Ever since she was raped as a child, Daniela Neseri (Annik Borel, BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS) has been repelled by the opposite sex. Living with her industrialist father (Tino Carraro, Dario Argento's THE CAT O'NINE TAILS) in seclusion at their ancestral estate - a medieval villa given a modern makeover – Daniella becomes obsessed with a lookalike ancestor who was burned at the stake as a werewolf. When her sister Irena (Dagmar Lassander, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY) returns from the United States with new husband Fabian (Osvaldo Ruggieri), Daniela is aroused to the point that she tears his throat out. The death is blamed on rabid dogs and Daniela is institutionalized for shock at apparently witnessing it, but her father and doctor (Elio Zamuto, SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER) suspect that Daniela may have had a psychotic break. When she escapes the hospital and a local peasant girl is found dead, Inspector Modica (Frederick Stafford, EAGLES OVER LONDON) ties the death to that of Fabian and starts hunting Daniela (and he has a trail of bodies from whomever is unfortunate enough to give Daniela a lift with ulterior motives). The trail goes dead, however, when Daniela meets stuntman Luca (Howard Ross, NEW YORK RIPPER who proves gentle and patient; but their happiness is short-lived, however, when a trio of local toughs rape Daniela and murder Luca. Will Daniela's brutal revenge cure her or be the final stage of her transformation into the WEREWOLF WOMAN?

Starting off like a fleshier version of Roger Vadim's BLOOD AND ROSES, Rino Di Silvestro's WERWOLF WOMAN veers into rape-revenge territory (although Daniela's vengeance is rather rushed). The psychological interpretation of the film holds up rather well, with Daniela's psychiatrist suggesting her ancestor's affliction was the clinical definition of lycanthropy, but Daniela is not a reincarnation and that her own psychosis is triggered by her obsession with her ancestor (rather than sharing the same syndrome). The beautiful Borel is suitably blank during her interactions with people with an almost feral quality to her features ins some shots. The film was released in the United States in a shorter version – presumably trimmed for double billing rather than violence or nudity – as LEGEND OF THE WOLF WOMAN by Dimension Pictures (Lawrence Woolner's company after parting ways with Roger Corman's New World Pictures, although their offices were just across the street).