User reviews

What a weird fairy tale: director Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire) seems to have had the intention of taking a Freudian approach to the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'. The result is an almost surreal collection of stories about rather testosterone driven werewolves, who all have a little more on their minds than 'just' to kill. If you like old school practical effects and transformations, this film has 'em by the truck load (although they do seem a little dated by now). Not everything works in this strange tale; the mix of sexual symbolism, poetic beauty and gory horror moments seems a bit forced at times - but when it does work it's utterly fascinating. For fans of the weird and lovers of the pre-CGI era, this is a rare treat. 7 out of 10.

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Thirteen-year-old teenager Rosaleen : Sarah Petterson lives with her parents : David Warner , Tusse Silberg, on the outskirts of a forbidding forest . Meanwhile , the beautiful girl listens her grandmother : Angela Lansbury telling fairy tales and the latter fills the heroine's head with grim stories of wolves until a sticky final . As Rosaleen dreams of a medieval fantasy environment inhabited by men who turn into wolves. As the bizarre world in which the charming teen lives is full of polecats, owls , toads , snakes , hopping , prowling and slithering round the crooked houses of the woods .

A horror fairy tale , being consistently paced , freely based on Charles's Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood and crossing it with Legend of the Werewolf . Weird terror movie that's heavy on dreamy visuals , gorgeous production design by Anthon Furst , colorful cinematography by Bryan Loftus , primitive but acceptable special effects with gruesomely vivid werewolves and Freudian symbolism . Main cast and support cast are frankly excellent , giving powerful interpretations . Starring attractive Sarah Patterson as the girl who's on the verge of womanhood and discovers rare worlds , in spite of her early age she gives an enticing acting , as well as high quality performance from veteran Angela Lansbury as the sympathetic granny , along with brief interpretations from David Warner, Georgia Slowe, Graham Cowden , Brian Glover , Terence Stamp and Stephen Rea who is Jordan's regular .

It displays a sensitive and atmospheric musical score by George Fenton, adding a medieval backgrounding sounds . The motion picture was original and compellingly written -along with Angela Carter- and directed by Neil Jordan . This great filmmaker has made splendid movies, such as : Mona Lisa , High Spirits , We're no Angels , The Crying Game , The Miracle , Interview with the Vampire, in Dreams, Michael Collins , The Butcher Boy , The Good Thief , The Brave One , Byzantium , among others . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching . Essential and indispensable seeing.

Along with Dario Argento's "Suspiria"(1977)this is one of the most dream-like horror movies ever made.I love this one,although I still think that "Suspiria" is better.The cast is excellent,especially young Sarah Patterson as a Rosaleen,who simply steals the show.The transformation scenes are pretty gruesome and effective,and the film looks wonderful-great imagery!More fairy tale than horror "The Company of Wolves" is a must-see for all horror fans,who doesn't mind something different.

The company of Wolves. why is it so underrated? A simple low budget sweet tale that everybody knows cleverly put together into this horror masterpiece with a few more short stories added. Special Effects are great. I love the first story the most where they cut the Werewolves head off and it turns back human. I'm probably going to upset a few people now when I rate the special effects more than In An American Werewolf In London. But the best bit if all is all the god damn German Shepherds jumping through the window at the end. Believable as Wolves Not - but still such a delicious, entertaining, humorous and gory. The Company Of Wolves is OK in my book.

Overall this film is pretty good; I wouldn't say it rivals "American Werewolf in London", or even "Dog Soldiers", but it's a fun fantasy horror flick. Though the film is only an hour and a half long, it does tend to drag in a few places, but overall it's worth your time. Great practical effects, atmospheric production design, and inventive storytelling make this film enjoyable, particularly for fans for gothic fantasy and horror.

Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) is a teenager, living in a country house in England with her family in the present days, and having a nightmare with wolves and werewolves in the Middle Ages. In her dream, her boring sister is dead, she lives with her father (David Warner) and her mother (Tusse Silberg), but she spends lots of time with her lovely grandmother (Angela Lansbury). Granny tells her many stories of werewolf and gives her the following advice: "- Never stray from the path in the woods, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet." One day, Rosaleen, while going to visit her grandmother, meets a handsome man and bets who would arrive first at her granny's house. Soon she finds who he is.

