Bad Doggie!

WEREWOLF: THE BEAST AMONG US (2012)

Werewolves are kind of like the bastard child of the horror-verse. For a time loved and embraced by all in the mix of the big three (wolfy, Fangs, and a monster back to life) but as the popularity of the others grew the wolves were lost. Oh they have surfaced from time to time, late 80s, a couple of indies here and there, but as whole you just don't see the furry beasts too much anymore. I however have always had a soft spot for them -

Editor's note : Boonsweet refuses to acknowledge the wolf lore aspect to the twilight franchise as well as the change that results in a slightly larger than norm husky look. Thank you.

- I came across this film in a few articles and thought it looked pretty interesting. As with any wolf movie, I approached with caution. Spoke with a soft clear voice... took the snack out of my pocket... wait, no, that's how I got past my neighbors German shepherd for after hours visits in grade ten... ok. Lowered expectations. That was where I was. Excited. But accepting.

This was one FUN movie.

Ok, so, there are werewolves, and they terrorize town circa the 1800s. There are hunters and they help these towns survive. One town in particular is under attack from a very strong beast and hires a group of well known hunters to help. As a side story we meet Daniel (a very likable Guy Wilson) who is in love with a young maiden in town, and hard at work learning the crafts of medicine from genre legend Stephen Rae (insert applause). Here is what immediately sets this film apart from many entries into any genre of low budget filming - Quality. The sets are amazing. The costumes, lighting, camera work, and yes even the acting, are all very good. This movie takes itself seriously and has the talent behind the lens, and the writing to pull it off.

So the young Daniel joins the hunters and the film takes a very interesting twist becoming a rather involving whodunit. The people of the town are all intriguing in their own way, and the twists that come don't feel forced, they slide in smooth and often leave a smile on your face. Well, maybe just my face, but then I appreciate such things in my off the beaten path filmaking.

I won't go into the twists, even though there are a couple I really wanna... But let me just say, if you have ever enjoyed the werewolf genre this is the entry you have been waiting a long time for. If you are horror fan looking for some fantastic practical makeup, and thrills, you will dig.

One thing I did want to mention though, was the use of CGI in this film. It just really, really was not needed. There are all these scenes of various beast-ness that look just fantastic. All makeup. Gore, limbs lost, all that, all makeup, and then for no reason they'll just throw an unneeded CGI shot of the were wolf in. WHY!? It makes no sense, maybe they just wanted to spend a little more money... Or someone was learning how to play with their new Macbook? No idea. Either way, totally messed with a really solid film. And when not CGI's these big screen man-dogs look dang good.

Genuinely surprised and pleased.

Movie scale 3 out of 5 stars
Horror/werewolf scale 3.5 out of 5 stars.

And folks, comments from one and all are welcome... Bring the think!

Chuck double B saying he'll see you punks at the next full moon.