Clap for the Wolfguy

One of the weirdest mash-ups ever to grace the silver screen, 1975’s Wolfguy: Enraged Lycanthrope fuses martial arts action, an investigative crime tale, political conspiracy, sci fi elements, and horror concepts within the box of a B movie exploitation piece.

With a title like that, you can probably guess that it is a foreign film, translated to English from Japanese, in this case – these films are often labelled under J-horror. For those linguists out there, you will know that lycanthrope means a werewolf, and Akira Inugami (Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba) is the last survivor of a long line of these beasts – the rest of them hunted and killed by those afraid of anything outside of the norm. He uses his wolfish powers to investigate unusual crimes.

Opening with Inugami witnessing a man losing his mind in the streets – he is eventually ripped to shreds by what seems to be an invisible tiger, the man learns that this is the third of four members of a former rock band that have died in similar fashion.

Discovering their sordid past – they raped a woman named Miki (Etsuko Nami), in the process, giving her syphilis, yet it is not as simple as it sounds, as it was done on behest of a corporate stooge working for Manabe Productions, which just happens to be run by Yakuza gangsters. He got the orders from an on the rise politician, wanting Miki out of the way for very specific reasons.

Attempting to track down Miki, danger lurks round every corner, gangsters looking to erase loose ends and use the girl for their own dark plans. . . they think she is the one who is able to channel the power of the tiger to enact revenge on those who have harmed her. Soon, Inugami is in their sights as well, after learning that he has the power of the wolf.

Produced by Toei Studio, Wolfguy was a thought-to-be-lost film that, like its protagonist, has been hunted for by many an individual. Currently released by Arrow Video, its odd concoction can now be experienced by a larger audience. Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, it is a product of the seventies – psychedelic and exploitative, it is packed with action, horror, violence, nudity, and, somewhat surprisingly, real surgical footage. Its score is also a hybrid of the time; funk, rock, disco and traditional Japanese come together to make a truly unique composition.

Similar to a James Bond film, Inugami investigates his way through the complex caper, dismantling hordes of baddies while sleeping with a number of women – absurdly creative sex scenes, from a full leather unzip to a tryst in a hidden cave, he surely does get the job done. Never truly transforming into a full on wolf, his regenerative powers and super strength allow him to recover more along the lines of Wolverine, while he is able to jump walls and bend bars with utter ease. A touch of MacGyver will also come to mind, as the anti-hero utilizes anything at his disposal, from coins and a pen, to foil his foes.

As you can imagine, a low budget hybrid such as this has its issues. The story is at times a bit garbled, the martial arts sound effects cheesy, and the story loses some steam as it chugs along to its conclusion, yet the lurid streets of the Japanese city, the impressive gore-filled action (the invisible tiger attacks and a scene where hanging guts regenerate into the body thanks to his healing powers), the stoic faced anti-hero, and the oddball mash-up make for an alluring film nonetheless. It is so outlandish that it is infectious, a rare spectacle that must be admired for its creative absurdity. I must also mention the film’s original poster, a quite typical example of this type of Japanese exploitation picture of the time. With Chiba posing in a white Roger Moore-esque James Bond suit, action, danger and nudity seep off of the paper, the excitement aimed at drawing people into the show. As you can see to your right, this is quite different from your prototypical American one-sheet poster (first and foremost, nudity would never be allowed here). So, discover this little known piece of the past and check out this Japanese export, it is quite the gonzo hybrid experience.

* Japanese with English subtitles