Original subtitles

The church teaches us that the devil can appear in many guises,

manifest himself in different forms.

That day...

l learned it is true.

Maria!

Sister!

How long can you stay this time?

A week or two... a month, maybe.

Why?

l wish you could stay longer.

There have been so many wolf attacks lately.

The bailiff disappeared one month ago.

His family is in despair.

They say it must be the wolves.

At night, you can hear them,

howling nearby.

You're not afraid, are you?

Well you should be.

Do you know what a wolf can do to you?

lf a dog tries to bite you, you can kick it,

but with a wolf...

What's that?

How can you laugh about this?

lt's not just the bailiff.

Other people are missing as well.

You needn't worry. You'll be safe here.

What's the matter?

l don't want Teresa to end up with hands like these.

Maybe she doesn't have to.

l have heard they've invented a new language based on signs.

They teach people to talk using their hands.

Perhaps in Santander Teresa could learn it.

l'll wait for you upstairs.

By Mayor's decree, l am instructed to warn you

that in view of recent events, you are strongly advised

not to venture into the surrounding woods without police permission

and to ensure that you are all inside your homes by sundown.

There will be a reward of 10 coins

for each male wolf that is captured

and 15 for each pregnant female wolf.

Authorised by the Crown Prosecutor,

Don Luciano de la Bastida

this day, in the year of our Lord,

1851.

Come on children!

l'm going to have a look around.

Why not stay here and help me?

Of course.

You could wipe those bottles.

-Do you like them? -Yes.

They are beautiful.

You should try one on.

Manuel,

this woman wants to dictate a letter for her daughter.

l'll get my writing box.

Go and look after Teresa.

Juliet, give me a kiss!

l love you so much, Romeo.

l love you even more, Juliet.

-No, l love you more! -No, me!

No, l love you more!

Oh, Romeo. Why are our families

such enemies?

l want to tell the whole world how much l love you.

No, l love you more. So much, l'm going to die of love.

Good-bye.

l can't live without you.

All right?

lt is not the wolf you should be frightened of.

What's going on?

lt's the bailiff.

They've found his body.

Don't cry.

l've got good news.

We're leaving here.

We're going to live in Santander.

There are no wolves there.

What did you say?

We'll wait on the wagon.

What are you doing here?

l'm coming with you.

-You can't. Why not?

l don't want to be left here alone.

Don't be ridiculous.

You can join us as soon as we find a position for you.

And if you don't?

How long do you expect me to wait?

You can't abandon me.

Don't play the child with me.

You're a grown woman

and l've seen what you want.

What do you mean?

You can't tell me what to do.

Let me speak to Manuel.

Only a whore

would want to steal her sister's man.

Now go home.

Please.

This is a good place to spend the night.

Maybe l was too hard on her.

Stop worrying.

She can take care of herself.

Why don't you go and bathe, before it gets dark?

Now be careful where you put your feet.

There are wolf traps all around.

Do you want to see it fly like a butterfly?

Let it go.

Let it go!

lt's only a bird.

Teresa!

Manuel!

Miss...

l am Luciano de la Bastida,

Crown Prosecutor for the Galician Court.

lt is my duty to request that you assist us

in identifying the remains of this young girl.

We believe it could be your niece.

We haven't found any clothes,

nor any personal belongings, whatsoever.

Does your niece have any distinguishing marks on her body,

such as a scar?

God.

lt's not her...

lt's not Teresa.

Miss...

Are you sure?

l'm sorry you had to go through this.

-l hope you understand that... -There's something in her hair.

lt seems to be an earring, Sir.

No one from around here

could afford earrings like these.

She must have been from a well-to-do family.

But we're a long way from the city, Sir,

and wolves eat where they kill.

And don't spread the remains around.

We need to find out what happened to these people.

Teresa!

lf this is some kind of joke...

it's not funny!

Manuel! Help!

lt's Teresa!

Having been petitioned by the Public Prosecutor,

this Tribunal welcomes the collaboration of Professor Philips,

an expert from the University of Algeria.

Professor Phillips.

The autopsy report suggests

that the violent rape took place after the victim's death.

And that, consequently, the author of the crime

is a necrophiliac.

The perpetrators of similar crimes display evidence

of common pathological defects.

The craniums

slightly thicker than normal,

excessive sweating, particularly on the palms of the hands...

The physical aspects of this man betray him.

We, therefore,

could have recognised him as a criminal, imprisoned him

and thus prevented him from committing his hideous crimes.

