Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf certainly isn't perfect; that being said, it's not that bad, either. It has numerous flaws and some of the actors looked rather mortified to be there, but come on, it's not as bad as the garbage coming out now like The Hunger Games and Frozen. It can't be denied that Night of the Wolf has imagination.
The trick with movies like these is to not go in expecting some blockbuster hit, but to watch it from a comedic point of view. It's actually very hilarious, some of the lines. And the actors themselves were excellent, besides, William B. Davis (Dr. Parker) is one of the best actors out there, he's well-known for his role as the enigmatic Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files, among other roles. I kept picturing the Smoking Man during all his screen time in this movie; his sinister role in Night of the Wolf brings back a lot of memories watching The X-Files as a kid. All the actors/actresses put in evident effort, given what they had to work with, and it's nice to see other lesser-known actors getting some acting breaks, even in these TV horror movies, it's better than watching that Twilight crud or something.
I can't say I'm a big fan of the stereotypical "looney bin" plot. I can tell you from experience that mental health facilities today aren't set up to be fun, but they are NOTHING like as portrayed in this movie. I really wish horror movies would stop using the cliché nuthouse plot all the time, I know it's just a movie and maybe I'm overreacting but in this day and age you'd think that sort of thing would have stopped back in the nineties with movies.
The inmates in said hospital weren't exactly "evil." Oliver was pretty pervy and gross but sort of a hero in the story as well, when he saved the little girl (or attempted to), and without doing any strange pervert act with her. I liked Ben, despite his huge anger issues he didn't seem to want to harm anyone unless he was provoked. Mabel was a cannibal but came across as more comedic than scary, and Harold "the Wolf" just seemed frustrated and afraid once his wolf suit was taken from him. As for Dr. Parker, he goes from sinister to depressing as his true motives are discovered; the part about his father abusing him with electroshock and drownings in the past was actually pretty sad. The hospital is very unorthodox; Jamie (one of the main characters) is able to bring a Christmas present to Oliver (a pair of expensive shoes). He has a foot fetish and is known for cutting people's toes off. Jamie either has no one better to spend her money on than some nude perverted criminal, or she has a thing for Oliver. If you wanted to get really into the reality of things, psychologists and psychiatrists most often need to be mentally stable themselves in order to practice in that field. The abuse Parker suffered as a child would likely either be on record somewhere or would've come up before he was hired to work at the hospital. Then again, it's only a movie, if you go at it with to much seriousness it just isn't as fun to watch.
I thought the soundtrack was pretty good and the wolf suit design was so cool! The special effects were pretty convincing, albeit not the best, and the police officer Johnny Morgan's past is filmed in flashbacks with a nostalgic yellow tint and film grain for effect, not bad. I don't understand why this movie has such low ratings, some people are saying that the acting was bad and that the effects were cheesy. Well, I'm not an actor but I've met one or two actors when I was publishing fiction novels, and from what I understand, if you're a lesser known actor trying to get a big break or an actor looking to make it in bigger movies, you take what jobs you can get, you don't pick and choose. Acting is a profession, just like selling cars or law enforcement or teaching. And maybe some of the actors in Night of the Wolf already knew it was going to be a lame Sy-Fy TV channel airing and just acted in it for fun, it's been known to happen. Not all actors are in it for the money, some just enjoy acting, hell, I'd love being an actress if I didn't speak in a monotone voice! As for people who say the movie was cheesy, well to each their own, but I love cheesy horror movies! I grew up with favorites like my hometown-filmed My Bloody Valentine (1981), Matinée (1989) and Sleepaway Camp (1983). I stand up for those classic slasher movies over box-office hits any day.
Well,sorry for ranting about all that, I'm just sorta tired of people giving this movie such a hard time; it's not that bad! My brother, sister and I loved it, we thought it was entertaining, which is what movies should be about, not just making money but being something you can enjoy, even if it's a little cheesy and lame. I recommend it to anyone looking for a funny and creepy horror movie, watch it with an open mind and hey, at least if you end up hating it you have the opportunity to make fun of it later and laugh at the characters like Oliver and Mabel.
