Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
Glimmerubro
It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Johan Louwet
I remember the first time around I was around 10-11 years old when I saw this movie. A movie about Red Riding Hood cool I loved fairy tales and for reason I don't know that was my favorite and still is one of my favorites. Of course I didn't expect it to be a horror version. Still I was intrigued and loved it. Still love it now.I am though no fan of werewolf movies (even though I do think the original Wolf Man was really good) and I'm not so keen on movies with much symbolism (and no particular fan of vampires either, for some reason there always seems to be competition between the 2). And yet the movie is full of it. The story is so simple, actually there is no real story. It's 13 year old Rosaleen dreaming about being Red Riding Hood and everything that happens in that dream is how she is slowly hitting puberty.The symbolism well I don't understand all of it (and had to look up what some meant) but yeah we have young romance. A boy her age (he is never named) is fancying Rosaleen but Rosaleen finds him silly (I remember how girls that age rather wanted an older boy as the boys their age they found too childish). Other recognizable stuff is granny's don't stray away from the path or the wild animals will get you. Of course not the animals are the danger but a werewolf is and that stands for the man seeking for innocent girl waiting for her in the bushes hoping to deflower her. Never trust a man whose two eyebrows meet. Funny thing we had a teacher who did have that. He did have two faces nice to the outer world and great in organization but he did not shy away from stealing if he could. Coincidence of course but still weird. Rosaleen finding some eggs in a bird's nest which hatch some kind of baby statues. I have read that symbolized her first menstruation (very original I must say). Throwing of her red hood I would think saying goodbye to her childhood and now making her own choices.The stories that grandmother tells sometimes quite silly, I think are another high point of the movie. The first one about the woman marrying a wolf man, the betrayed woman who invades the wedding of the man impregnating her, the she-wolf and the priest all of them actually do mean something and could make for an interesting longer story. Only the boy meets devil story I found a bit out of place also because it does have a car which didn't exist back in those days.Setting is awesome, the woods and its houses open place with a well. It all fits really well with the time and the famous fairy tale. A few special effects were really good. The movie also has some great transformations from man to werewolf (just as good I think as in An American werewolf in London) and of course there was the porcelain head of grandma being shattered (instead of eating her up). The toys in Rosaleen's room you can see them at various moments in her dream, the dolls and the doll house. And last but not least the various references to other fairy tales such as the apple, the toad and the gingerbread.Of course I had not paid attention to all those details the first time around and little did I know as a child. Now watching it looking closely into it despite its simple story (I am a story person) I get so much out of it is one of my favorite movies (top 10 for sure) and probably always will be.
Hammerfanatic46
I watched "The Company of Wolves" yesterday, only my second viewing in thirty years, and was delighted at how absorbing it remains. Passing the test of time, it is as fresh as ever .The Movie is not quite a Horror film, but inhabits the realm of Fantasy Cinema, a genre which has always shared a porous border with horror."Wolves" weaves an intriguing tapestry of folklore and Freudian psychology as it links the dark, but sensual ,Grimm's fairy tales to adolescent fantasies and sexual anxieties, framed in a narrative which is a story, within a story, within a story, wrapped in a dream. In doing so, it takes us deeper into Hammer's dark woods and bucolic Gothic imagery.Thematically, it strays far from Hammer, but aesthetically, it is firmly rooted in the British Gothic tradition. Not only does it's pastoral setting , secluded village and menacing atmosphere recall the mood of Hammer's best productions, but the cinematography and even the opening titles, are suggestive of Hammer influences.Admittedly, some of the visual effects leave much to be desired to the modern viewer. I am no great fan of CGI, but perhaps the film would have been enhanced ,under Neil Jordan's restrained eye, by SFX that belonged to the 21st Century rather than the era of "An American Werewolf in London" .Having said that, "The Company of Wolves" is an intellectual and visual treat, which will reward repeat viewing . It certainly won't be three decades before I venture into it's enchanted forest once again.
Scott LeBrun
This appropriately moody looking film from co-writer / director Neil Jordan is good entertainment, a combination of horror and fairy tale that plays up the sexual angle in its exploration of the werewolf myth. It's true enough that the film is murky, but that fits the material; Jordan avoids a lot of bright colours and his crew give this an excellent period feel. (This only helps to make the red shawl worn by our heroine to really stand out.) The acting is solid, and overall "The Company of Wolves" benefits from its theme of there being more to "wolves" than meets the eye. Of course, this also ties into the time honoured idea of the beast inside man.The film encompasses several tales, all of them either told by kindly Granny (Angela Lansbury) or her granddaughter Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson), and supposedly all of them are contained within Rosaleens' dreams. They range from a groom (Stephen Rea) having a surprise in store for his new bride (Kathryn Pogson) to a young man receiving some sort of magical potion from a stranger (Terence Stamp, in an uncredited cameo) to a village that traps a wolf whose paw transforms into a human hand.Enhanced by Bryan Loftus's lighting and the music of George Fenton, "The Company of Wolves" is deliberately paced but full of atmosphere; one does feel like they are being transported to another time and place. It's also full of creepy imagery, and Christopher Tucker contributes makeup and transformation effects that may not quite measure up to what Rick Baker and Rob Bottin devised for their respective werewolf classics ("An American Werewolf in London", "The Howling"), but are striking nevertheless. The dialogue created by Angela Carter has a very literate quality. The cast - ever delightful Lansbury, Rea, David Warner, Graham Crowden, Brian Glover, Danielle Dax, Jim Carter - does creditable work, with young Patterson convincingly essaying an essential innocence.This film remains somewhat forgotten today, having come in the wake of those aforementioned werewolf pictures, so for lovers of the sub genre, it should be worth their while to discover it.Seven out of 10.
Andy Steel
I remember when I first saw this film (many years ago); I found it quite slow and plodding. This time I appreciated much more the measured approach taken by the director. It gives the audience time to take in the story and become familiar with the strange world he has created. Yes, there are a few clichés in there, the medieval village with a 17th century manor house and the fact the snakes (big ones) live in an English forest did seem kind of wrong to me. Also in the 'dislike' column came the musical score; sorry but synth's just don't cut it any more. May have sounded cool at the time but now it's just too damn cheesy. Okay, so what's to like; well, first there's the performance of Sarah Patterson, who I though did a truly excellent job given the talent she was working with. I also liked the special effects; all mechanical with not a hint of CGI (after all, it didn't really exist back then). I really liked the way the story was structured but it could have done without the 'modern day' bits tagged on to either end. Over all I found it an entertaining watch and something every horror fan should have seen at least once.SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDEDMy score: 7.3/10.You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.