There are two kinds of criminals:

circumstantial

and genetic.

For the first category,

there exists the possibility of a cure,

with treatment under controlled medical conditions.

lt is science

and not prison

which can now help us solve

these problems.

This man was born a criminal

and thus destined to a life of violent crime.

He had no choice in the matter.

Saint Augustin tells us that man does indeed have free will.

So then, what you are saying, good Sir,

is that any sweaty, bigheaded man

is incapable of acting against it.

You Sir, can perhaps

help me with a little demonstration.

lf you would be kind enough to step forward?

Your Honour, this is most irregular.

Please.

Now

we will show how a man

can act against his own free will.

You are feeling very sad

and anxious.

You may return to your seat.

You've been a great help.

Thank you.

This is the man you need, Sir.

Professor...

Good grief!

The papers only mentioned four victims.

Those were the four we couldn't hide.

We don't want people to panic.

l'm afraid there may be more out there.

Why are you preserving the corpses?

That's the reason you're here.

Teresa is attending her new school

and she's learning quickly.

Your sister has found employment for you.

l'll take you.

That is if you want to go.

lt's perfect.

You must know a woman's shape pretty well.

You are so beautiful.

How many women have you been with?

What answer do you want to hear?

What's wrong?

This woman was about 15 years old.

And judging by the poor state of her bones,

l would say she suffered from a chronic calcium deficiency.

Most of the parallel scratches were made

by sharp canine claws.

Leaving no doubt that this woman was attacked

by a wolf.

But these cuts here

have been made by a knife.

See how uniformly the veins and arteries have been broken?

They must have been made after the victim had died.

What are you doing now?

Just listening to what she might tell me.

There's no body fat

in the buttocks or thighs,

as if it had been extracted for some reason.

Why should someone want human body fat?

Soap.

To make soap.

The remains were left in the woods

to make us believe it was the wolves who attacked the victims.

We are certainly dealing with a extraordinary individual here.

lt would be most enlightening if we could capture him alive.

lf only we could get inside his mind

we could learn so much.

lf we could, my only concern would be to find out where he is.

l am a man of science,

not a murder investigator.

To be quite frank, l am rather surprised that someone like you,

who does not support my theories,

should ask for my collaboration.

l need you to help us find him and convict him.

l will help you to find him.

And now l am going to rest.

And l suggest you do the same.

lf l could only know

what your eyes have seen.

Please help us, kind Sir.

l beg you.

He has been cut by a sickle.

Put him in the wagon.

l'll take him to the next village.

You've lost a lot of blood.

You'll be dead before we get to the village.

My wife...

l can't die without saying good-bye to her.

Then why don't we write her a letter?

You can bid her farewell.

Thank you, good Sir.

l can see you are a man of God.

We don't have much time. What do you want me to say?

To my beloved

Antonia

and my precious daughter, Anna.

l am writing you his letter,

which will be my last...

At least l go to our Lord in the knowledge

that l have indeed been a fortunate man,

having been married to the most wonderful woman in the world.

l depart with the vision of your smiling face.

That image will be with me forever,

wherever l am.

l have requested that this fine gentleman,

who has shown me such friendship in this late hour,

deliver this letter to you in person.

He has generously offered to look after any immediate needs

you may have once l have gone.

May God have mercy on my soul.

l have to go away soon.

But l don't want to leave you here alone.

Don't go then.

Come with me.

You can help me in my work.

Really?

l can show you places you've never dreamed of.

Silver.

l'm going to take care of you.

l'm going to stay here with you.

l want you to have this.

lt's very special to me.

You saved me

and l will never forget it.

Now my life belongs to you.

You need rest.

Try to sleep now.

Teresa.

Don't make a sound.

Stay here.

You'll be safe.

He'll follow me.

Are you hungry?

Don't come any closer.

He's gone.

And he's not coming back.

We are rid of him.

Who are you?

What do you want from me?

l want to protect you.

Ordinary bullets can't harm me.

Who are you?

l'm a man...

who once looked into the eyes of the devil.

Francisco?

God has forsaken me for my sins.

From that day forward,

l've been condemned to a living hell.

Rmasanta is not a man.

He's a wolf.

Who becomes human to seduce

and murder his victims.

Guards!

Take him away.

Please!

l beg you...

Manuel forced me to do it.

l'm not evil.

l saved you.

The man is insane.

l've been such a fool.

You can't believe in the fantasies of that poor man

And l don't.

But the truth is my sisters are dead.

