Wolfen

Rating:
Summary: Nice Doggy
Review: It is said that our colonial ancestors purchased the island of Manhattan from the Manhattan Indians for 24 dollars, and it seems the somewhat lupine Native Americans of Mike Wadleigh's visionary and terrifying "Wolfen" are still irked by the terms of the transaction. You'll be happy to know that by the movie's end, they pay back the grudge---with interest.

I saw a snippet of "Wolfen" when I was a child, and it terrified me and dominated my dreams for weeks thereafter. I dreamed I was outside the ruined church in the Bronx slums that features so prominently in the film, that I was crawling over mounds of garbage and trying to find my parents, and that I was being watched. There were eyes, merciless, hungry eyes, fixed on me from the surrounding ruined tenements and the derelict, haunted cathedral.

Imagine my surprise years later when I learned that Wadleigh incorporates this attitude of lurking, haunted menace, this watchful malevolence, into his fine film about lycanthropy. Having discovered "Wolfen", for years it was incorporated into my Halloween film-viewing ritual; even now it retains the ability to terrify, disturb, and awe.

Wadleigh's tale centers on an aging NYPD detective (played marvellously by Albert Finney) called in to investigate the savage murder and dismemberment of real estate tycoon Christopher Van der Veer, his wife, and his chauffeur. Van der Veer had been planning a redevelopment in the ruined, devastated South Bronx, and Finney's investigation---aided by policeman Whittington (played with reserve by Gregory Hines)---brings him face to furry face with an ancient horror that pits itself against a sprawling, modern City. Oh, did I mention that this ancient horror has an appetite?

Wadleigh and cinematographer Gerry Fisher have an uncanny talent for capturing bleak, dessicated, haunted sites on film, and "Wolfen" winds itself around fairly elaborate set pieces: the Battery massacre sequence, the ruined Cathedral and slum in the South Bronx, the Van der Veer skyscraper, love interest Diane Venora's apartment, the besieged lab in the Central Park Zoo, a cable on the Brooklyn Bridge high above New York Harbor.

These stylish sets are aided and abetted by fine acting: Finney as the dogged police inspector, Venora as the steely love interest, Hines as the loyal partner, Edward James Olmos as the cynical Native American who knows too many secrets. There is a wonderful scene between Olmos and Finney on the Brooklyn Bridge which Olmos digs into with sadistic glee, and it makes the movie.

There are some other fine directorial touches on display here, particularly Wadleigh's spooky wolf-cam and wolf-vision: the stalking of a pitiful homeless man in the beasts' lair is one of the most terrifying put to film. Wadleigh provides a nice counterpoint to the wolf-cam with the green starlight scope-vision of Hines's M-16 sniper rifle, underscoring the battle---and similarities---between modern Man and his ageless Enemy.

This is not a film about special effects: there are no gaudy, gory transformation sequences here, and the film doesn't need them. This is quiet, mounting, full-bodied horror, though, and Wadleigh does a fine job in creating a sense of unease and malevolence, particularly in the sequence where Finney confronts some of the Native American construction workers in a Manhattan bar. The scene manages to convey malevolence, dignity, and sadness all at once, and is marvelous.

"Wolfen" is a movie that, for me, is all about Fear, about Fear Incarnate, about ageless Monsters forced to fight for their territory. It is one of the few horror films that manages to transcend terror and makes the leap into Awe.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favorates!
Review: One of the most fun and informative horror flicks I have seen to date. Before working for Amazon, I was studying to be a wolf bioligist, as well as having deeply studied the werewolf legends, and to me, this movie is a rare treat. Besides excelent suspense buildup, this movie educates you about it's subject matter. It makes you feel not only for the main human charactors, but the supernatural pack of wolves that hides below ground. A scarry visual treat.

Rating:
Summary: Intense.
Review: Quality werewolf films are hard to come by. I find it interesting to note that the three best all came out the same year: 1981. An American Werewolf In London, The Howling and Wolfen all came out that year. These three films are the only werewolf films a movie collector needs (or a horror buff for that matter). Wolfen took a different approach to the traditional werewolf story. I'm not one to give away plot points but of the three aforementioned films, Wolfen is the most suspenseful and mystery oriented. This is a must have for film collectors.

