Goregirl’s Werewolf Project: WEREWOLF IN A GIRL’S DORMITORY (1961)

I don’t know how many Italian werewolf films exist but I was able to find just two feature length titles. Werewolf Woman (1976) and Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory (1961). Please leave a comment if you are aware of any other Italian werewolf films other than the two mentioned. I will build a shrine in your honour! Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory was not top ten material but it does have red herrings, a black-gloved killer, and attractive women; all those things you watch Italian horror for! Plus, it has the added bonus of a werewolf!

Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory opens with the arrival of Dr. Julian Olcott; a new professor with a dark past. A student named Mary pretends to faint and is taken to the infirmary. Later that evening Mary sneaks out to meet with a former lover. It turns out her former lover; Sir Alfred Whiteman is a teacher at the school. Mary is blackmailing the teacher, threatening to expose him with the love letters he wrote her. As Mary is walking through the woods to meet Alfred she is stopped by groundskeeper Walter who we learn is taking bribes to “turn his head”. Sir Alfred’s wife is well aware of her husband’s indiscretions; as is the school’s entire faculty. When Mary is found dead the next morning with claw marks on her face and her throat torn open everyone is a suspect.

Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory is a black and white film from 1961 so don’t expect nudity or gore. There is a grand total of five deaths and only one is courtesy of the titular werewolf. In a school full of juvenile delinquent girls, they could have knocked off at least a couple more! I didn’t find the sub-plot uninteresting but it focused too much on the non-werewolf aspects. It is called Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory after all!  While the werewolf kills just one person we do get two nice prolonged scenes of wolfy towards the end of the film. The werewolf visuals unfortunately were mediocre. The werewolf just is not furry enough. Wolves are furry. They do an okay job with the transformation, but like I said, more fur please. The version I watched was dubbed and did have a few instances of unintentionally funny dialog. Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory looked pretty good for a low budget effort. The night scenes were nice and clear and the school and the surrounding forest were great backdrops. Each death scene is unique and they are evenly spaced throughout the film; eliminating possible suspects along the way. You will probably figure out who the werewolf is before the reveal, but I still dug it. Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory is sort of a mashup of monster movie and giallo that I thought was pretty entertaining! Recommended with warning.

I almost forgot! Wait until you get a load of Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory’s theme song!