"Wolves" - UK DVD review

Coming to UK DVD this March, "Wolves" stars Lucas Till  (“X-Men : First Class”, “Battle Los : Angeles”) as high-school teenager Cayden Richards. When something happens to him one full moon, and wakes up to find his parents have been brutally slaughtered, he realises there is something very wrong with him, and decides to disappear.

 

Drifting from place to place, he eventually comes across the small town of Lupine Ridge, where he’s taken in by farmer John Tollerman (Stephen McHattie – Pontypool). But it seems there’s something very strange about the place.

 

Turns out the whole town is made up of werewolves like him, and they are being terrorised by a rival clan of wolves, lead by a purebred named Connor (played by “Game of Thrones” Jason Momoa), who holds the town in a grip of fear.

 

But when Cayden is befriended by young Angelina (Merritt Patterson – TVs “Ravenswood”), who runs the local bar, and he discovers that Connor has something “unsavoury” planned for her, it triggers off brutal bloodfeud between him and Connor’s clan, as Connor tries to assert his ‘authority’ and Cayden finally comes to terms with what he is.

 

Action packed, I was extremely impressed with this one, which marked the feature film directorial debut of David Hayter (writer, “X-Men”, “Watchmen”). The plot was an interesting twist on the old western story of a town being terrorised by outlaws, but are subsequently liberated by a passing drifter. Except in this case the outlaws are werewolves, not cowboys.

 

Lucas Till and Jason Momoa were both aptly cast as hero and villain respectively, along with Merrit Paterson as the would-be damsel in distress. The film also benefits greatly from the inclusion of Stephen McHattie, as the sympathetic farmer who takes Cayden under his wing and actually proves to be the films most likeable character. I also liked the way the werewolf effects were largely made up of practical effects, with CGI use being kept to a minimum.

 

Also included on the DVD is a selection of deleted scenes and a "gag reel" of out take footage!

 

If you like werewolf movies, you’ll definitely love this. The film is released to UK DVD March 2nd.

 

Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk