for getting my hopes up that this action/crime/horror mash-up would have an investigator who turned into a werewolf more often while solving various murder cases. The wolf part plays a less in-your-face role in the movie, which is unusual, because the rest of the movie isn't shy about being very in-your-face.

I guess the horror elements are surprisingly underplayed, but as an action-heavy 1970s Japanese crime movie, it works pretty well. The action mostly satisfies, and there is thankfully a lot of it. Sonny Chiba could play this kind of role in his sleep, and he's great here as the lead character. The story also moves pretty quickly and provides a good deal of stuff in a runtime that doesn't exceed 90 minutes. If a scene here or there isn't working, it never lasts long, and the movie consistently pivots to new, crazy ideas, meaning that the movie's weak points never linger long enough to feel hugely detrimental.

If you want a crime thriller/action movie with a twist, Wolf Guy satisfies. Once again, I will say I wish there had been some more actual wolf stuff, but werewolf mythology is still incorporated in other ways throughout the film, and it's usually enough to make this stand out as a unique and worthwhile oddity within the broad (and exciting) pantheon of Japanese genre movies from the 70s.

How can a Sonny Chiba film be deprived of martial arts, so let's deprive the audience of the transformation scene.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 11 May 2020]

I saw this for the first time recently n I am totally surprised at the kind of bizarre stuff shown in this movie. Without having read the adult novel or the manga series and without having seen its prequel (Horror of the Wolf), I enjoyed this due to Sonny Chiba. They say its prequel has a transformation scene which is lacking in this one. We have a detective who is the last surviving werewolf n till the end we r deprived of a transformation scene. Since our detective is played by Sonny Chiba, there is tons of martial arts. We also have a girl who can kill people by jus thinking about their deaths and that too in a tiger fashion way of ripping the body apart. Now this is some serious X-woman stuff. This film has plenty of action, gory deaths, lots of nudity, over the top facial expressions of our dear Chiba n some bizarre stuff.

The Pinnacle of Film-Viewing

[Grethiwha · 8/10 · 8 May 2019]

After spending the better part of a decade doing very little with your life but watching movies, you eventually check out of life. You also lose all your interest in film as an artistic or storytelling medium, and shift your focus towards ever more cheap and schlocky bottom-shelf B-movies. Eventually, you arrive at Wolf Guy: Enraged Lycanthrope.

For those who would rather nothing more than to stare, braindead, at a screen through 90 minutes of gratuitous nudity, violence, martial arts, and random surgery, loosely held together by the most senseless werewolf narrative imaginable, this is the place.

The story goes that Shin'ichi Chiba one night witnesses a man apparently mauled to death by an invisible tiger after running through the street rambling incoherently about a tiger and a curse and a woman named Miki. A very non-threatening-looking tiger is superimposed on the screen briefly to suggest that Shin'ichi Chiba can see the tiger too, I guess.

Upon investigating the case further, he discovers that the woman, Miki, who cursed that guy with being mauled by said tiger, is actually a stripper who got syphilis, and the yakuza boss responsible for arranging her infection with syphilis is intentionally directing her tiger curses against his enemies by telling her they're the ones who gave her syphilis.

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with Chiba's character. Is he supposed to be a police detective investigating the maulings? I don't even know. Half way through the movie, we're informed that he's a werewolf. Presumably you knew that from reading the title, but it's easy to forget by that point. We're told on the 15th day of the lunar cycle, he will transform into a werewolf.

Well, "transform" is a stretch. No attempt is made to make him look like a werewolf. In the final climax, well, he just kind of jumps high and a funny sound effect plays when he jumps so you know he's changed. Also he's impervious to bullets. The two defining attributes of a werewolf: invulnerability and jumping!

It's hilarious to hear the director and producer interviewed on the blu-ray edition, basically trashing the film, amused and bemused that it's being sold in the West now. Basically, the studio wanted an adaptation of the Wolf Guy manga, but wouldn't put up any money to do it properly, so neither the producer nor the director took the project seriously at all. The writer of the manga walked out of a private screening after 15 minutes, swearing never to let Toei adapt one of his properties again.

Most people viewing Wolf Guy I expect, will react to it like the director says: "What the hell is this?". But perhaps, if you're coming to Wolf Guy following the natural progression I described in my first paragraph, you will be in a state to take in the film's convoluted plot uncritically, at which point, I believe you will have achieved a kind of film-viewer's nirvana.

A Japanese new approach on offbeat Werewolf!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 8 December 2023]

Who expects to see a usual werewolf transformation, you must skip this Japanese picture, the star fight Sonny Shiba portraits a reporter Akira Inugami at Tokyo modern days whom in every lunar cycle he turns in an offbeat werewolf, he got an inner power and becomes a sort of unbeatable guy without any visible metamorphosis at all, he investigates several bloody murders of a rock band members that including a pretty girl, also the Yakusa entering in the game sponsored by a powerful politician.

An action horror picture mixing martial arts, extremely gory and surreal concerning a ghost tiger, actually Akira is a last survivor of ancient bloodline of werewolves, the plot delves into a Tokyo underground circuit of nightclubs, drug dealers and prostitution under the command of Yakusa, a sexploitation flick strongly inspired on Japanese Manga, colorful and sexy girls, where the beast-hero Sonny Shiba burst without mercy, fine entertainment from seventies.

Thanks for reading.

Resume: First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.

Mindblowing and genre busting

[BandSAboutMovies · 8/10 · 25 May 2018]

Let me see if I can come close to summarizing the insanity that is this movie: Akira Inugami (Sonny Chiba, of course), our hero, is the last survivor of a clan of werewolves. As a child, he watched his village and people get destroyed. Today, he uses his werewolf abilities to help him solve crimes - but never transform into a wolf.

His new case begins when a man is yelling in the street about being attacked by an invisible tiger that soon tears him apart. At the center of his investigation is Miki, who was abused by The Mobs, an evil rock band, and now only cares about heroin and killing everyone who hurt her. Now, a phantom government agency uses her to kill those they deem necessary of elimination.

Along the way to solving this mystery, Inugami will battle ninjas, the Yakuza, the Japanese CIA, assassins and more. It's also worth noting that Wolfguy sleeps with more women in this movie than James Bond, but everyone he touches usually ends up dead. There's one bonkers sex scene near the end with his true love, Taka, that has him remember sucking on his werewolf mother's breast while doing the same to the woman he claims is his wife. Alright there, Wolfguy.

Sonny Chiba didn't form the Japan Action Club for nothing. This group, created to develop and raise the level of martial arts techniques and sequences used in Japanese film and television, has him at its center. In this film, he has a multitude of battles and even gets thrown down a cliff and somehow front flips directly onto his feet, a stunt that completely astounded me.

Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Sister Street Fighter) and written by Fumio Konami (Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion), this is the only Japanese werewolf that's not a werewolf scored by Japanese jazz noise rock that sounds like Goblin featuring blood gushing FX that I have - and probably will ever - see. Imagine Wild Zero but played completely straight. I've also never seen a movie where the hero is able to control his intestines and pull them back into his body.

Imagine this: loud guitars, neon colors, dizzying camera angles, werewolf fistfights again ninjas and a love scene every fifteen minutes. This is a gloriously scuzzy, scummy, silly and majestic piece of film. It blew me away from start to finish and I can barely comprehend much of what I watched!

A Badass Rock N Roll Kung Fu Horror Action Fest!

[meddlecore · 8/10 · 29 October 2020]

When three of four members of the band The Mobs, are killed under mysterious circumstances- by what seems to be a tiger- a young reporter starts to investigate.

He was the closest thing to a witness during the third murder, where the victim was frantically ranting about someone named Miki turning into a tiger, and cursing him.

So he goes to the only remaining member of the band to get some answers.

This man has become a wandering drunk, begging for booze...but tells him what he needs to know, nonetheless.

Miki was a young singer, whom they passed around as a sexual object.

It turns out, that as a result of this, one of the men gave her syphilis...which, in turn, drove her to become a heroin addict.

However, the reporter believes someone else had ordered them to rape her.

Which would explain why she's out for vengeance.

The reporter isn't the only one looking for this man, though.

The yakuza are also trying to get their hands on him.

For, the order was apparently given by a producer named Manabe Pro, who sought to punish the girl for having an attitude problem.

And he sent the Tsukada gang to clean up his mess.

Miki's only crime was falling in love with the son of a conservative politician, who sought to arrange a marriage between his son and the daughter of a financial mogul.

It was at his behest, that Manabe Pro was acting, when he handed Miki over to The Mobs, and ordered them to rape her...knowing she would contract syphilis from the encounter.

And that this could be used to sabotage their relationship.

Now, Miki has resorted to working at strip clubs, simply in order to scrape up enough money to secure her daily fix.

And the reporter truly understands her plight, so he seeks to help her.

For his family was previously wiped out in a violent attack.

Where, upon her deathbed, his mother endowed him with a curse of his own.

One that renders him invincible each month on the 15th day of the lunar cycle.

Thus, he's in a perfect position to help her get rid of the demons that haunt her...once and for all.

But, before he gets the chance...they are both captured by the politician's hired goons...who exploit Miki's powers in order to murder their rivals.

So he is forced to bide his time, until he can use his own powers...to free them both.

The goons want him to join their forces as well, however, and, thus, subject him to intense medical torture in order to convince him to do so.

These scenes are so incredibly realistic...that they legitimately made me cringe.

The cabal believe, that if they transfer his blood into their own guinea pig, that it will also transfer his abilities.

They want their own supersoldier, so they can just dispose of him...because he is unwilling to capitulate to their demands.

Luckily, he somehow manages to survive until the 15th day, when he is able to heal himself.

Now, he's hellbent on vengeance, himself...and out for blood.

This film is a badass rock and roll kung fu horror action fest, that is as unpredictable as it is awesome.

It goes in all sorts of directions that you would never expect, without pushing the limits so far as to get you get lost in the foray.

And, considering it's all based on a manga series, the more supernatural elements of the storyline manage to retain their believability.

Plus, the soundtrack is bangin'!

It's such a fun film, with vibes akin to a combination of Riki-Oh and Lone Wolf, especially in the latter half.

And it's all highly entertaining.

By the time it ends, it's almost like you're watching a totally different film, from when it began!

But somehow they manage to tie everything in to the conclusion.

And, even though it goes from being bizarrely sexilicious...to ending on a sad note...you simply can't help but smile and laugh at what you just experienced.

What an epic journey!!!

8 out of 10.