Review of Big Bad Wolves (2013) by Matt S — 20 Jan 2014

Big Bad Wolves is one of the most overrated genre films I've seen lately, sure it does a different spin on the revenge thriller, but at the same time the film never takes it to the next level to make it a memorable standout or make it any different from movies of its kind. The twisted black humor though was balanced very well here and some scenes were brutally brilliant, but in the end the film was missing that certain element to make it a powerful and impact experience.

The film starts out quite hauntingly with three young children playing the classic game of hide and go seek. As one of the children, a young boy, counts two young girls finds an abandon cottage like building to hide in. One of the two girls hides in what looks like an old armoire, while the other girl hides outside in a tunnel. What they don't know is that a serial predator is lurking inside the abandon building and when the young boy finds the young girl in the tunnel they go inside the abandon building to the armoire and find the young girl missing with one of her red shoes left behind. I found this opening number quietly chilling and the score powerfully brilliant and I loved the way they revealed the title Big Bad Wolves. This leads to a vigilante cop who will do whatever it takes to bring justice to the victims and their families when he finds the partially nude body of the young girl tied to a chair decapitated. Once he thinks he has found the killer one twisted thing leads to another and he joins forces with the father of the victim and all hell breaks loose when they kidnap the suspect and torture him until he confesses the slaying and tells them where the missing head is. Like Prisoners, but with a darkly humorous undercurrent.

The performances were restrained and somewhat gripping, but no one in this film was that likable or a standout to me, making it hard to root for any certain character through this suppose horrendous ordeal. It was missing that powerful performance like the performances from the recent Prisoners, or even lively enough when it came to the black humor.

Directors Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado, who collaborated on their first film Rabies and soon the upcoming ABCs Of Death 2, are like peanut butter and jelly when it comes to filmmaking. Their filming styles are inspired here and atmospheric and have more personality than the actual characters and story. The musical score and the filming techniques come together perfectly, too bad the script and characters written didn't have as much oomph, to me they need to work on balancing that. They are improving and I am very much looking forward to see what they bring to ABCs Of Death 2.

Overall, Big Bad Wolves is unfortunately not as bold as its title and doesn't have as much of a powerful bite I was expecting. The musical score and the expertly and brilliantly inspired, quietly haunting filming style was the highlight of this film for me. The directors are definitely talented, but so far the writing and characters don't pull me in as much as the other elements they bring to the table. Overrated, but worth at least one watch. 6.5 out of 10.