Wolfen
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Movie Reviews of Wolfen
Movie Review: Change isn't always good
Summary: 3 Stars
I used this story THE WOLFEN by Whitney Scheiber in my high school classes to get kids to read. The book was a "real grabber" and could scare you into not sleeping for a few nights and definitely not taking out the family garbage in the dark. I couldn't wait till the movie was released back in '81 and I waited on line in NYC to see the premier showing one fall night - well, I really thought I'd gone into the wrong theater. What a different story. Indians, ecology, cocaine, a real estate mogul and incredibly beautiful wolves unlike the books' lupines with massive killing claws, perfect mimicry and natural selection tuned for perfect killing... No trace left behind, not even a bone fragment. And, as I look back at this early time in my teaching career and the book that got so many kids to read - WHY CHANGE A STORY SO MUCH OH DEAR HOLLYWOOD? Well, I best put the dvd aside for now, and crawl back into bed with my 1st edition copy of Mr Schreiber's masterpiece of horror.
Movie Review: NOT a horror movie at all!
Summary: 3 Stars
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 plotand It Is nowhere to be seen. People really into werewolves movies will be dissapointed in It, that's for sure.
Movie Review: Sluggish horror film !
Summary: 3 Stars
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 .
Movie Review: Wolfen
Summary: 3 Stars
Good movie but not the best Werewolf movie,more drama than horror and with a social message. I want to see Werewolves Not Real Wolves! I am more of An American Werewolf In London Fan.Movie Review: 'Wolfen' not quite sure what it wants to be......
Summary: 2 Stars
At the risk of adding yet another "this movie was not like the book" review, I will point to "Jaws" as a movie that deviated somewhat from the book, but still maintained the horror and impending sense of doom that the novel skillfully imparted. "Wolfen", on the other hand, comes across as a heavy-handed and absurd treatise on the evils of overdeveloping land. Michael Wadleigh, director of "Woodstock", seems to want to let the world know that he's a tree-hugger and proud of it. While Whitley Streiber's excellent novel portrayed the wolfen as a super-intelligent race of hunters that systematically track down and destroy that which threatens their existence (mainly, Wilson and Neff, investigating the murders of two fellow cops committed by the wolfen), Wadleigh's adaptation blurs the line between survival and political activism. Indeed, halfway through the film you expect the wolfen to show up with "save the rainforests" buttons pinned on their pelts. Streiber's novel made the wolfen's mindset clear: Destroy that which threatens us. In that respect, the murders at the beginning of the book (the two police officers) are a mistake, a rash action by two young cubs which leads to more and more humans closing in on the wolfen. The wolfen have managed to remain hidden for years due to their cunning; attack the old and infirm, those that will not be missed, and destroy the bodies, something which the two cubs ignored and is now threatening the existence of the pack. The movie wolfen, on the other hand, basically attack a celluloid Donald Trump because he is razing over their slums and building an apartment complex. The movie then turns into a neo-political whodunnit, with Native-American Edward James Olmos being considered for the crime, and then local trust-fund terrorists Götterdämmerung being pegged for the deaths. Suffice it to say, the wolfen of the novel would not have risked their existence being revealed by killing a developer; they would have merely moved on and searched for new hunting grounds.
I give the movie two stars mainly because of the acting of the principles involved. Albert Finney makes an impressive George "Dewey" Wilson, and looking back at it now it's hard to imagine anyone else in that role. Gregory Hines' Whittington is a vast improvement over (the book's) curmudgeonly Wilson-hating Evans, and his interaction with Finney is a highlight. Tom Noonan's Ferguson is note for note the Ferguson from the novel, and freshfaced Diane Venora is adequate as Neff (here relegated to a secondary role as opposed to co-headliner in the novel). The scenes with the wolfen are merely OK, with Neff and Wilson investigating the old church and Wilson and Whittington staking out the wolfen as chilling as it's going to get.
I won't go over the absurd ending of the film, but I will say this: See it for the curiosity factor, then read the novel. You'll see where Michael Wadleigh (who also helped write the screenplay) injected his own politics into the film, and destroyed a fine concept in the process.