Originally titled Lycanthropus this 1962 Italian film from director Paolo Heusch (credited as Richard Benson) takes an original approach to the werewolf story. It's really more of a mystery thriller than an all-out horror film.

The setting is an all-female criminal rehabilitation institution where administrator Sir Alfred Whiteman (Maurice Marsac) has been paying prisoners for sex. Fed up with Whiteman's sexual demands, Mary (Mary McNeeran) decides to blackmail him.

She meets with Whiteman deep in the woods and threatens to take letters he wrote her to the authorities unless she gets released. But on her way back to the institution Mary is attacked and killed by a werewolf.

After learning of her death, Mary's friend Priscilla (Barbara Lass) intercepts a threatening letter from Whiteman. Determined to find Mary's killer she ventures into the woods to confront him.

What follows is a unique murder mystery complete with rampaging wolf men, giallo-like black-gloved killers and ample plot twists. Both the beautiful Lass and male lead Carl Schell, who plays the school's new science teacher Dr. Julian Olcott, manage to deliver convincing performances despite clumsy dubbing that occasionally provokes unintentional laughs.

The film is played straight, and Heusch's deliberate pacing allows for character development while still delivering the necessary action, and a couple genuinely tense moments. Composer Armando Trovajoli's score maintains the dark mood throughout.

Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory has seen several DVD releases. Alpha Video's disc provides passable picture quality, combined with quite good sound. The framing of the picture is odd, as the opening credits are full screen while the rest of the movie appears to be matted 1.66:1 like the Retromedia DVD release. Unfortunately the bottom border is almost constantly distorted.

The picture quality suffers in outdoor nighttime scenes, where considerable digital artifacts scar the deep blacks. There is also a ghosting effect that causes the picture to be a blurry mess during the quick camera movements that accompany action scenes.

Extras include Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory's theatrical trailer, as well as trailers for Alpha New Cinema Series independent films Blood of the Beast, The Devil's Filmmaker: Bohica (review here), A Chronicle of Corpses (review here) and Magdalen. Also included is a gallery of Alpha Video DVD covers.

Good movie, on a barely average DVD for a budget price.