Wolves (2014) Review

Starring: Lucas Till, Stephen McHattie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Merritt Patterson, Jason Momoa, Janet-Laine Green, Melanie Scrofano

Director: David Hayter

Writer: David Hayter

Running time: 91 minutes

Rated: R (for bloody violence throughout, and some sexuality)

Reviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Society

Everybody loves a good coming-of-age tale, especially if it involves werewolves. For me, there’s something fascinating about delving into themes of our inner beast or dark side. We all have one; we all sometimes have to push back the ancient bestial urges that live inside us all. That rage or temper that most have but don’t act on because we’re refined human beings. But what if you couldn’t repress that urge to tear someone’s head off when they really piss you off, does that make you a monster? What if through a split in evolutionary development you grow hair, fangs, and long incisors when you’re pissed off or when the moon is full? How would you handle that? Would you embrace the animal that’s inside us all? You would probably want answers or want to learn how to control it. That brings us to the film Wolves which involves similar themes about those of who might be different from everyone else.

High school senior Cayden Richards (Lucas Till) has it all, he’s captain of the football team, has a beautiful girlfriend, and everybody loves him. Except underneath the facade of perfection, he hides a dark secret, a curse he does not understand, nor can control. One night, his parents are viciously murdered in an apparent animal attack and all clues point to Cayden as the attacker. Scared and confused, Cayden flees town and hits the road. After wandering aimlessly, Cayden meets a mysterious stranger named Wild Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson) who recognizes Cayden for what he really is. Joe sends Cayden for answers to the small town of Lupine Ridge.

After arriving in Lupine Ridge, Cayden befriends a sympathetic farmer, John Tollerman (Stephen McHattie) and his wife Clara (Janet-Laine Green). He also falls for a mysterious and beautiful bar owner, Angel (Merritt Patterson) who has unwanted ties to local bad guy Connor (Jason Momoa) who also has his eyes set on her as his prize. Cayden discovers the town has other residents like him who share his affliction and as he tries to find the truths about his curse, he uncovers more about his family and the town than he bargained for.

Writer/director David Hayter delivers a superior coming-of-age werewolf story in most aspects but parts of the film tend to stray into familiar territory. Wolves is not your typical werewolf film, for one thing, the term werewolf is never used in the film and the wolves are not the typical mindless beasts as seen in most films of the type. It was a nice change of pace to see thinking, talking wolf-men this time. I found the creature design to be refreshing with the wolves having more of a human semblance and being more reminiscent of The Wolf Man.

The acting in this one is top-notch from all involved. Lucas Till in the lead role does an exceptionally good job of portraying a sympathetic teenager who is growing into a man and trying to understand why he is a werewolf. The supporting characters also put in commendable performances from Jason Momoa and Merritt Patterson. Veteran actor Stephen McHattie stands out as usual in his role as head of one of the wolf factions and in a small but memorable role, John Pyper-Ferguson is great as Wild Joe.

As I hinted at earlier, the story is somewhat familiar as a boy who is afflicted with lycanthropy searches for answers to his curse, meets a beautiful girl, falls in love, has to fight with other werewolves…blah, blah, blah, we’ve seen it all before. Even though the story isn’t anything new, writer/director David Hayter manages to pull it out of the realm of mediocrity and turns it into a film well worth watching. I was even caught off guard at the minor twist in the finale.

The werewolf design is the main reason why people are going to want to watch Wolves. The creature design and makeup effects are incredibly well done. I truly loved the way the wolves looked in this film. Also there was plenty of gore to throw around in the film which was equally impressive by the effects crew. If you’re going to have a werewolf film, the one thing you don’t want to skimp on is the werewolf effects and risk alienating your core audience and it seemed that Hayter put the money in the right department for this one.

Overall, Wolves is going to please fans of werewolf cinema and horror fans in general will enjoy it as well. Great acting and effects work make this film rise above the usual lower budgeted horror fare out there, making it a worthwhile watch on DVD or VOD.