Review of Wolfen (1981) by Jason D — 03 Aug 2009

Wolfen plays out two elements heavy-handedly. It disguises it's outspoken political protest of preserving nature and overpopulation with that of a then-modern American werewolf movie. Serving as director Michael Wadleigh's first film to NOT center around the Woodstock festival, Wolfen starts off with the strange murders of a socialite couple and their bodyguard on the night of their toasting of the remodel of a slum area of New York.

Immediately thinking it was a political murder, the police bring back disgraced detective Albert Finney (whose great in this) to try and figure out the case. While everyone is searching through terrorists and freedom fighters, Finney's character becomes intrigued by the idea that cunning wolves may have committed the murders.

Eventually, we come to realize that wolves are in fact roaming the slums, devouring people in various gory ways. There is a lot of social commentary and hidden messages on how we as a society are hurting others (both human and nature) through unnecessary progression.

Sadly, I think these messages went virtually unheard of as people were probably looking more so for an actual horror film, and it's no surprised that Wolfen was completely forgotten and disregarded a month later when An American Werewolf in London came out.

It's too bad, because there is a really gritty, really dark, and very entertaining movie here with content I wouldn't expect from an 80's horror film. Along with Finney, there are some excellent supporting performances, including a young Gregory Hines as a Coroner who tries helping Finney solve the case (the pathology scenes were uniquely realistic and raw), Tom Noonan as a wolf expert, and a frightening Edward James Olmos as a former convict Indian who may (or may not be) involved with the murders.

Great film.