Out Come the Wolves

No pun intended - this is quite borderline ... if you had fears of wolves, this will not soothe them. The effects are quite well done considering the low budget this has. And it is relatively short (run time wise), which is a good thing for anyone to enjoy and be with the movie from start to finish.

There is a lot of violence, a lot of action - I think it works for what it tries to do (suspense and giving you the insanity you came to watch this in the first place). Not sure I would rate the acting here ... also I hope this does not do what Jaws did to sharks ... well to wolves. Wolves actually are quite necessary in the wild. But we all know and acknowledge this is just a movie that tries to entertain ...

Missy Peregrym needs to stay out of the woods. Teaming up with the director of Back Country, she experiences another wilderness based fight for survival.

Introducing her new fiancee to her oldest best friend (who is male), the film starts with the two men preparing to go hunting as the fiancee is a writer and editor planning a story about the hunt and kill to provide meat as food. Here we gain a look at the discrepancies in personality of two people raised in wilderness and the hunting culture, and one raised in the city scape.

Now, for the problematic parts. The trio of characters come with some baggage that is unresolved. Jealousy makes for a poor plot contrivance. The director made a similar mistake is his film Back Country as well. And that's too bad as this interferes with what could have been a cleaner story.

Aside from that, this is a tight film with the second half a tense survival story.

Sophie (Missy Peregrym) joins her childhood friend Kyle (Joris Jarsky) for a hunting trip. There is real chemistry between them. He even reminds her that she once promised to marry him when they turn 40 if they have no one else. Of course, she brings her boyfriend Nolan (Damon Runyan) although he is a completely clueless hunter unlike the two longtime friends. They are put to the test when they are attacked by a pack of wolves.

This is a lower grade indie. It could have elevated the tension much more. Basically, it needs to isolate the trio by sending them into the woods. Maybe their vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere. They are tracked by the wolf pack. They definitely should not have guns. The wolves should do more night attacks. Everything should be done to make the trio into underdogs and heighten the intensity.

These movies are usually the kind that I personally enjoy, even though they are often quite flawed. I thought this movie would involve a couple of people constantly being threatened by a pack of wolves and fighting them off for their survival, and I was excited to see that or something similar. Instead, the movie unfolds a little differently.

A guy invites his female friend and her soon-to-be husband to his cabin. After plenty of conversation and drama, it becomes clear that the guy has always had feelings for his female best friend and is obviously not okay with her getting married. The next day, he takes a short hunting trip on an ATV with the soon-to-be husband. Growing tensions between the two are suddenly interrupted by a couple of wolves. Up to this point, the movie seemed fine, but then the characters start acting like complete idiots.

For some reason, they have only a bow and barely any ammunition. The guy, who was initially portrayed as an experienced hunter, suddenly has a complete meltdown when he encounters the first wolf. Normally, a wolf would immediately run away, but in this movie, it becomes aggressive and starts attacking, which is fine as a concept. There are quite a few attack scenes, but they are mostly shot in extreme close-ups with lots of shaky cam, making it almost impossible to tell what's going on.

That approach worked in The Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio for a more immersive experience, but the cinematographer in this movie clearly didn't have the same talent. During the carnage, you can only guess who or what is being bitten at any given moment. Additionally, the shots of wolves supposedly attacking are clearly just footage of wolves running through the forest with no aggression whatsoever. It all feels amateurish and inexperienced, which is surprising considering Adam MacDonald's previous films, Backcountry and Pyewacket. Both were solid, well-made movies, with Backcountry even being a similar survival thriller featuring a bear as the antagonist.

There are a few decent-looking makeup effects in the gore department, and the acting is overall solid, with Missy Peregrym standing out. However, this movie was barely enjoyable and left much to be desired. Annoyingly stupid characters and chaotic attack sequences sadly ruin what could have been a great survival thriller. [5,2/10]

If you liked Missy Peregrym in Back Country you will like this one. It is basically the same movie with wolves instead of Bears. Different boyfriend, different back story, but a fight for survival against all odds with a terrible foe and gruesome bloody deaths at the hands of the wild. Personally I kind of like these movies, though I don't know why they didn't bring more guns and why they didn't call authorities before going out to find the boyfriend. Fighting a pack of wolves with a bow and arrow isn't really feasible.