Review of The Company of Wolves (1984) by Courtney W — 30 Aug 2004

[font=Trebuchet MS][color=darkorchid]I just got finished watching [i]Underworld [/i]on HBO. It's kind of silly that I watched it, seeing as though I own it on DVD. However, I tend to live by the expression, "Well, it's on and I like it." [/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]I love vampire flicks; [i]The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu[/i]--you name it, I probably have seen it. One of my favorite pastimes is watching the reruns of [i]Buffy the Vampire Slayer [/i]on FX at 7 a.m. before I go to work or school (this morning I caught the episode "Doppelgangland" from season three--geez, listen to me! What a geek!) Anyway, there has been a high number of werewolf flicks on t.v. the past couple of days (by high number, I mean two) and I have watched them carefully.[/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Saturday night, I stayed up late after I got home from going to a riverboat casino to watch [i]The Company of Wolves [/i]on one of the movie channels. I think this film is great. It's fairytale meets cautionary tale and juxtaposes lycanthropy to the beginning of menstruation. Trippy, I know. I never personally read the Angela Carter short story that the film is based on, but I plan on hunting it down. I think it is in her book called [i]The Bloody Tower[/i].[/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]The plot goes something like ths--Rosaleen, our heroine is dreaming a dream that ushers her out of childhood and into adulthood. In the dream, she is the incarnation of "Little Red Riding Hood" in a very storybook world. Her sister has just been killed by wolves and her Granny (a very good Angela Lansbury) tells her the difference between wolves that are hairy on the outside and those that are "hairy on the inside." She warns of men whose eyebrows meet in the middle and why little girls should never stray from the path.[/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Since it was made in 1984, some of the transformation scenes are a little dated, but the symbolism and the story outweighs the cheesy horror. All together it is a beautiful film. Neil Jordan (who also directed [i]Interview With A Vampire)[/i] has quite a way with visuals. If you like other 80's fantasy fare like [i]Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story, [/i]or [i]Legend [/i](like I obviously do) then I would highly recommend this film. Mind you, it is a little more adult than the aforementioned films, but it is worth the weird ride.[/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]As for [color=darkorchid][i]Underworld[/i], I thought that it was a really enjoyable film. Sure, it takes vampire and werewolf lore to a new and different places (some would say that it is blasphemy, but I call it innovative) and it was a little [i]Matrix[/i]-[i]y. [/i]I like the way the vampires lived as goth, wealthy aristocrats with an air of decadence and I liked the soundtrack (anything with David Bowie on it [b]has[/b] to be great). [/color][/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Kate Beckinsale was great as Selene, the vampire, leather and latex-clad, death-dealer who fights in the centuries old war against the Lycans (werewolves) in an anonymous city and in an anonymous future time. I liked the way the vampires ruled, with one of three elders awake for a century and then another is awakened in a ceremony when the former's reign is over. However, I think that the film makers should have included more insight to the mythology, instead of mentioning rules and covenants without any of the backstory explained (I got it, but I have heard from friends that they found it confusing). [/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]It's not a mastepiece of cinema...if you want that, then watch [i]Lawrence of Arabia[/i]. I thought it was fun and sometimes that wins out over logic, art, and mastery.[/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Finally, here's a big shout out to my homies Chad and Nathan. Chad wanted a mention on my blog, so here it is. Chad, if you're reading this...You should be practicing the SONG! Look at you, wasting time:) ! Just kidding! And Nathan...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Go watch [i]Ghost World[/i] and [i]This is Spinal Tap[/i] and do yourself a favor and see them already! [/color][/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Laters-[/color][/font].

[font=Trebuchet MS][color=#9932cc]Courtney[/color][/font].

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