"In the Company of Wolves" is the second and one of the most fascinating films by Neil Jordan. Based on the fairy tale of the Little Red Riding Hood, it is indeed an adult stylized version of the tale in a dreamlike atmosphere with open end. But further than that, it is also a spectacular approach of the beginning of the puberty, losing of the innocence through wild and erotic dreams, when the character of Sarah Patterson is becoming a young woman. Neil Jordan makes an excellent horror movie, which can have the most different interpretations, depending on the experience of the viewer. He uses many symbols, such as the lipstick, or the first date of Rosaleen. The gorgeous and promising actress Sarah Patterson has never become a star. With her interpretation in this cult-movie, any fan would believe she would have a great career ahead, what has never come true. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Companhia dos Lobos" ("The Company of the Wolves")

Note: On 23 March 2024, I saw this film again.

This is the oddest horror movie that I have seen. The whole story takes place in a young girl's dreams, which is pretty much a different telling of Red Riding Hood. It's does something really different with the classic fairy tale by making it both bizarre and creative. The movie itself has a pretty good atmosphere with the setting of the dream and the build-up towards the werewolves showing up. Speaking of the werewolves, there's not that much of it, but it does have good tension when they show up. One flaw I have with the movie is that there's a couple of scenes where the characters aren't doing that much and are doing their daily tasks throughout. The ending itself is a strangest that I have seen over how it ends and what it symbolizes of it.

Also, there's about four stories that Granny and Rosaleen tell throughout the movie. All of them have something to do with the werewolves, and they are interesting to see it. The third story is the strangest of out of them because of what happened in it. But I felt these stories cause the main plot to stop and tell a short story that has little to do with the main plot. I think it cause the characters to be knowledgeable about werewolves and what they do.

Let's all thank god for Neil Jordan. Not only did he bring Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire to the screen in an uncompromising, superb adaptation, but way back at the start of his career he also brought us this mini-masterpiece about werewolves.

The setup is simple. A teenage girl in a country manor falls asleep while reading a magazine (with a cover story entitled "the shattered dream" -- a subtle hint to some of the themes of this movie), and she has a disturbing dream involving wolves which appears to take place in the woods visible from her bedroom window. It begins with a girl being chased down by a pack of wolves and killed, then we move to her funeral and discover she had a sister. The sister is your typical inquisitive girl just blossoming into womanhood, and her wise old grandmother tells her stories about men changing into wolves, with the message that all men are beasts. These stories make the girl uncomfortable about the advances of a local boy, and later a charming nobleman, and her perceptions of her parent's love life don't help. As the town becomes more and more terrified by the danger of wolf attacks, they begin to unearth evidence that there are in fact werewolves out in the woods. These findings and her own active imagination lead the girl to come up with her own werewolf stories. And when she is sent out through the woods with a red cloak and basket to visit her grandmother, you just know that there's going to be trouble ...

The Company of Wolves is a well-made, smart and highly original piece of work, and it is this movie that got Irish director Neil Jordan noticed internationally. The surreal, dream-like atmosphere of the movie is both superb and engaging, and the metaphorical nature of the movie is reasonably subtle. It is about a young girl's coming-of-age, trying to decide whether or not all men are in fact beasts when she still isn't quite sure exactly what they want from her.

Generally, werewolf movies made by European film-makers tend to have more substance and more familiarity with actual werewolf folklore -- it is part of our history after all, while Hollywood has had to create it's own werewolf myth over the years. This is probably the best British werewolf movie, followed by Dog Soldiers and Curse of the Werewolf, but even American classics like The Wolf Man and of course An American Werewolf in London, had to be set in Britain.

The lead role is played by Sarah Patterson, a young girl in her debut role at just 12 years old. After this she only appeared in one more movie (Snow White, also in the Canon Movie Tales series) then for some reason gave up on movie acting. She would certainly have had a successful career after this, you would think. The supporting actors also do good jobs, particularly Micha Bergese as the huntsman and Angela Lansbury as the creative grandmother. Other well-known names appear here in smaller roles, including Brian Glover (the yorkshireman from American Werewolf), David Warner, Stephen Rea and Terence Stamp.

It currently ranks as one of my all-time favourite werewolf movies, and I expect it to grow on me even more over time. I can recommend this without any reservation.

The Company of Wolves got the right tone - dark, grim and twisted. That's how many fairy tales "sound" in their original form and not that kind of "disney-treated" sugar versions most people only know today. Neil Jordan directed two fine twisted and very original movies - the great vampire mother-daughter story of Byzantium in 2012 (Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Rile) and The Company of Wolves (1984) - besides a good working cast this one got fantastic "non-digital" colorful, detailed and richt settings. Anyway, if you like something special put this one on your plate.

I read through the reviews for "The Company of Wolves" and the vast majority were extremely positive...so positive that I was looking forward to the movie. Sadly, I wasn't bowled over by it at all and wish I'd tried something else.