As far as we know your sisters are in Santander

He gave me this.

He could be hiding anywhere.

He knows everyone.

The villagers trust him.

He writes letter for them.

Barbara, leave it in the hands of justice.

l promise you

l will find him

and he will be punished for his crimes.

Now...

Please go home.

Carballo, July 13th 1850.

Dear mother,

You can't imagine how much l miss you

and how sorry l am to inform you that you must cancel your visit.

My patron has asked me to join her on her journey to Valencia.

l expect to stay there for the entire Summer...

l hope the time will not be very long

before we have the joy of seeing each other again,

after these 3 long years apart.

Affectionately yours, Sarah.

A Fonsagrada, August 6th 1850.

Dear husband and loving children,

There is not a day that passes that l don't think of you.

Life has thrown us apart

and remains to do so.

But don't allow this to sadden you or give up hope

that one day we will be together again.

l'm working very hard so that you may soon

come and live with me in A Fonsagrada.

And for this reason there is no task too difficult or adverse.

God bless you all. Your loving mother..

Dear. brother, l am very pleased to announce

that l will finally be marrying

the pharmacist

l spoke about in my earlier letter.s.

l beg you to entrust

my remaining belongings

to the kind gentleman who gave you this letter.

Wth the Lor.d's blessing. Elena.

Guitiriz, year of the Lord 1850.

You know this person?

We caught him with the soap to wash down the corpses.

Where's the man who sold you this?

l don't remember, Sir.

Very well. lmprison him.

Just a moment...

lt's coming back to me.

Why do you have knife?

l'm looking for a man called Manuel Rmasanta.

Do you know him?

Are you sure?

He's tall and strong.

Come with me.

Mama!

Anna, go and play outside.

Who are you? What do you want?

l'm looking for Manuel Romasanta.

l don't know anyone by that name.

He's a travelling salesman. You dictated this letter to him

for your sister.

l do remember a letter writer,

but l never knew his name.

He was around here a few months ago.

He came to deliver a letter from my husband.

l dictated this one to him.

Have you seen him since then?

No, he only came the one time.

Thank you.

What has he done to make you come after him with a knife?

l apologise for having disturbed you.

What are you doing? Give it back!

-Where did you get this? -A trader from Guitiriz sold it to me.

Where can l find him?

A girl has been here looking for you.

She said your name is Manuel Romasanta.

What did you say?

l told her you didn't live here.

What's going on?

ls she your lover?

Pack your things.

Why did she have the letter to my sister?

Pack your things. We're leaving.

What's this all about?

Who is this woman?

No!

Sir, we've found them.

They're in the stable

Christ!

The human mind is a very fragile and complex mechanism.

Antonio cannot accept the monstrous nature of his crimes,

and his brain, therefore, decides to modify his memory of them.

We had to insert silver needles in his skin

in order to persuade him that he is not cursed.

Just her.

This interruption could undermine all the progress we've made here.

What progress?

He is gradually recovering his sanity.

While you've been playing around with your needles, 3 more people have died.

l'm sorry, Professor.

We can't afford to lose any more time.

Your anger won't help us find him.

We need more time.

Time...

They say the wolf is just in my head.

That my brain is tricking me.

He's killing more and more people.

l feel responsible.

You can help me stop him.

Please.

l can't.

You know Manuel better than anyone else.

You were partners.

Tell me where l can find him.

Leave me alone.

What have you done to me?

We'll meet again.

l tried to free myself of him.

But l never managed it.

Forgive me!

Forgive me!

Please.

l need your help.

Where would he go now?

lt's harvest time in the south,

in Burgos.

The men go there to work like slaves during the day,

then huddle together like animals at night.

Romasanta despises them.

He would go north

to fuck their wives while they were alone in their houses.

He's very good at it.

You were the most beautiful.

But he knows he must hide this time.

He will try to do what we least expect him to do.

Wer'e looking for a man that's tall and big build.

Wears many rings on his fingers.

Well spoken. No?

Thank you.

-Good day. -Good day, Sir.

Has a stranger come by looking for work?

Oh, yes. Many, Sir.

The one l am looking for

is a strong man, strong build, tall.

Wears many rings on...

He's over there!

Quick! Surround him!

Take your scythes!

