"Wolfen" - Excellent Werewolf Tale

I enjoyed "Wolfen" immensely when I saw it nearly 20 years ago, which is much more than I can say for a far inferior, though a vastly more hyped movie released the same year, "The Howling". Though I smirk when I remember "The Howling", I still have fond memories of "Wolfen" for its plot, acting, special effects, visceral impact, creativity, and imagination. Even though the era of Reagan and "big hair" has long since passed into history, "Wolfen" still looks good, and it'll be a great horror classic 20 years from now.

"Wolfen" opens strongly with a wrenchingly gory scene that pulls no punches. A wealthy couple decide to go for a midnight stroll in the park, escorted by a huge and menacing bodyguard; their limousine waiting nearby. In their pride and naivete, the couple somehow think their wealth and social position makes them immune to harm, but their bodyguard knows better. He is alert, nervous, and carrying a hand-held canon at the ready, but it does no good. Something comes hurtling out of the darkness, and before he can draw his gun, his hand, still holding his weapon, is severed at wrist; a split second later he is killed. Likewise, the man and woman are killed in the next few seconds. You are left with the scene of the bodyguard's hand, clenching the gun, lying in the grass, with death finally causing his hand to release its grip; the pistol's cylinder slowly revolving back to the starting position with a harmless click. Stupendous!!

It's not long before the police detective, played by Albert Finney, sporting the "big hair" so popular with men in the early 80s, arrives to help work on the murders. His character is "interesting" in sort of a stereotyped way; he's late middle-aged, curmudgeonly, testy, sarcastic, street-wise, and ready to disbelieve nothing. He's later teamed with a young Gregory Hines; he's a coroner who is one of those investigating the remains of the people murdered by the thing in the park.

One of "Wolfen's" many strengths is you are not allowed to see the creatures that do the killing for most of the movie, though there is plenty of slaughter committed. You do get to see many point of view scenes from the eyes of the predators as they stalk their human prey and kill them. Their eyesight is obviously different from a human being's; the colors are queerly reversed, like a negative, and everything is bright, even places which would be pitch black to a person. Their prey are almost always the weak, defenseless, and soft, whether it's the wealthy (and soft) people at the beginning of the movie, or the starving and sickly homeless through most of the rest. Even the "tough and cunning" of humanity, when armed with guns, do no better, and they are ruthlessly dispatched like all the rest.

"Wolfen" does have a few quirks, one of them being where it veers off into the Native American Indian's plight in this country. Yes, they've been cruelly treated as a people by the white man, and that's barely recognized now, let alone in 1981. However, to have that as a subtheme of the movie that shows time and time again gets old, and you can get a little uncomfortable as the movie periodically stops to lecture to you. Of course, if the makers of the movie want to deliver a message, that's their right, but it could have been done better, especially the theme of shape-shifting that was loosely connected to the Indians in the movie. Do the Indians know how to shape-shift (turn into animals)? Do they know what's going on with the murders in New York? Are they responsible for them? You never know, and that's never resolved in the movie.

Despite the efforts of Albert Finney and Gregory Hines, they are unable to stop the bizarre murders in the city, and in fact, they are unable to even confront or get a glimpse of the murderers, until the very end. It's only then, where the two of them set a trap (or so they think) in an abandoned building at night, where they have high-powered rifles and infrared 'scopes, that they see what is responsible. Even so, the appearance of the "wolf" is a mocking vision; it shows itself to the police detective only after it has slain his partner, leisurely strolling into his line of fire, almost smirking, as if to say "here I am, do something about it if you can".

Though surviving the encounter, the police detective's supervisor is not so fortunate, as he is slain in one of the most graphic scenes of slow dismemberment I've ever seen in a modern movie. Without going into all the details, he is murdered on (what appears to be) Wall Street. Is there a message here? The ending (see the movie) is a distinct letdown, and has a strongly tacked-on appearance. Suffice it to say that last two minutes of the movie must have been scripted in crayon, because they have all the flair of a five-year old writer.

Don't hesitate to see "Wolfen" at your earliest possible opportunity. In fact, don't hesitate to buy it if you can, its early 80s setting won't detract from your repeated enjoyment of it. The only disappointment is you won't be able to see it on the big screen, like I did nearly 20 years ago, where it is awesome.