Teddy

In rural southern France a high school drop-out is shunned by the other boys in his town, he doesn't care cause he has a girlfriend. They have a ball until he gets bitten. When he does he loses time. His uncle can tell something is up just by the smell. We go through the usual gross-out-instead-of-suspense while he watches himself change, over time instead of during the full moon only. This movie is just ok with a good ending. Teddy and even his girl don't react in believable ways, nobody does. What's worse is the story isn't interesting. It's a werewolf movie with no fear, no suspense, and no tale.

Well, if nothing else, then "Teddy" certainly was a different approach on the werewolf genre.

When I stumbled upon this 2020 French movie titled "Teddy", I must admit that I was under the impression that I would be in for a horror comedy, given the movie's cover. And of course, with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I found the time to sit down and watch it.

And "Teddy" is definitely a watchable movie, although it wasn't particularly a movie that fell well into my particular taste in movies. Now, don't get me wrong here, because "Teddy" is entertaining enough, however, it just fell short of being what I assumed it would be, and there just wasn't enough happening throughout the course of the entire movie to properly keep me entertained.

There were some good moments throughout the course of the movie, where writers and directors Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma definitely were delivering some wholehearted and well-written material. But ultimately, then "Teddy" was just too mundane.

Now, as I am by no means well-traversed in the French cinema, then I can't claim to be familiar with actor Anthony Bajon at all. But he definitely put on a very convincing performance and carried the movie well enough here, with the lead role in "Teddy".

Visually then there were potential in "Teddy", although you shouldn't be expecting to be in for a grand display of special effects or CGI. And for a werewolf movie, then there wasn't a whole lot of traditional things going on here, such as a full transformation scene.

And now that I have seen "Teddy", I can say that it is not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Did it offer anything revolutionary or new to the werewolf genre? No, not really. Was it an outstanding or memorable foray into the werewolf genre? No, not realy.

I am rating "Teddy" a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

For the most part, the performances are well done and subdued while the rising action has a decent pace. For me, I had more of an issue with the logistics of the film in terms of the body horror and the climax scene of the film. I do think it's worth a watch and the performance of the lead is laudable.

The French have produced a good number of horror movies such as Haute Tension, Raw, L'Interieur, Martyrs or Frontiers. They manage to shock and transgress horror fans whoblike myself are used to the usual Hollywood horror tropes. Sadly Teddy doesn't belong in that list of good horror movies. They try to tackle the lycanthrope theme with mundane and nonsensical results. The move has a few comedic moments and the end is probably the best part. In a rural French village, a douchy bald-headed big-eared kid with glasses and heavy metal t-shirts who for some reason doesn't get along with the authorities, somehow gets bitten by a mysterious creature in the woods. From then on not only does he start to change but his life starts falling apart too, especially with his family and equally odd blonde girlfriend. The plot sounds good but alas it is showered with silly drama, nonsensical typical French dialogues, a few gross scenes and one of the most unlikable kids in horror cinema. If you like French horror movies with a bit of weirdness, give it a shot but be warned, award-winning it ain't.

If you agree to eat a woman, usually there is some innuendo involved in that lingo. And there is a scene that while not graphic in its nude depiction of the people involved, is quite intense in the going down department. Having said that, the movie has its roots in the horror genre and has some neat ideas to work with.

Yes you will able to tell where this is heading and that's ok. Because the actors really help make this quite the experience. It is slow but it works overall. Good effects too.