In this horror story, a hapless farmer grows excessive facial hair and fangs after he is struck by lightning. The accident does nothing for his personality either and lupine mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
The Woodstock music festival is finally over, and a local farmer, furious at the noise and garbage generated by the throngs of hippies, takes out his aggression on the abandoned stage during a rainstorm. In perhaps the first (and last) instance of a werewolf being created through massive electrical shock, he is struck by lightning and somehow transformed into exactly what he hates most: a filthy long-haired creature in torn clothes and bare feet. Meanwhile, a struggling rock group stumbles upon a great gimmick for their demo tape. They travel to the empty festival site and play their songs on the legendary stage to legitimately claim they were "recorded live at Woodstock." The werewolf sightings convince the local police that a hippie is to blame for a recent murder and the rock band is immediately under suspicion; however, a pair of hip, young detectives from Los Angeles aren't so sure. When the girl guitar player is abducted by the beast, the rest of the musicians are recruited to assist in her rescue by playing their instruments as loud as possible, drawing the hippie-hating monster out into the open. This peculiar Dick Clark production proves that the generation gap was still considered bankable in 1975 (or at least enough so to warrant a late-night debut on ABC's Wide World of Entertainment program). Cheaply shot on video, it's clear that no one thought much further than the goofy premise, and once the novelty of the concept cools the remaining action quickly becomes rote (although the third-act scene of the werewolf's hasty getaway in a stolen dune buggy is priceless). The monster is played by Mod Squad star Tige Andrews, who spends all his time swathed in bandages or hidden behind a cheap wolfman mask. The damsel-in-distress role is filled by Belinda Balaskiplaying a stereotypical, flaky hippie who feels "vibrations" and eventually bonds with her captor. Perhaps an Altamont Speedway werewolf would have had more resonance with the target audience. The psychotronic viewer will note a fleeting appearance by Al Adamson's leading man Robert Dix as a policeman; it's nice to know he found work in a "legitimate" production like The Werewolf of Woodstock. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