There are some big problems with this film. One problem isn't necessarily the fault of the filmmakers and special effects artists. This is the dog transformation scenes which might have been decent by the standards of the time but which look hokey and very dated when you see them today. The other problem is that instead of telling a few short stories well, I found it very confusing and often the stories seemed chopped to tiny pieces. I think, in hindsight, telling one or two or even three short stories would have worked better. But intertwining them and having the strange mood they invoke just bored me. I also didn't like how the lead, a 12 year-old, seemed to be sexualized at times...making me very uncomfortable towards the end.

The Company of wolves is a very unique film that has to be watched with an open mind. It's a very surreal fantasy-horror story all of which takes place within the mind of a sleeping adolescent girl. Each story is filled with beautifully done metaphors and similes in which the werewolves represent puberty, sexuality, masculinity, and sexual awakening though there is no actual sex in the entire movie. It's very beautifully done. And even if you don't like symbolism and faery-tale style movies the werewolf transformations are quite unnerving and the stories the grandmother tells rosaleen (which are acted out as short stories in the movie) are rather chilling. This is the most original werewolf movie you will ever come across. There has never been or will there ever be again anything quite like it.

All the while when I was watching 'The Company of Wolves' it felt like I was watching a recording of a stage production. The entire film was very obviously shot in a studio.

The production design is very good (for a stage play). As for the film, although it revolves around werewolves, it was too theatrical to be taken seriously, and I didn't find it in the least scary. The story itself was also a bit weird, and I found myself watching the clock at times, constantly wishing the film was nearing its end. I got bored.

The acting was good, and the costumes were great. The werewolf effects were not the best I've seen, although some effects during the finale were very good. Ultimately, I believe the film requires an acquired taste, which unfortunately I haven't developed for this film...

While I can't recommend 'The Company of Wolves' to horror fans, I can recommend it to theater enthusiasts who might appreciate a darker telling of the classic fairy tale, Red Riding Hood.

"The Company of Wolves" focuses on the dreams of a teenage girl, Rosaleen, which are populated by stories of wolves and other mysterious goings-on occurring in the woods below her family's lush home.

This unusual part-fantasy, part-horror offering was director Neil Jordan's debut feature, and as is the case with many of his films, it is likely to divide a room. The most unusual variable here is that the film does not so much follow a character, but rather the various storybook dreams she has, which themselves are mediated through an 18th-century dreamworld in which the narratives are recounted to her by her grandmother. It is the girl's subconscious that becomes a mode of storytelling, leading the audience through several episodic sequences that feel almost like short films encapsulated in a Russian doll. Running underneath the architecture of it all are fairly obvious themes revolving around Rosaleen's purity, the dangers of sexuality, and masculine rage.

For sake of the uncanny, the lead actress, Sarah Patterson, appears throughout in different roles. The film is populated with great actors, including Angela Lansbury (playing the matronly grandmother of Rosaleen; David Warner as the father; and Stephen Rea and Terence Stamp, both of whom appear in some of the self-contained narratives.

In usual Neil Jordan style, this film is very much preoccupied with its visuals, which are laid on thick. The film was obviously mostly shot on studio sets, but the woodsy recreations are atmospheric and give it the look of a classic horror film. There are some fantastic special effects as well, in particular a practical werewolf transformation scene.

Though it is not a film that all will appreciate, "The Company of Wolves" gets high marks for being visually sumptuous, well acted, and beautifully shot. The multi-pronged storyline and general structure of the film is very unorthodox, and can at times be a bit tedious. Despite this, though, the film is a visual and technical marvel, and overall a psychologically rife take on the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale. 7/10.

This is one of those films that you either love or hate.

Depending on your personal taste, you will be either captivated by it or thoroughly bored. I happen to fit into the first category.

I must admit to having seen its video box for years and was completely turned off by it. I had been thinking, "Oh yuck, another 'gross out' werewolf movie."

So after discovering by accident what this movie was truly about (in the margin of a child's fairy tale book in my local Barnes and Noble!!!), I thought "I've got to see this."

And it wasn't easy to find.

But once I did, I was genuinely enthralled by the gorgeous and lovingly detailed backgrounds, the remarkable script and imagery. Think of this as "Little Red Riding Hood" goes "Eraserhead".

A thoroughly weird but wonderful little film that belongs in a secret classification all its own (along with such brilliant projects as "Head", "Eraserhead", "The Blair Witch Project" and the original "Haunting", to name a few) in which surrealistic suggestions, your brain and the power of your imagination rule the night.

