Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Wolf; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.75
Direction: 1.00
Pace: 0.50
Acting: 1.00
Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.25 out of 10.00.
OMG, this movie starts brilliantly. Kacper races home to his bedridden and sickened wife. Only to find his brother at the house along with the doctor, who informs him his wife is dying. But, should that not be enough, he learns from her twisted lips she has renounced God and has turned to the occult. His wife's gone dark side. His brother tells him he and the village know of the woman's actions and beliefs. Nobody shows up on the day of her funeral, not even the priest, and he and his brother have to bury the body. But first, they stake her heart so she won't rise from the grave. Life goes on, and Kacper takes residence with a local politician and his wife as their bodyguard. The politician and his wife don't have the most loving relationship, and her ladyship has taken to the arms of her maid, dresser, and confidant. Around this moment, the story takes a misstep, and the movie loses its flow. We spend too much time in the lives of the aristocracy, and the writer Jerzy Gieraltowski and Marek Piestrak change the persona of the principal character. Kacper is a sturdy and intelligent man. A man you'd be happy to have at your back. But in the second phase of the story, he becomes more of a clown. Along with the slow pace and lack of a captivating storyline, this element near-kills the tale of terror. And that's another misfortune: The forewarned horror of the opening sequence never arrives. But that's not to say there aren't any good ideas in the narrative. The Wolf possesses one of the best. It's the idea of supernatural possession. When the Countess begins acting strangely, Kacper starts seeing his dead wife's face in all the pictures that should hold the Countesses' countenance. Upon witnessing the omen of evil, he turns to the doctor who treated his wife for help. They set about attempting to defeat the corruptness before it consumes the Countess. Sadly, this comes too late in the story; you may have dozed off by this point - or hit the off button. It's a great idea, but required better attention to the narrative's construction for it to work.
Piestrak's direction is better than his writing. The opening sequence holds urgency and threat. It also goes a long way in solidifying Kacper's persona in the viewer's mind. Sadly, that is the last time we feel anxious. The rest of the picture, though it holds some well-composed and captured scenes, is too tedious. Piestrak doesn't help because he ceases to vary the tempo as he did in the opening. Everything becomes a tad wishy-washy and dull. The next creative moment comes at the end of the movie.
The performers are the best component of the film. Even Kacper's wife, who is only in the picture for a few minutes, is superbly captured by the actress portraying her. You can feel her contempt for religion and all that's holy in every word she spits at her husband from her deathbed. This lady isn't going quietly into the long goodnight.
Had Gieraltowski been better skilled at storytelling and cut out all the hyperbole and unnecessary sections, keeping to the horror story, this movie would've been up there with the best. I have no doubts that Piestrak would've excelled in bringing a spooky supernatural horror to the screen; as it is, he does his best. But I cannot bring myself to recommend this movie. There are so many films out in the world and a good many are better than this. I'm glad I've seen it, but I won't be revisiting The Wolf again - though I may borrow that possession idea for a story of my own.
Sit! Roll Over! Play Dead! Good wolfy. Now change back and check out my IMDb list - Absolute Horror to see where I ranked The Wolf.
Take Care & Stay Well.