The trick with movies like these is to not go in expecting some blockbuster hit, but to watch it from a comedic point of view. It's actually very hilarious, some of the lines. And the actors themselves were excellent, besides, William B. Davis (Dr. Parker) is one of the best actors out there, he's well-known for his role as the enigmatic Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files, among other roles. I kept picturing the Smoking Man during all his screen time in this movie; his sinister role in Night of the Wolf brings back a lot of memories watching The X-Files as a kid. All the actors/actresses put in evident effort, given what they had to work with, and it's nice to see other lesser-known actors getting some acting breaks, even in these TV horror movies, it's better than watching that Twilight crud or something.
I can't say I'm a big fan of the stereotypical "looney bin" plot. I can tell you from experience that mental health facilities today aren't set up to be fun, but they are NOTHING like as portrayed in this movie. I really wish horror movies would stop using the cliché nuthouse plot all the time, I know it's just a movie and maybe I'm overreacting but in this day and age you'd think that sort of thing would have stopped back in the nineties with movies.
The inmates in said hospital weren't exactly "evil." Oliver was pretty pervy and gross but sort of a hero in the story as well, when he saved the little girl (or attempted to), and without doing any strange pervert act with her. I liked Ben, despite his huge anger issues he didn't seem to want to harm anyone unless he was provoked. Mabel was a cannibal but came across as more comedic than scary, and Harold "the Wolf" just seemed frustrated and afraid once his wolf suit was taken from him. As for Dr. Parker, he goes from sinister to depressing as his true motives are discovered; the part about his father abusing him with electroshock and drownings in the past was actually pretty sad. The hospital is very unorthodox; Jamie (one of the main characters) is able to bring a Christmas present to Oliver (a pair of expensive shoes). He has a foot fetish and is known for cutting people's toes off. Jamie either has no one better to spend her money on than some nude perverted criminal, or she has a thing for Oliver. If you wanted to get really into the reality of things, psychologists and psychiatrists most often need to be mentally stable themselves in order to practice in that field. The abuse Parker suffered as a child would likely either be on record somewhere or would've come up before he was hired to work at the hospital. Then again, it's only a movie, if you go at it with to much seriousness it just isn't as fun to watch.
I thought the soundtrack was pretty good and the wolf suit design was so cool! The special effects were pretty convincing, albeit not the best, and the police officer Johnny Morgan's past is filmed in flashbacks with a nostalgic yellow tint and film grain for effect, not bad. I don't understand why this movie has such low ratings, some people are saying that the acting was bad and that the effects were cheesy. Well, I'm not an actor but I've met one or two actors when I was publishing fiction novels, and from what I understand, if you're a lesser known actor trying to get a big break or an actor looking to make it in bigger movies, you take what jobs you can get, you don't pick and choose. Acting is a profession, just like selling cars or law enforcement or teaching. And maybe some of the actors in Night of the Wolf already knew it was going to be a lame Sy-Fy TV channel airing and just acted in it for fun, it's been known to happen. Not all actors are in it for the money, some just enjoy acting, hell, I'd love being an actress if I didn't speak in a monotone voice! As for people who say the movie was cheesy, well to each their own, but I love cheesy horror movies! I grew up with favorites like my hometown-filmed My Bloody Valentine (1981), Matinée (1989) and Sleepaway Camp (1983). I stand up for those classic slasher movies over box-office hits any day.
Well,sorry for ranting about all that, I'm just sorta tired of people giving this movie such a hard time; it's not that bad! My brother, sister and I loved it, we thought it was entertaining, which is what movies should be about, not just making money but being something you can enjoy, even if it's a little cheesy and lame. I recommend it to anyone looking for a funny and creepy horror movie, watch it with an open mind and hey, at least if you end up hating it you have the opportunity to make fun of it later and laugh at the characters like Oliver and Mabel.