In short, if you're looking for a run-of-the-mill 80s slasher flick then this movie is definitely NOT for you. If, on the other hand, you want to see a wonderful dark take on a traditional fairy tale then you will have a hard time making a better choice than this one!

One small note I wish to add: if you know about and/or raise real wolves like I do, you might find the scenes with them chasing others through the forest and bursting through the walls more funny than frightening. I say this because you know perfectly well how shy and gentle real wolves are, how completely opposite they are from European tradition as flesh and blood devils. But even so, you will enjoy watching those scenes anyway simply because its still fun to watch the cinematography of those gorgeous, fluffy little wolves running about all over the place with those huge smiles on their faces (they're obviously in a great mood and don't look the least bit vicious--I don't think I ever saw one of them actually snarl anywhere, just howl and smile).

Oh, and the "He Wolf" who ends up beating our red-hooded heroine home gives a genuinely stunning (but brief) performance. He's both disturbing and amusing to watch. He snarls. He writhes. He tempts and glares in the most sinister of ways, and he even sticks his tounge out to lick himself all over his own face doggy-style in ways that even Gene Simmons would envy----here's hoping the actor went on to receive acclaim in his career!

In this strange mix of folklore, fairy tales, horror, symbolism and sexual werewolves, that isn't understandable for the casual viewer. The story nor the style is significant present enough with as a result an unique but not so successful movie.

The directing by Neil Jordan doesn't seem daring enough. The style isn't enough present and the story doesn't quite flow like it should. I'm sure that the story works better in the book and I feel that this movie might should be remade by for instance Tim Burton or Sam Raimi, I'm confident that they could do more with the style and story.

The cast is quite good with a convincing Angela Lansburry and a good young Sarah Patterson in her debut.

Some of the scene's are pretty gross, thanks to the good special effects by Toby Philpott but it doesn't always look convincing.

Interesting movie that could and should have been made better.

6/10

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This movie is a commentary on the passage from innocence to adulthood and the life we throw away as we make that transition. It is series of dream sequences that cover the many ways a man becomes a werewolf while the primary story line is moody reworking of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. The movie itself is very complex and not for those looking for a straight horror movie or a fantasy love story. It puts forth the premise that childhood must end, and we must all in time give in to the animal within. The ending is one that comes as a surprise and a shock to most viewers. The transformation scenes are some of the most incredible in the history of werewolf movies. Those who view this movie will either walk away confused or find themselves changed in some subtle way. It tends to be a bit hard to find in the video stores, but it is more than worth the trouble of searching.

THE COMPANY OF WOLVES is a strange and unique exploration of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, written by Angela Carter and adapted from one of her own short stories. I think the main problem with it is that it was adapted to feature length, which means we get extra vignettes which have little to do with the main tale so they feel padded to a degree, even when they're visually impressive. The set-bound story is lavishly shot which adds plenty of atmosphere, and although the characterisation is thin on the ground, the visuals and the thematic depth more than makes up for this. Plus you get some elaborate transformation SFX reminiscent of those seen in THE THING, which help a lot.

Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) is a teenager, living in a country house in England with her family in the present days, and having a nightmare with wolves and werewolves in the Middle Ages. In her dream, her boring sister is dead, she lives with her father (David Warner) and her mother (Tusse Silberg), but she spends lots of time with her lovely grandmother (Angela Lansbury). Granny tells her many stories of werewolf and gives her the following advice: "- Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet." One day, Rosaleen, while going to visit her grandmother, meets a handsome man and bet with him who would arrive first at her granny's house. The story has an open end. The first time I watched this movie was in 1984 or 1985 in a imported VHS of a Brazilian video-club, and I liked it a lot. This video-club closed and unfortunately, this film has not been available in Brazil since then. Yesterday it was released on DVD and I immediately bought it. I have just saw it and I really can say that it is an excellent movie. The story is based on the fairy tale of the Little Red Riding Hood. Indeed it is an adult and stylized version of the tale. But further than that, it is also a spectacular approach of the beginning of the puberty, losing of the innocence through wild and erotic dreams, when the character of Sarah Patterson is becoming an young woman. Neil Jordan made an excellent work, with a wonderful horror movie, which can have the most different interpretations, depending on the eye and experience of the viewer. He used many symbols, such as the use of lipstick, or the first date of Rosaleen. I do not understand what happened to the gorgeous and very promising actress Sarah Patterson. With her interpretation in this film, I would bet she would have a great career ahead, what has never come true. This film is really a cult-movie, and I am one of its greatest fan. I would like to thank the Brazilian distributor Flashstar, for giving me the chance of see this wonderful movie again. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): `A Companhia dos Lobos' (`The Company of the Wolves')

The stage curtains open ...

