I think the idea behind this episode is very clever. Its goal is to create expectations, then subvert them. I feel that this script accomplishes that better than previous Tales episodes that have tried to do the bait and switch twist ending.
But unfortunately, I don't think this script was executed properly. The episode's pacing is bizarre in how it lingers on irrelevant bantering between characters, but is rushed in the critical moments where the red herrings are established.
There's even a old review on here from 15 years ago that claimed there were no red herrings! The whole episode was a construction of red herrings. Knocking it down with a twist ending was the entire point of this episode! But I can see how a viewer could miss them. I'll list the major ones:
Red Herring #1: The episode heavily implies that Lokai is the secret vampire hunter. He's a smooth talker, towers over everyone, and is doing his own investigation. Lokai fits the image of a hero, so we expect he must be the anonymous vampire hunter.
Red Herring #2: Lokai's investigations lead to him murdering an old German man, Mr. Hertz, who for some reason says he'd rather tear Lokai apart than shoot him - making Lokai (and us!) think he must have been the werewolf. (Lokai didn't *really* think this. We'll get to that later, but notice how neither man explicitly acknowledges that Hertz is the werewolf.)
Red Herring #3: Well, that awkward statement by Mr. Hertz was a red herring for both us and Lokai. Lokai later learns that Hertz' aggressive behavior was because he was an ex-Nazi accused of war crimes. Hertz had just murdered a different guest whom had recognized and reported him. Lokai had killed a murderer, but not the werewolf.
Red Herring #4: Lokai's obvious horror at learning he had killed the wrong man leads us to believe he's upset to have missed his target: the werewolf. This time, the red herring is for us in the audience alone. Lokai knows what he's really trying to do, but we don't yet.
Red Herring #5: Lokai begins to suspect the sultry guest, Janice Baird, is the werewolf. In an earlier conversation, Lokai had made the offhand suggestion that the werewolf could be a woman. It looks like that's the case tonight!
So, I can identify five red herrings that all get shattered in the final scene when it's revealed that Lokai was the werewolf all along!
The red herring I think was most clever is #4. He wasn't upset that he had not killed the werewolf, or even that he had murdered a man. He was upset that he had not killed the real werewolf hunter, so he was still in danger!
The episode has a well-constructed set of misdirections that the writers know we will tend to interpret in a certain way, but are actually vague enough to conceal the truth. In that regard, it's like the modern mainstream media.
"Werewolf Concerto" is subtle in a way some other red herring-focused Tales From the Crypt episodes failed to be, such as the awful season 2 episode, "Three's a Crowd." But execution is critical for getting across the points. Because of the weird pacing that rushed through critical plot developments, I can understand how some viewers missed the chance to enjoy "Werewolf Concerto" as much as I did.
But unfortunately, I don't think this script was executed properly. The episode's pacing is bizarre in how it lingers on irrelevant bantering between characters, but is rushed in the critical moments where the red herrings are established.
There's even a old review on here from 15 years ago that claimed there were no red herrings! The whole episode was a construction of red herrings. Knocking it down with a twist ending was the entire point of this episode! But I can see how a viewer could miss them. I'll list the major ones:
Red Herring #1: The episode heavily implies that Lokai is the secret vampire hunter. He's a smooth talker, towers over everyone, and is doing his own investigation. Lokai fits the image of a hero, so we expect he must be the anonymous vampire hunter.
Red Herring #2: Lokai's investigations lead to him murdering an old German man, Mr. Hertz, who for some reason says he'd rather tear Lokai apart than shoot him - making Lokai (and us!) think he must have been the werewolf. (Lokai didn't *really* think this. We'll get to that later, but notice how neither man explicitly acknowledges that Hertz is the werewolf.)
Red Herring #3: Well, that awkward statement by Mr. Hertz was a red herring for both us and Lokai. Lokai later learns that Hertz' aggressive behavior was because he was an ex-Nazi accused of war crimes. Hertz had just murdered a different guest whom had recognized and reported him. Lokai had killed a murderer, but not the werewolf.
Red Herring #4: Lokai's obvious horror at learning he had killed the wrong man leads us to believe he's upset to have missed his target: the werewolf. This time, the red herring is for us in the audience alone. Lokai knows what he's really trying to do, but we don't yet.
Red Herring #5: Lokai begins to suspect the sultry guest, Janice Baird, is the werewolf. In an earlier conversation, Lokai had made the offhand suggestion that the werewolf could be a woman. It looks like that's the case tonight!
So, I can identify five red herrings that all get shattered in the final scene when it's revealed that Lokai was the werewolf all along!
The red herring I think was most clever is #4. He wasn't upset that he had not killed the werewolf, or even that he had murdered a man. He was upset that he had not killed the real werewolf hunter, so he was still in danger!
The episode has a well-constructed set of misdirections that the writers know we will tend to interpret in a certain way, but are actually vague enough to conceal the truth. In that regard, it's like the modern mainstream media.
"Werewolf Concerto" is subtle in a way some other red herring-focused Tales From the Crypt episodes failed to be, such as the awful season 2 episode, "Three's a Crowd." But execution is critical for getting across the points. Because of the weird pacing that rushed through critical plot developments, I can understand how some viewers missed the chance to enjoy "Werewolf Concerto" as much as I did.
