Werewolf takes us to the Southwest for a glimpse of the Navajo skinwalkers -- the yee naaldlooshii.

A team of workers at an archaeological dig unearth the intact skeleton of something that has a wolf head, human skeleton and feet that look like paws. One of the workers, Tommy, gets cut by the teeth and is transformed into a werewolf. This inspires Yuri (George Rivero), who craves fame and power above all else, to create a werewolf so he can be the first to publish the findings in scientific journals.

Dr. Noel (Richard Lynch) also sees the werewolf situation as opportunity. For him, it is all about millions of dollars worth of research funding. The only person who seems to care about the death and destruction is research assistant Natalie (Adrianna Miles), whose boyfriend, Paul (Fred Cavalli), is the next guinea pig on Yuri's list.

Werewolf has a few scary parts, but for the most part, it is a drama, focusing on the power and fame aspect and the tricks and manipulations used by Yuri and Noel to achieve their goals. It has a good storyline and progresses steadily toward a logical, if pleasantly surprising, conclusion.

You know it is a low-budget film when they use the same shot of the werewolf each time he appears. Although I did find the keenly pointed, huge ears to be visually interesting, I did tire of seeing the same close-up.

The makeup and special effects were decent but not outstanding, although the werewolf did have a scary air about him. Maybe it was because those ears made him look more like a wild creature than most werewolves. The transformations were long and drawn out, allowing for several stages of makeup, which I really liked. Despite the low budget, they did not scrimp on the transformation, which one of the most important parts of a werewolf movie. So in this regard, it is superior to many.

Overall, for a low-budget movie, Werewolf is a pretty good one. I like the Native American folklore and music being woven into the story. It keeps you watching and offers enough action to be entertaining with several endearing qualities and an emphasis on the things that matter most.