La metamorfosi del male

Since Twilight Werewolves, along with Vampires, were made a joke of. Timid and caring instead of the old fashioned rip-them-to-pieces killing machines. Fortunately "Wer" understands the true value of a Werewolf and will have fans of the sub genre rejoicing! The biggest plus is the vicious nature the film has and a solid build up with a mythology behind the main villain. I liked the way the mysterious Werewolf unfolded and it promised to a thrilling climax. Unfortunately, even though the pay off is incredibly violent, the movie starts getting a bit silly and loses all the control that the first half had. Mixing it with some pretty ordinary CGI effects, the second half is nowhere near as polished as the first, which ultimately hurts it, but thankfully there is enough to like about "Wer" to make it a recommended film!

If only the film was devoid of the shaky cam/found footage stuff.

I saw this on a dvd which I own in 2014. Felt like reviewing it now since i am more active on imdb currently. Was reluctant to buy the dvd as i cannot stand found footage and hand held shaky cam stuff but the good reviews on IMDb prompted me to go ahead.

The film begins showing a family being brutally attacked by something unknown. The surviving member recounts a story of something resembling a tall, hairy man with huge hands that attacked the family......

The movie first starts as an investigative thriller with suspense n mystery. Later the movie turns into an excellent creature on the loose n full blown action flick.

The special effects and makeup are first-rate. The werewolf attack scenes are frightening n gruesome.

The movie is loaded with gruesome killings, the mutilated bodies' of the victims and the threatening figure of a gigantic beast on the loose is full of tension n mayhem.

The beast in this movie is fast, vicious and has a nasty tendency of tearing off its victims' bottom jaw.

The explanation given in the movie for the creature/transformation is something new.

I had no expectations or any sort of anticipation for "Wer", aside from just merely hoping to be entertained by it. And now that I have seen it, I must admit that I am really glad that I did.

Why? Well, because "Wer" is not your average werewolf movie. And whereas many 'older' werewolf movies have been fairly stereotypical and pretty much following the same recipe, and then came "Twilight" and gave the werewolf very loose wrists, but we are getting back on track in the werewolf legacy now with "Wer".

It was refreshing to see a movie such as this that didn't have the stereotypical werewolf living hidden amongst the people he (or she) would prey upon. But having this sculpted and turning out the way it did was just what the genre needed.

I am not going to go much into the storyline here, because "Wer" is a movie that has to be seen and experienced. Written words will not really fully do it justice.

The storyline was good, and the movie progressed with a good pace, and the audience was always kept in the dark, but given just enough information piece by piece to let it dawn upon us what was really going on.

As for the effects, well given this is not a Hollywood CGI galore, but the effects were working as they were intended, straight and to the point. And that made the movie seem all the more real and animalistic (or perhaps bestial is a better term), compared to the many movies that rely solely on multi-million dollar CGI effects budgets.

The acting in the movie was good and people did really good jobs with their given roles and characters. And I must especially applaud Brian Scott O'Connor for his portrayal of Talan Gwynek. And while Sebastian Roché is a good actor, then the role of Klaus Pistor was a bit weak. The back-story for this character didn't really have the impact that I believe director William Brent Bell was looking for.

But "Wer" is a definite must watch if you enjoy werewolf movies, and if you are past the spray tan, buffed teenage stage that "Twilight" brought the werewolves back to.

"Wer" was good entertainment from the very beginning, and hold on now, the movie quickly picks up pace and goes from good to great in a very short time. "Wer" gets a well-deserved 7 out of 10 stars from me.

In France, the Porter family is slaughtered while camping in the woods and only Claire Porter (Stephanie Lemelin) survives seriously wounded. She reports that her husband Henry and her son Peter have been eaten alive by a strong man. The eremite Talan Gwynek (Brian Scott O'Connor) that lives in the woods with his mother is arrested by the police accused of being the killer.

The defense attorney Kate Moore (A.J. Cook) is assigned to defend Talan and she comes to the police station with her investigator Eric Sarin (Vik Sahay) and the animal expert Gavin Flemyng (Simon Quarterman) to interview Talan. The unwilling police inspector Klaus Pistor (Sebastian Roché) is sure that Talan is the murderer but has to let Kate and her team work. There is turmoil in the precinct and Gavin is scratched by Talan. Then they visit Talan's mother Mrs. Gwynek (Camelia Maxim) and they learn that Talan has a rare disease. Further, the government wants her lands to dispose nuclear waste and her husband has recently died in car accident. Soon Eric discloses that the death of Mr. Gwynek was suspicious and Pistor was in charge of the investigation. When Kate succeeds in sending Talan to a hospital for examination, she discovers the effects of Talan's disease and is the responsible for the next events.

The underrated "Wer" is one of the best werewolf movies I have ever seen. The graphic story is brutal and with magnificent special effects. The screenplay is concise, with good explanation for the situation. Maybe the greatest flaw is the manhunt in a full moon night, but how to convince the authorities that they are hunting a werewolf and not a human being? My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sinistro – A Maldição do Lobisomem" ("Sinister – The Werewolf's Curse")

I found the trailer on Youtube and was instantly intrigued. After finally tracking down a copy (due to no release date for cinema or Home-media release), I sat and watched what I consider to be one of the best found-footage movies of recent times.

Story wise, it starts off well and then just ramps up the tension superbly. Although there were a few scenes that I could guess what was coming, most of the film was pleasantly surprising.

The movie is not excessively gory, but it does have it where it matters! The effects were limited, but used to very good effect, and the whole found-footage genre lends itself to lower budget movies anyway.

The casting was spot on. The central character Talan, (Brian Scott O'Connor) was really well played. Although he seemed harmless initially, I could almost feel a sense of menace coming from him, and the other characters were played just right. (Although I couldn't help thinking about Vik Sahay (Eric) as his character from the TV show Chuck!)

Overall, a nice take on the genre with decent performances all round. Well worth a watch, and I will definitely get it if it is released on Blu-ray/DVD in the UK.