This Tribunal of Galicia,

in the name of Her Majesty the Queen,

charges the accused, Manuel Blanco Romasanta,

with the murders of

Pascual Ferrero,

declared missing on February 19th 1849,

Peregrina Rodriguez,

declared missing on April 28th 1847,

Manuel Fernandez,

declared missing on February 6th 1850,

Maria Garcia

and her daughter Teresa Losada,

both declared missing on September 24th 1850,

and Antonia Trinidad and her daughter Anna Fernandez,

both declared missing

on June 21th 1851.

By Her Majesty's command,

l hereby declare

this preliminary hearing open,

as requested by the defence.

Professor Phillips,

please proceed.

We shall start

with a mental analysis

and then proceed to a biological one.

You are accused of having murdered 15 people.

Do you deny this?

No Sir,

l did indeed kill them and many more besides.

But l had no choice.

lt's well known, where l come from,

that the devil has a claim on the ninth born son.

And l was my father's ninth born son.

So then...

You attribute the responsibility for your evil curse

to your father?

Evil?

A wolf kills through instinct.

lt's in it's nature.

Do you feel

any remorse for what you have done?

l do now, Sir,

Where did you transform?

ln the woods.

This is a terrible mistake you are making, Professor.

There is no danger.

He's under hypnosis.

He's a crazed assassin,

not one of your laboratory animals.

You are correct.

He is not an animal.

We are here to examine his reactions

in a less threatening environment,

away from the chains and armed guards, who treat him like a beast.

l am inclined to follow

Professor Phillip's suggestion.

Release the prisoner.

Manuel...

Do you recognise this place?

This is where l killed them.

My senses were overwhelmed.

l could hear the roots of trees growing deeper into the earth.

Teresa was caught in a trap.

l could smell the blood flowing beneath her skin.

l heard Maria.

l attacked Maria.

l was devouring her flesh...

l could hear her heart pumping

inside my head.

This so-called curse

is nothing more

than a severe mental disorder

which, in modern terms,

we refer to as lycanthropy.

lt is an uncontrollable impulse

that transforms

an ordinary man

into a wild and dangerous animal,

a lycanthrope, or

wolf-man, to call it by its more sensationalist

and populist name.

Almost any strong emotional pressure

would be sufficient to trigger the transformation in the patient,

which would inevitably lead to murderous intentions.

-This is a complete farce! -Allow the Professor to continue.

My conclusion is that Manuel Romasanta

was not responsible for his crimes.

And he can be cured.

But how can you say that?

There's no rational basis for such a conclusion.

Sr. Romasanta,

why should we believe that there exists the possibility

that you might be cured of your curse?

Her.

With Barbara

l felt human for the first time in my life.

l experienced emotions...

perhaps love.

And so, for a few precious days,

my curse left me

and l lived as a man.

The fact that he did not kill Barbara Garcia proves that...

That he simply didn't have the time to do it.

... that he should not be imprisoned,

in conditions where he would deteriorate.

We are in a court of law, not a circus.

Be reasonable, your Honour.

The accused is not a wolf-man

but a brutal assassin,

who meticulously planned and executed his crimes

so that he could take the maximum profit from the victims.

ln a sanatorium, he will surely escape and kill again.

Only imprisonment and execution

will satisfy the demands of justice

and ensure that he will never again be a danger to the community.

ln view of the exceptional circumstances surrounding this case,

by request of Her Majesty, l hereby declare

that in the trial of Manuel Blanco Romasanta,

pending further investigation,

the death sentence imposed on the accused is to be suspended.

The prisoner will remain in custody

until further pronouncements.

My name is Manuel Blanco Romasanta.

l am popularly known as the wolf-man of Allariz.

Some say that l was a man who occasionally turned into a wolf.

lt would be truer to say

that l was a wolf

who sometimes turned into a man.

Many want to see me dead.

Some out of desire for vengeance,

others to rid themselves of their fears

and some of them through envy,

because l dared to do

what they never even dreamed of doing.

l have been asked if ever l were to be released,

whether or not l would kill again.

l do believe that soon l will be free

and that it won't matter.

l knew you'd come.

You don't want to kill me.

You've already had the chance and you couldn't do it.

And you've come to find out why.

l don't want to hurt you.

l've never wanted to hurt you.

You gave me my freedom

and l love you.

And the reason

you couldn't kill me

is because you love me too.

l said my life belongs to you.

Now my death is yours.

And death lasts forever.

Sir...

lt seems to be made of silver.

We should interrogate the guard.

There's no need.

Then what should l write in my report?

We commend unto thy hands of mercy, most merciful father,

the soul of this, our brother departed

and we commit his body to the ground.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Grant this, merciful Father...