The independent werewolf movie “Late Phases” has been getting a lot of positive buzz among horror fans — and it deserves it.  This is a smartly written, well performed fright flick to which I’d give an 8 out of 10.

Nick Damici hands in an understated but perfect performance as a blind Vietnam War veteran antihero.  Don’t worry — his blindness is not a gimmick, it’s more of an interesting plot element.  (And, by the way, here’s a little trivia — Damici is also the screenwriter for 2010’s outstanding “Stake Land.”)

Tom Noonan is fantastic, as always.  Has he ever given a poor performance?  I sooooooo loved him trading barbed quips with Fox Mulder as an evil vacuum cleaner salesman — that was one of the best episodes of “The X Files” ever.  And am I a weird guy if I think his voice sounds hypnotic?

Regrettably, this film suffers just a little from something its makers probably couldn’t help —  a limited special effects budget.  We are definitely in the habitat here of man-in-a-suit werewolves, and it does show.  Most of my friends who are serious horror buffs will not mind this, but I noticed, and it did “take me out of the movie” just a little.  So many people lament the overuse of CGI in today’s movies.  I think that when it’s absent entirely, you can start to miss it.

This is still a really good movie, though.  It’s on Netflix. Give it a look.