Werewolf movies were big in the early 80's and this is one of the good ones. This horror/thriller has striking cinematography and sound, fine direction, and a good script, and very good Special Effects.
A series of seemingly unrelated murders are being committed in New York City, from the penthouses of the super-rich, to the bombed out appearing South Bronx. Burned out detective Dewey Wilson (Finney) and terrorism expert Rebecca Neff (Venora) are brought in to solve the case. Coroner Whittington (Hines) finds a common thread.
Wolfen is one of the rare cases where lots of people working on one element improved the film, instead of hurting it. Four people are credited with the photography, six for the script, and eleven people worked on the Visual Effects. James Horner did the score for the film; a theme heard in another film he scored can be heard here, in an understated form.
Finney is good as the burned out detective. Venora isn't believable as a terrorism expert, but very believable as someone who doesn't have the sense to stay away from odd noises in the South Bronx. Hines is cynically funny as the coroner.
"Wolfen"is strong on technique, fair on acting. I'd recommend it.
