Post by slayrrr666 on Jul 10, 2008 10:11:39 GMT -5
“Big Bad Wolf” is an incredibly fun and entertaining werewolf film with a lot to offer.
**SPOILERS**
Pledging a fraternity, Derek Cowley, (Trevor Duke) and his friends Sam Marche, (Kimberly J. Brown) Cassie, (Sarah Christine Smith) Melissa, (Robin Sydney) Alex, (Jason Alan Smith) and Jason, (Adam Grimes) decide to go on a camping trip. Arriving at a remote cabin, they decide to party only for a vicious creature to show up and attack them, killing most but leaving a few survivors. When they get together after with his cousin Charlie, (Christopher Shyer) they start to realize that the culprit was a werewolf. Developing a theory that his stepfather Mitchell Toblat, (Richard Tyson) is the one responsible, they set out to prove it and stumble across the secret. When the werewolf finds out that they know, it goes to great lengths to keep it a secret.
The Good News: This is an incredibly fun and entertaining werewolf film. This is mostly done with the film’s overall sense of fun. This one never really feels that anything that it’s doing isn’t entertaining, as there’s plenty here to have fun with. Beyond the obvious, there’s the fun involved with the band of reporters trying to get a story and their constant attempts to get involved in the action, the werewolf family drama, all the slutty come-ons and so much more, that combined with all of the film’s great moments, all lead up to a great sense of fun that the film provides and makes it entertaining. Even the investigation scenes that occur between attacks is great, never losing interest and providing some fun to go along with the film. Of course, most of the fun revolves around the unbelievable amount of gore in the film. This is one werewolf that isn’t afraid of getting it’s claws dirty, and that is so impressive. Very rarely do we get a werewolf that takes pleasure in the killing, and this is one of them. It allows more terror when confronted with one that would easily rip out limbs or inner organs and not feel remorse over one that strangles and feels sorry for doing so. This is the proper kind of werewolf that’s needed to build fear, and it does so expertly with the joy it takes in playing around with the victims before going through with it as well as the brutality of the kills. There’s a gigantic amount of scratches over the face, chest, arms and shoulders, several are mangled and clawed up, another has their head twisted around before being torn off, another has a claw rip through their chest from behind them and rips out their insides, another has their leg torn off at the hip while another has both legs amputated below the knees and the big centerpiece kill has one where the claws rip the top half of the head off where the upper jaw would be. There’s much more in here, giving this one a true bloodbath feeling and makes for one of the goriest werewolf films ever made. The design here is also impressive, adopting the original wolfman style with the pug-like face and hairy head, while also dropping the werewolf mouth and fangs, leaving it looking like a modern update of a classic style. The few action scenes are just brilliant, coming up with inventive uses for old standbys that have been done time-and-time again. That both occur in the cabin makes it all the more impressive, since they never repeat and keep coming up with new methods to capture the creature. They’re fun, fast-paced and exciting, leaving them with a good aftertaste. The last big part that works is the fact that there’s some unexpected humor coming from the werewolf. It’s allowed to talk and comes up with some pretty hilarious one-liners for the situations. It takes a while getting used to, but it’s still humorous and allows it to stand out from the pack.
The Bad News: There isn’t a whole lot wrong with this one. The fact that this one doesn’t do much for the traditional genre is something that the film does wrong. The full-moon transformation comes into play, but there isn’t a whole lot else that it really deals with according to the myths. It wisely ignores that rule, and when it decides to offer up explanations for what’s going on, there isn’t a whole lot that really comes from the werewolf myths. There’s even a few other small areas, such as the wounding and harm done on the creature, which aren’t touched on, and several others that are quite noticeable. Another small problem is that during the film’s big action moments, the camera starts shaking and starts obscuring the action. That it happens during the film’s big moments is the most aggravating, as they really obscure the big selling points of the film into a nearly incomprehensible haze, and it works against the film. Some might have trouble with the notion of a wise-cracking werewolf, but that’s not as big compared to the others in here.
The Final Verdict: This is an incredibly fun and entertaining werewolf film that offers up a lot to offer and really has them going for it. Highly recommended to werewolf fans or those who find it interesting, and there isn’t a whole lot who won’t find much wrong with this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Nudity and several sex scenes