Wolves Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

When a movie gets a one week, twelve theater limited release and only generates $12,139, one would be excused for thinking it was some small, no budget film that got raves at festivals. But, “Wolves” is the feature film directorial debut of Solid Snake, David Hayter! He is also the screenwriter of such films as “X-Men” (and its first sequel), “The Scorpion King”, and “Watchmen”, all Hollywood blockbusters; so this getting such a small theatrical run is surprising. Did this Canadian production deserve to be unceremoniously dumped by its studio? Is it as Twilight-y as the cover makes it seem?

 

The plot:

Cayden (Lucas Till) is a big shot high school quarterback with recurring nightmares. After seriously injuring his then girlfriend, and coming to at his house in bloody clothes, Cayden discovers his parents have been killed. Fearing he did this while in his transformed state as a werewolf, he flees before the authorities can catch him. At a bar one night, he meets Wild Joe (John Pyper- Ferguson), who tells him about a small town, Lupine Ridge, filled with others like them, others that can help Cayden control his bloodlust. Once he arrives, he gets a job as a farmhand for Tollerman (Stephen McHattie), catches the eye of Angelina (Merritt Patterson), and royally pisses off alpha werewolf Connor (Jason Momoa).

 

The first thing that needs to be stated about this film is how quaint it is. It was given an R rating, but there is nothing here to really warrant it- no language of any kind, a sex scene that could be in a PG-13 movie, and while there is a decent amount of carnage, worse can be viewed on the small screen anytime on “The Walking Dead”. This old fashioned sensibility pertains to the story as well, considering how surprisingly straight forward the film is- there’s virtually no subtext, or subplots to speak of.

 

The movie opens with just the title, no other other credits of any kind. And I do mean cold open- there’s no prologue, text crawl, or anything, just the title. It feels abrupt, and I didn’t even know seeming abrupt before something began was even possible! Then we are treated to a sequence about Cayden’s life, including a football game where an opposing player maliciously injures our protagonist, so he partially transforms and beats the player to a bloody pulp (presumed dead). For me, this raises quite a few questions- how come no foul was called? How come none of Cayden’s teammates, friends, coach, or his girlfriend seem to rush to his aide? Why is it that the player who just violently, and with cruel intentions, maimed Cayden isn’t escorted off the field by anyone at all, but is instead doing a victory dance as if he just scored a touchdown? Just all the things about this are head scratchingly stupid, but in an oddly endearing way, that I can’t quite put my finger on.

 

David Hayter’s screenplay continually hits odd beats like those above, or tells us that werewolves can heal by partially transforming and running wild (literally running wild), but not all can. The movie never really explains why some can and some can’t. Nor does it properly explain why all the other werewolves didn’t ban together and kick Connor’s ass when he started being a little shit. Hayter, as a writer, tends to go for the cool moments, and only worries about the connective tissue when it is imperative (a trend of his extending beyond this one film). As a director though, he has a sharp eye, and despite the limited budget ($18 million), for the most part, he manages to get the film to be moody and atmospheric. The cinematography is wide, giving “Wolves” an almost epic feel. The action is well staged, even if some if it is too dark to see, ie- a hunt through the woods, for an important side character.

 

That ‘for the most part’ bit wasn’t just an expression- the green screen used when Cayden is riding his motorcycle from one city to the next, is, to put it simply, shittastic. Unconvincing, weirdly CGI enhanced (or entirely CGI, depending) city backdrops awkwardly loom and grow in perspective as the motorcycle moves along the road in a way that defies logic, physics, decency, infrastructure, and architecture. Fortunately for eyeballs everywhere, the special effects and CGI in the rest of the movie are pretty good. A body falling off the cliff looks convincing, the enhanced moon looks awesome, and the patches of fur that start to encroach on the humans’ faces as they transform, while not incredible, do form a certain unique pattern on each werewolf, and that kind of detail is appreciated. Even better than all that is the downright extraordinary makeup of the fully transformed wolves. The Esleys, Dave and Lou, should be very proud of themselves, as they have put bigger werewolf productions to shame with their work here. The werewolves don’t turn into full on wolves, thank goodness, therefore the makeup has to still show off the features of the actors/ actresses, as well as their physiques. It pulls this off exceptionally.

 

Sadly though, as with most of the things that this movie gets right, it finds a way to bungle it all up, but again, in a weirdly charming, amusing way- the transformed wolves still wear their street clothes! They still wear hoodies, jeans, vests, hats, and whatever else they may be be wearing at the time (jewelry excluded). It all just looks so damned goofy, so much so that I couldn’t suppress my laughter. Worse still/ more amusingly, is that the fully transformed werewolves converse in that state- nothing all that original sure- but my, oh my, does it look funny as hell. I am not sure if the makeup was heavy, or if it limited mobility, or if the prosthetic fangs being worn did that, but the actors can barely move their mouths to speak, causing some serious ADR issues. It’s seriously hilarious.

 

Lucas Till is probably best known as Havok from the “X-Men” movies, a franchise I really don’t care for. Here, despite having to deliver lines such as “I’m sorry, did I stump you?” after asking for Angelina’s name, and do some goofy things- the aforementioned motorcycle riding stuff- he makes for an appealing lead, and is easy to root for. His interplay with McHattie, and chemistry with Patterson, is very good. Awesome character actor Stephen McHattie brings dignity to a role that should have felt derivative, but comes across as a little fresh in his hands. Merritt Patterson is clearly having a ball, and brings a sense of sexiness and edginess the rest of the production lacks. The biggest name, Jason Momoa, is so much fun! Obviously relishing the chance to be so over-the-top evil, he gives it his all. His impressive size is put to good use, and a last minute story twist reveals a new layer to his performance.

 

The movie ends with The Heavy’s song “Big Bad Wolf” playing over what are essentially glamour shots of the fully transformed werewolves. I promise you, if you got no enjoyment out of the rest of the movie- but I am not sure how that would be possible, as it’s affably goofy and a little bit charming- this ending credits sequence will have you howling with laughter.

 

Despite bad special effects, dumb dialogue, and an old fashioned sensibility that will keep you laughing, “Wolves” proves to be surprisingly fun, with some fantastic makeup effects and an intriguing new twist on an old idea. This movie just got released on DVD, and one can easily procure for it ten bucks. I would recommend it for all bad movie fans.