"The Company of Wolves" is a film rich in vision, imagery, and atmosphere. It is a re-telling (of sorts) of the story of Little Red Riding Hood combined with the lore of werewolves. It is also a story within a story that has other stories inside of it - all encapsulated within a young girl's dream. It is at once memorable and striking to the senses. Simply stated, it is a good movie.

We start off in the modern day where we are given a glimpse into the dream world of a young girl in a fitful sleep with the real members of her family comprising roles within the dream. Her sister is killed by wolves because she strayed from the path on a windy night. With her mother still in the shock of losing her child, she stays with her Grandmother (played wonderfully by Angela Lansbury) who is full of stories and life lessons to be learned through them. Her Grandmother gives her the advice to "never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet" - all of which turn out to be sound advice.

This was a very well made film with excellent cinematography, set design, costuming, and make-up effects. This was before the age of CG and glitzy special effects, and thank god for that too. You are pulled into the story and side stories, and the results are well worth the time invested. I loved the ending, as well as the journey we take getting there.

I recommend "The Company of Wolves" with a solid 7 stars rating out of 10. I watched it once years and years ago as a young teen, and again over 30 years later and have enjoyed it just as much now as the first time I saw it. I have it added to my own personal collection and I know with the next viewing, I will be just as enamored.

Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) lives in a big bohemian country pile with her equally posh parents and her annoying older sister. Neither the situation or the location is important though, for the entire film plays out in an alternate dreamt fantasy world as Rosaleen sleeps in her room. We're whisked away into the woods, where she's reimagines herself in a gothic time of horse drawn carriages, petticoats and wild beasts. Dangers that she's warned of by Granny (Angela Lansbury). On the surface it's like Labyrinth meets Little Red Riding Hood. Stories are told within dreams, fiddles are played and wolves howl. All a bit dull honestly, until a very young Stephen Rea starts tearing his flesh off and turns into a werewolf. That's essentially the premise. Fairy tales told, loosely around the dangers of men with a reasonably hefty dose of gore here and there. It's saving grace for all it's clunky plot, is it's pretty well acted and the sets although of their time are well put together. It's just that the fantasy probably puts off the horror fans and vice versa. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It's a curious film of patchwork scenes, one featuring Terrance Stamp apparently as the devil, but it doesn't tie together very well and limps toward an unsatisfying finish. The dogs masquerading as wolves are cute though.

The company of wolves is very far from being the typical movie about werewolves, it's very different from films such as An American Werewolf in London or The Howling. This film is full of symbolism, it's a kind of rewriting of Perrault's Little Red Ridding Hood with Freudian elements. The film was directed by Neil Jordan, but in it we can notice the writing of Angela Carter, an author who is mainly interested in rewriting folklore myths from a feminist point of view. If you see this film you will enter a world of magic, of dreams, not only by means of the script, but also by the settings, which are really wonderful. The film itself deals with the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence, with all its sexual connotations, and the loss of innocence. When we become adults we realize life is not a magic tale. All this is treated from a feminist point of view, the main character is a girl who dreams about several stories with werewolves. Visually the movie is incredible, and it manages to reflect the symbolism of woods, the mixture of light and darkness, the magic creatures which live there during the night and the dangerous inside them especially for the girls who don't follow the path. From my point of view the film is one of the best dealing with the myth of werewolves, mainly because the film is a metaphor of life, of the human specie, all of us have an animal inside.

"The Company of Wolves" reminded me of Ridley Scott's "Legend", though it's better. It's a similarly dark fantasy with some great visuals and performances, but not much of a plot that you can follow.

This one also has a negligible attempt at a framing story, beginning in the modern day, and showing the movie's confusing events as a dream.

It made me wonder. Did people think that what separates "adult fantasy" from the other kind is some kind of psychological allusion? You're not supposed to believe in this other world. It's a world inside the head of a sleeping girl.

I wish they would have just had the courage of their convictions and gone for it, instead of using devices like that to hold us back.

Pretentious.

This film is pretentious.

Wizard of Oz meets a horror movie to discuss the sexuality of a teenage girl. This is a pretentious art house movie and one that thinks that it is vastly more intelligent than it really is.

It wants to retell the Little Red Riding hood story in a semi-erotic way, but never actually achieves it.

But, at least it's pretty.