Wolfen

A New York cop (Albert Finney) investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks. Tom Noonan and his beard guest star in a key role.

The film is known for its early use of an in-camera effect to portray the subjective point of view of a wolf. Similar to thermography, the technique was later adopted by other horror films such as the "Predator" film series.

Although considered a modern werewolf classic, Roger Ebert asserted Wolfen "is not about werewolves but is about the possibility that Indians and wolves can exchange souls." Well, yeah, that is true... but it is still werewolves, even if not in the traditional sense.

Where is the proper release? This is what people want to know. Apparently the director has a preferred cut, but instead all we get is a bare bones Blu-ray with nothing more than a trailer. Surely there is much more that could be done.

Wolfen is absolutely a classic of the horror genre. Released in succession after the likes of Altered States, The Howling and An American Werewolf in London it actually provides more tension than the rest because it doesn't overdo the creature effects. The Howling is probably the most famous of the three films yet after purchasing and watching the blu-ray I realized something 33 years later... It's just not scary. The transformations are graphic but feel too long and drawn out now. As an adult I find that werewolves just are no longer scary. Neither is Dracula. At least American Werewolf was funny and had a charismatic lead. Where Wolfen exceeds it's genre roots is in it's attention to plot details and character development. Albert Finney is believable as a burned out cop and Gregory Hines is a treat as his co- star/sidekick the coroner. There are scenes in this film that work on a suspense level that few others can muster and the abandoned tenements provide a creepy location for their two man reconnaissance. As far as 80's horror goes this is essential viewing.

After years of reading and watching all the werewolf stuff I can get my hands on, I finally got around to reading and then watching Wolfen, and I was blown away by the gorgeous, chilling cinematography. You may take me at my word that I have seldom seen a film that was able to build the tension of what you don't see, and reward you when you finally do see it: I have never seen real wolves used so well, or shot so beautifully. As in the book, the Wolfen are both terrifying and yet somehow noble, and you respect the antagonism between them and the human characters (played very well by Albert Finney and co.), and while the ending is somewhat anticlimactic as opposed to its book counterpart, I was still quite pleased with the film as a whole. The introduction of the Native American element into the movie's version of the story made sense and was enjoyable (though E.J. Olmos's nudity was a little much), and I should also mention that the shots of New York were atmospheric and gorgeous as well, and when combined with the werewolf element, make a truly one-of-a-kind horror film. A must for werewolf fans, though they're not werewolves in the strictest sense, but a creatures as unique as their film: The Wolfen.

Werewolf movies were big in the early 80's and this is one of the good ones. This horror/thriller has striking cinematography and sound, fine direction, and a good script, and very good Special Effects.

A series of seemingly unrelated murders are being committed in New York City, from the penthouses of the super-rich, to the bombed out appearing South Bronx. Burned out detective Dewey Wilson (Finney) and terrorism expert Rebecca Neff (Venora) are brought in to solve the case. Coroner Whittington (Hines) finds a common thread.

Wolfen is one of the rare cases where lots of people working on one element improved the film, instead of hurting it. Four people are credited with the photography, six for the script, and eleven people worked on the Visual Effects. James Horner did the score for the film; a theme heard in another film he scored can be heard here, in an understated form.

Finney is good as the burned out detective. Venora isn't believable as a terrorism expert, but very believable as someone who doesn't have the sense to stay away from odd noises in the South Bronx. Hines is cynically funny as the coroner.

"Wolfen"is strong on technique, fair on acting. I'd recommend it.

Unusual film that takes a very different path from the traditional werewolf movie. Low budget in feel, which is good, this starts incredibly well with horror, gore and bewilderment. The use of the negative image when we see through the eyes of the wolves is great, its less plastic than ordinary SFX and far more realistic than CGI, its also cheap (I've used it myself!) but the best thing about it is that it is literally an inversion of reality, which is just what you want here. Finney is fine but maybe should have been encouraged to put a little more effort in. As for his co-star, Diane Venora, in her first film, her lack of presence is worrying. I guess first time director (apart from Woodstock work) Michael Wadleigh was not used to getting the best out of his actors and indeed never made another film. Not to take away from this little gem though, not perfect by any means but different enough and occasionally startling enough to make at least one viewing essential.