Underrated Films - Wolfen

 

Wolfen is a crime horror movie, that's based on Whitley Strieber's 1978 book The Wolfen. Orion Pictures did production with distribution duties going towards Warner Bros. Wolfen was written by Michael Wadleigh and David M. Eyre J. and directed by Michael Wadleigh.

The story is, there's been a series of bizarre, vicious murders which are first thought to from wild animals. Because of the odd nature, former NYPD captain Dewey Wilson is called in to solve the case. But the more Dewey uncovers, the more he realizes these are animal attacks, but they're by no means simple.

Why It's Underrated

The movie, much like many others, is just not well known. It really goes under the radar especially since when people think of a 1981 wolf film, the first ones that'll come to mind are either An American Werewolf in London or The Howling.

My Thoughts

Now I do want to slightly criticize some things. First off, Wadleigh is a very talented director. He did a fantastic job with handling the movie, for 99.99% of the time. Where he slightly lost me was his overuse of the "Wolfen Vision". Basically it use seeing this from the wolves' point of view. But sometimes we'll get a pov that'll leave us confused on how many wolves there are or point of views where the wolves really shouldn't be able to see anything.

The there's the story. Don't get it wrong, the murder mystery is fine, the creepier points are pretty good, and the message was fine, but the ending dialogue really shouldn't have been included. All it does is tell you exactly what the message, and in a very ham-fisted way even though you already put the pieces together.

Alright now let's talk about the truly positives aspects, with the more interesting spin. Let me state that this isn't a werewolf movie, that's a misconception. It's more in line with nature attacking, but with a very subtle element put into it. I would tell you what that is, but when it comes to this segment, I prefer if you guys go figure it out yourselves if you want to give the movie a try.

Then we move onto the cinematography. Michael Wadleigh and Gerry Fisher did a tremendous job with the look of the movie. New York looks decayed, creepy, but yet still has a beauty to it.

The last thing I'll credit is the suspense. This movie really takes it, but it felt worth it because it's only a matter of time before the tension finally breaks. Which it does in a very fun finale battle.

Wolfen has flaws but there's still a lot of good in it. However if you prefer the previously mentioned An American Werewolf in London or The Howling well I'm not gonna argue. Those are some pretty sweet movies.

My final rating is, Good.

My not have ended this Halloween season with a huge bang, but hey, it's better than ending with some hugely disappointing like Exorcist: Believer. Anyhow, that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Nov 4th, for my comic book review of, Captain America: Winter Soldier. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