Rating:
Summary: Sluggish horror film !
Review: The innovative special effects hold this film all along its dramatic structure . For many viewers this is a cult movie and to be true it has very inspired moments, but if you realize the presence of Albert Finney deserved a best treatment.
The script promised in the first half but you feel a lack of goals . The film could be worked better if it has turned to the thriller mood , but it did not grow up and finally you have to accept this is a blended thriller horror picture .


Rating:
Summary: Schitzophrenic screenwriter?
Review: This movie deservedly achieved some good reviews, but it's not anywhere near as intelligent as some have described it. The first half is a tense, well made, interesting mystery/thriller that also has some intriguing supernatural/metaphysical possibilities. Unfortunately though, around halfway through "Wolfen" takes a dive straight off a cliff and becomes boring and uninteresting. It then falls apart completely; the ending is laughable and preposterous.

During the first half, the predator/killer remains unknown and unseen, and there is a great deal of mystery as to who or what is viciously killing people. We see the actual murders from the p.o.v. of the killer, via good and innovative Steadicam work. It's interesting to watch as Albert Finney slowly realizes shapeshifting may be behind the murders. I was riveted to the screen and was thinking "what a fantastic movie!", despite some minor annoyances, which I'll get into momentarily.

Around the halfway point, the wolf cam perspective and accompanying psychedelic colors and distortion started becoming tiresome, and the movie ceased being a tense thriller and instead turned into a really boring and ludicrous mess. Too many unanswered questions: why is the medical examiner accompanying the chief detective to a known hot spot with a rifle? Is he a sharpshooter in his spare time? Since when does a medical examiner go out to catch a mass murderer? Why does he immediately seclude himself, eating chips and beer, mooning the detective - knowing a killer is on the prowl? Answer: because the writer was too unoriginal to think of any other way to get him killed. And since when do wolves have the capability of severing limbs and heads, cleanly and in one lunge?

Also, the characters are terribly underdeveloped. I couldn't have cared less about any of them. The chief of police is a cliched caricature - doesn't believe in the supernatural, thinks the investigating detective is nuts, then realizes the error of his ways, but does something stupid anyway. If I were that actor, I would have been complaining VERY loudly about the moronic lines he has to say and the ridiculous things he does at the end of the film. There is also a female in a lead role, but I have no idea why she's there except to make love to Finney for no reason, and get herself into danger that he has to get her out of. She has no reason for being in this movie. And I already mentioned Greg Hines' character, who is annoying and totally unrealistic. Leonard Maltin said Hines did a great job, but I disagree - he's awful, and whoever wrote his part is even worse. Finney does an adequate job, but the script really lets him down. He's forced to act like a Dirty Harry-type of cop at the beginning; slovenly, a rebel, near retirement. But there's no reason for any of that, it has no meaning at all toward the plot. In fact, much of the stuff they put in like that seems to be just filler in between the action, an attempt to give the characters some spark of life, and it doesn't work. These people are totally cardboard. The wolves are the stars of the movie, and we don't see them until near the end. And even then, they're obviously wolf dogs, not wolves, because wolves aren't the most cooperative actors.

So ultimately, "Wolfen" ends up being one of those films that tries hard, but fails, despite its strengths. At it's heart, it's a message film, but it drenches the viewer in repulsive, unnecessary blood and gore strictly for the purpose of making more money at the box office. It also tries to be a mystery for the first half, which it succeeds at. But after the mystery is solved, it doesn't know where to go except to bore us with all the details and struggle with a conclusion. It's almost as if two different screenwriters wrote this: one intelligent guy did the first part, and a no-talent hack wrote the latter part. And just to make sure the movie is permanently ruined, they had Finney do a much-too-literal and melodramatic voiceover in the last scene to explain it all. It's a laughable attempt to end on a spiritual note, which is hard to do after they've just shown a man's head brutally decapitated and rolling in the street, eyes still blinking. This movie tries to be too many different things at once, it fails at most of them, and it's about 30 minutes too long. It does, however, get 3 stars from me because it was quite riveting for a while. Truly disappointing to see it blow up. Deservant of 2 1/2 stars, but they don't have halves here at Amazon. Wolf lovers will give this one 5 stars though - but the fact that Albert Finney's uninteresting character now respects them, which is where it all ends up, is a meaningless thing to base a film around.

