The Wolf

While historical in the way many of the Hammer films of the late 60s, early 70s are, "Wilczca" departs from its English brethren in its not-so-subtle political concerns.

In "Wilczca", the backdrop is the 19th century Polish nationalist battles against the Prussians. However, what is missing is the obvious "other' monster of both the 19th century and the 1980s: Russia. Between 1800 and 1917, Poland was basically a territory divided between the competing ambitions of the Napoleonic wars, Prussia, Russia and the Hapsburg empire. Piestrak, obviously, could not be so obviously anti-Russian when making this film. So the Prussians will have to do.

Now, I mention this because it is helps to frame the ostensible central concern here: Infidelity and betrayal. Specifically, we are introduced in the opening to "Maryna," the wife of "Kacper", a man returning home from doing his part in the nationalist wars. Maryna lays dying as an unfaithful spouse: unfaithful to her returning husband, unfaithful to her religion and unfaithful to her country. Kacper calls her a bad name as she lays dying, and she promises to return as a she-wolf. Which she does. However, she also comes to possess the body of "Countess Julia," who happens to be the spouse of the Count for whom Kasper works. We then spend a fair amount of time getting acquainted with Julia's infidelities, her transformations and what must be done to stop them.

Several reviews mention the apparent misogyny and even anti-Semitism of the film. As to the latter claim, I will simply point out that Dr. Goldberg emerges as something of a hero in the film. As to the former claim, that one has more bite: The two women here (Maryna and Julia) function as allegorical figures with no real personality or character development. That said, the idea that war destroys the civil sphere dates back at least to the Greeks (see "Medea"), so I regard it as of a piece with the type of film that this is.

In the end, I found the applicable analogy less to the Hammer films than to some of Hertzog's work from the same period. At any rate, this is a slow burn. But it actually does pick up its pace during the last 20 minutes, and the ending is pretty decent. For a no-budget film, the cinematography is fairly good and reflects the darkness, cold and snow that surround the primary events in the film.

In sum, if your baseline comparison is to the three 1981 biggies: "An American Werewolf" "Wolfen" and "The Howling," this will disappoint. But if you like an overtly historical tale that takes its time to get to the dramatic scenes, this might work for you.

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.

(1983) Wilczyca (In Polish with English subtitles) HORROR

Co-written and directed by Marek Piestrak that has Kacper Wosinski (Krzysztof Jasinski) just arriving to help his ailing wife, Maryna (Iwona Bielska) he has not seen in years who happens to be dying. But because she has done things while he was away that may have bewitched her, may have forced the way she was supposed to be buried. We are then see Kasper, a comrade in arms interact with his fellow superiors, Count Wiktor Smorawinski (Leon Niemczyk) and Count Ludwik (Stanislaw Brejdygant) who has just been married to a much younger wife, Countess Julia, who appears to have a history with a much younger high ranking cavalry man, Otto (Olgierd Lukaszewicz).

Despite the unmemorable ending and not scary at all, I thought much of it is reminiscent of a folklore or a mythical tale.

This tale of spirits, dark magic, and lycanthropy carries with it the same sensibilities as other folk horror films to come out of Eastern Europe in the mid to late twentieth century. I think especially of 'Viy' (1967), and 'Leptirica' (1973), titles wherein effects, special makeup, and the active horror element are minimized, though present nonetheless, while broadly carrying a dry, unbothered air in the plot and its development. Such an approach may make the picture less appealing to the average genre fan, but maybe more so for the average moviegoer at large. It's certainly a very different experience relative to what modern viewers have come to expect of horror from, say, the 60s onward, yet no less worthy if one can appreciate the style. One can readily imagine how 'Wilczyca' would look if given a remake in 2022, for example, and if we can transfer that image in our minds onto what we're given in this 1983 movie - honestly, it' sa whole lot of fun!

Sure, the horror isn't actualized in the way we're generally used to, and it's not especially visceral. Yet the flavors we get are delicious all the same as soldier Kacper unwittingly finds himself immersed in supernatural goings-on. Considered in and of itself the story is engaging and compelling, even taking into account a tired arrangement in which virtuous men are seen as pursuing evil women (or were they just, you know, tired of the nonsense of the world of men and strove to carve their own path?). The cast give steady performances, not least Krzysztof Jasinski and Iwona Bielska, and Marek Piestrak's direction seems very sound to me, with a fine eye for detail. I admire the production design and art direction (and the filming locations), as well as the costume design and hair and makeup work. This is a period piece, after all, and the labor poured into realizing a bygone era is superb. Honestly, in every way we would hope, this is quite well made.

Far removed from what a twenty-first century viewer would recognize as genre convention, 'Wilczyca' nevertheless is an enjoyable tale of horror. One sees flourishes in Piestrak's direction in particular that stand out as demonstrating a swell intelligence, a mind for what best realizes such narratives. There is, after all, a measure of building tension throughout the length, and for as much as the feature tends to downplay its most robust aspects, by contrast the climax and ending are altogether jolting. By all means, I can understand that this won't meet the standards of all comers, yet for anyone receptive to the wide variety of what cinema has to offer, and horror specifically, there's a great deal to like here. It takes a while to warm up, but when all is said and done I had a great time watching 'Wilczyca,' and give it a solid thumbs-up!

"Wilczyca" by Marek Piestrak is arguably the most famous Polish horror film.Unfortunately this atmospheric flick is not well-known abroad.The action of "Wilczyca" takes place in Poland in the ninetieth century.Maryna dislikes his husband,a Polish patriot named Kacper.Before her death,she curses him.Her evil is transformed not only into a young countess Julia,but also into the wolf..."Wilczyca" is definitely a Polish horror classic that reminds me some Hammer productions.The film is loaded with traditional genre elements like tombs or silver bullets.The climax is surprisingly gory and the mood is quite sensual.Unfortunately its sequel "Powrot Wilczycy" from 1990,also directed by Piestrak,is nowhere nearly as good as the original.So if you ever get a chance to watch this film,don't hesitate to do this.8 out of 10.