From the director of Carnosaur 2 comes what was suppose to be a DTV sequel to Joe Johnston absurdly uneven 2010 movie The Wolfman, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us! When the former was shot in the UK, this sequel/spin-off moved it's home to Romania and if you're a fan of cheap movies shot in that country you will recognize many locations - including the house used in Dracula II: Ascension and Meat Loaf's sex pad in BloodRayne. Back to The Wolfman. It was THE disappointment of the year, but I have some kind of soft spot for it anyway. Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins obviously hates being in that movie and both looks so bored it's almost on the brink of parody. On the other hand, it's packed by great werewolf-effects by Rick Baker and some very nice and graphic gore. And it looks great, the locations are wonderfully atmospheric. I guess it did well on home video and therefore this new movie sprung out from the darkness and slapped us in the face.
Somewhere far out on the countryside in... I don't know which country it's suppose to be... werewolves are everywhere. There's special werewolf-hunters roaming the woods, getting good money from the villagers to kill these beasts. But there's a strange creature out there, who doesn't need the moon to transform to a monster. A young medical student, played by a not-bad Guy Wilson, joins the latest team of monster-hunters because I think he can use his medical skills and almost Sherlock Holmes-style knowledge to track down the beast and help them kill it. But it's not easy, the werewolf seems to be as smart as a human and soon the body count rises...
Something like that. I sat with my cell phone, being negative about my life on Facebook, while watching the movie - which means one thing: it wasn't that good. But still, remember the story fairly well which also mean it's not that bad. The characters are okay, the gore is quite good - both CG gore and pratical effects, and most of it looks nice. There's two exploding heads, some very gory aftermath-sequences, squibs, slashes and ripped-out hearts. So nothing to complain about. It delivers what's it suppose to deliver. I found it a bit hard to seperate some of the characters, especially the monster hunters - even if Ed Quinn and Steven Bauer stood out, giving their characters some depth. Stephen Rea has a thankless role as the local doctor, he's not good - but you can see he would rather be at home, drinking a glass of wine and listening to classical music instead of running around in some cold Eastern European forest for money he probably doesn't need. But I like him anyway. Guy Wilson, the twink playing the real hero have a future in bigger movies - so let's hope for the best.
But still, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us drags here and there. It takes some time between the action and some of it is way too dark (I know werewolves loves darkness, but still...). Sometimes I just don't understand why the characters to what they do. Why use silver-denture biting the werewolf? Why the hell even bite the monster? Why not just shoot it from a safe distance with silver bullets? Yeah, it looks cool... but it doesn't warrant stupidity.
It's a fun movie, make no mistake. I'm sure it will do good business and maybe lead up to yet another sequel. I welcome that. Brutalt, bloody werewolf-flicks are always welcome in my world!
"to Joe Johnston absurdly uneven 2010 movie The Wolfman,"
Absurdly is the word.....I just don´t understand.....rumors has it that Andrew Kevin Walker wrote a script.
Someone didn´t like it, offical story says it was Joe Johnston himself.....Johnston did a rewrite.....what he rewrote I can´t understand.....because the film looks like the first unfinished draft of something that could have been a great film.
"It was THE disappointment of the year, but I have some kind of soft spot for it anyway. Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins obviously hates being in that movie and both looks so bored it's almost on the brink of parody. On the other hand, it's packed by great werewolf-effects by Rick Baker and some very nice and graphic gore. And it looks great, the locations are wonderfully atmospheric."
I thought Del Toro and Hopkins did a great job here, in fact the casting was great, but the script is weak and uneven.
Baker, and the atmopshere goes a long way.....add some gore and that´s about it, for me at least.
"I guess it did well on home video and therefore this new movie sprung out from the darkness and slapped us in the face."
Well.....not really, the film only pulled in 142 mil, on a 150 mil budget.....ouch.
That´s included domestic, international boxoffice.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2010/WOLFM.php
Maybe this DTV sequel wanted to ride on the wave...?
"Something like that. I sat with my cell phone, being negative about my life on Facebook, while watching the movie - which means one thing: it wasn't that good."
That´s why I don´t have a cellphone.
"The characters are okay, the gore is quite good - both CG gore and pratical effects, and most of it looks nice. There's two exploding heads, some very gory aftermath-sequences, squibs, slashes and ripped-out hearts. So nothing to complain about. It delivers what's it suppose to deliver."
Not a complete waste of time.
"Stephen Rea has a thankless role as the local doctor, he's not good - but you can see he would rather be at home, drinking a glass of wine and listening to classical music instead of running around in some cold Eastern European forest for money he probably doesn't need. But I like him anyway."
Rea....he has done some great stuff over the years.
"But still, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us drags here and there. It takes some time between the action and some of it is way too dark (I know werewolves loves darkness, but still...). Sometimes I just don't understand why the characters to what they do. Why use silver-denture biting the werewolf? Why the hell even bite the monster? Why not just shoot it from a safe distance with silver bullets? Yeah, it looks cool... but it doesn't warrant stupidity."
hahahhahahhaha....what the hell.....?
He bites the werewolf....?
NOW that is a movie I need to see....hahhahahhahha....
"It's a fun movie, make no mistake. I'm sure it will do good business and maybe lead up to yet another sequel. I welcome that. Brutalt, bloody werewolf-flicks are always welcome in my world!"
Yeah, in my world as well......good review and thanks.
Do a review of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters(2013)....?
Pleaseeeee...?
I think you will find very entertaining.....it´s not groundbreaking, but killing witches with a prehistoric mini gun is always fun to watch.
Posted by: Megatron | October 27, 2013 at 15:49
"Well.....not really, the film only pulled in 142 mil, on a 150 mil budget.....ouch. That´s included domestic, international boxoffice."
I'm talking about "home video" and not cinema. These numbers are from the cinema box office, in the US and the rest of the world. Often a lot of these movies get a new life on DVD, blu-ray, VOD etc.
Posted by: Fred Anderson | October 28, 2013 at 06:58
Fred: Yeah but look underneath....it says Home Market Performance: Domestic DVD Sales: $21,140,778
Of course it says nothing about foreign sales on the VD market, it was probably a little higher....but not much.
After all it made 80 mil internationally, 62 domestic.
I think it was a big hit....but nowadays....it probably raked a little more.
Like I stated before, the studios always wins.
Posted by: Megatron | October 28, 2013 at 18:23