Rating:
Summary: NOT a horror movie at all!
Review: Well then, the first thing you'll notice about Wolfen, is that It Is far from being a horror, werewolf movie, the pace sometimes is there, but the rest....... The ending is laughable, unfortunately. I could only recommend this movie for the completists, as It Is kind of boring sometimes. If you are really into werewolves, go for An American werewolf in London, or even The Howling (The special effects are pretty poor sometimes, contrasting with some brilliant moments). If you are NOT into werewolves movies you'll also find this review helpful as It makes you give It a try. The bottom line is, I wouldn't want to be fooled purchasing or renting a film which boasts a werewolf on the cover that has nothing to do with the real plot
and It Is nowhere to be seen. People really into werewolves movies will be dissapointed in It, that's for sure.

Rating:
Summary: Nice thriller.
Review: What makes "Wolfen" work, is the same thing that made the first "Jaws" movie work. We don't get beat over the head by seeing the 'monster' from the opening credits. We only see fleeting images. Wolfen is unique in that we see most of the film through the eyes of the wolves. There is some great camera work in this film, and the tension builds nicely. Another plus is that the film didn't cop out in the end. The resolution was very satisfying. Between 1 and 10, "Wolfen" gets a solid 7. I wonder if Whitley Streiber wrote this book before or after the aliens abducted him?

Rating:
Summary: Wolfen More Than Just A Tense Thriller
Review: Whitley Strieber's novel WOLFEN was a gripping yarn but it was heavily altered for the film. While in most cases this is a recipe for disaster, I am glad to say WOLFEN is an exemplary case of the opposite. Michael Wadleigh directs a nice thriller with werewolf-ish undertones. His main stars, Albert Finney and Diane Venora, play an unlikely couple of investigators in some nasty murders that turn out to be more than just ordinary killings. Wadleigh builds the suspense to agonizing levels, throws in special wolfen p.o.v. cameraworks just for kicks and for the fans amongst all of us, this film packs a great early James Horner score. Also notable is a good undertone of suggestion as the metamorphosis of man into wolf is hinted at but not physically shown. Filmed in 1980 or 1981, it is now only dated for it's electronic equipment. A good film for anyone's collection, especially those among you who are interested in anything concerning wolves and werewolves.

Rating:
Summary: Deleted Scene - ** Stars
Review: Wolfen is a rare werewolf movie that isn't all Hollywood hokum. This absorbing and suspenseful movie makes a strong social commentary about how much we know and asks the question which race is truly superior.

If you're looking for the traditional werewolf movie, Wolfen is not it. If you're looking for a well made suspense drama with great special effects, Wolfen is a 4 Star movie to see.

Wolfen is a beautifully transferred DVD that has great picture quality - the only problem is that Wolfen has a deleted scene in the bar with singer Tom Waits.

Are studios so in a rush to make a buck that they are deleting scenes, leaving out sub-titles and essential dubbing? What's the point in owning a good looking disc with missing movie parts? A shocker from Warner and a red flag to the other major studios who think that DVD collectors don't notice such omissions.

Rating:
Summary: Wolfen has much, much more to say than just 'boo!'.
Review: Wolfen is a very rare species in the horror genre in that it actually has something to say besides 'boo!' It is actually a well done urban fable about the folly of man's belief in his inherent domination of nature. Albert Finney is good as the NYPD cop who is assigned to solve a series of uncharacteristically grizzly murders. Gregory Hines crackles as the smarmy coroner. But it is really the camerawork that is the star of Wolfen. It is first rate. For the first part of the movie, the camera IS the vicious beast, stalking then attacking its unsuspecting prey in an array of dizzying,infared swatches of terror. The camerawork is so good in metaphorically being the killer that when we get our first glimpse of the actual killer, it isn't as frightening. The photographer also deserves kudos for a magnificent job of portraying a very different New York City than most of us are used to seeing. In Wolfen, it is surreally cold and seems almost devoid of human warmth. It's like a giant cage in which our characters are plopped--perfect! To sum it up, Wolfen is literally a must-see.