So many movies involving classic monsters have been made
over the years and many in the past few. For me not a lot of these have stood
out. When it came to werewolves I’ve always been a fan. The original THE WOLF
MAN with Lon Chaney Jr. used to terrify me as a child. I enjoyed AN AMERICAN
WEREWOLF IN LONDON but thought THE HOWLING was a much better movie. So when I
heard a movie involving werewolves and soldiers was coming out back in 2002 I
was ready. Except that it never played here. But once it hit video I watched
and fell in love with the movie. So when I heard that Shout/Scream Factory was
going to release a special edition I was set to watch it and love it once more.
I wasn’t disappointed.
The movie starts with a soldier named Cooper (Kevin McKidd)
trying out for the elite squad only to fail his final tests. Several months
later his regular platoon is sent to the Highlands of Scotland on a training
exercise. No live ammo to be had and wandering through the woods, they come
across the remains of the Special Ops group that Cooper failed to join, the
sole survivor of the group being their leader Capt. Ryan (Liam Cunningham). As
Cooper’s commander Sgt. Wells (Sean Pertwee) regroups his men and takes the
weapons and ammo from the fallen soldiers, the group is set upon by the same
attackers and do their best to escape.
Unwilling to admit to what they saw, some wounded, they make
their way to a nearby road and run into a jeep driving by which they stop.
Driven by a woman named Megan (Emma Cleasby), they commandeer the car, tell her
to move and try to find some place safe for the moment. Megan tells them there
is a farm nearby and they head there knowing they won’t make it to the nearest
town that night.
As they set themselves up in the farmhouse to defend against
whatever it was that attacked them they do triage on the injured members of the
group included Sgt. Wells. Cooper takes over and in talking with Megan and in
looking over the farmhouse, the group realizes that what attacked them, what
they saw, was a pack of werewolves. Megan has been in the area looking for
information about this pack as well as proof that they exist. The run in is all
the proof theses soldiers need and now they’re in a battle for their lives. If
they can make it through the night to morning then perhaps they can find a way
to the nearest town. If not, they’ll be dinner.
While this may sound like a simple plot there are several
subplots I won’t dare reveal because in just knowing what they are you’ll have
time to figure out the possibilities they present. I will say that one person
wounded by these werewolves suddenly begins to heal faster than one would
expect. I’ll leave it to you as to why that would be.
Not only is this movie one of the most original treatments
of werewolves I’ve ever seen, every pulse pounding moment on screen makes you
sit on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. Add to that some
of the best looking werewolves to be seen on screen and you have a movie that
is well worth not just watching but adding to your collection as well. And make
note that these are not CGI created werewolves at all but practical effects
werewolves, men in costumes with effects people on hand to help them along that
make them all the more real looking. This in turn makes them some of the more
frightening werewolves seen on screen in years.
Included in the extras is a making of featurette, a look
behinds the models of the sets, a theatrical trailer, still galleries, audio
commentary from director Neil Marshall and a short film Marshall made prior
called COMBAT. If that wasn’t enough the transfer to blu-ray was supervised by
Marshall himself so this becomes a stunning copy that fans and collectors will
find a must have to their collection.
I can’t recommend this movie and this version enough. It is
an amazing horror film that needs more recognition than it has received to
date. Make sure you pick up a copy today.
Click here to order.
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