Review of A Werewolf Boy (2012) by Caesar M — 21 Feb 2013

The hugely popular "Twilight" series has ruined the image of vampires and werewolves for some of us. Since "Twilight" debut it has started a trend of copy cats (for some reason) and one look at this film trailer had it unfairly typecast as "Korean Twilight" with werewolves. The two could have not been anymore different from each other. One film appeals to some of it fans fantasies where "A Werewolf Boy" is genuine well made romance.

A Werewolf Boy is about elderly woman Soon-Yi visiting the country cottage she lived in as a child and recalling memories when she befriends and attempts to civilize a feral boy she discovers on the grounds. The film is nearly entirely a romance film with tint of fantasy elements towards the end. Despite it's premise the werewolf doesn't appear that much and when he does appear his presence is short live. The film instead focuses on developing the characters and steadily building the romance to avoid the "love at first sight" pitfall. It perfectly balances between lighthearted humor and dark drama. Seeing the how the couple relationship develops is one of it biggest draws in the first hour of the film. It does offer subplots which takes the main plot in some unexpected direction, but the main focus is mostly building the romance which is a key essential in any romance film. The film does slow down past the hour mark when it lingers around for about thirty minutes. The ending I will heavily praise as it's bold to end any romance film on a depressing note. This ending gives a harsher look on romance which is often avoided in these kind of films.

Park Bo-young is very charming as Soon-Yi. It's very difficult not to like her. She's smart, funny, is someone you want get behind, and is excellent in acting handling the dark dramatic with strong emotional conviction. Park Bo-young has good chemistry with everyone on screen and can't ever recall a moment where her acting was ever bad. Joong-ki Song is equally as good. He has very, very little lines relying heavily on his facial expressions and body movements to evoke his feelings. He's able to do just that and the scenes he shares with Park Bo-young are some of his best. The rest of the actors are good, though Park Bo-young and Joong-ki have the most time on screen which given the plot works.

A Werewolf Boy is a Korean romance film that is both well written and well acted. Both leading actors have a good chemistry and makes sitting even in the slow moments worth it. Regardless if you're into werewolves should not be not be a factor if you want a well made romance film.