Wolfen (1981) Orion/Horror-Thriller RT: 114 minutes Rated R (some graphic violence and gore, language, nudity including some full frontal, sexual content) Director: Michael Wadleigh Screenplay: David M. Eyre Jr. and Michael Wadleigh Music: James Horner Cinematography: Gerry Fisher Release date: July 24, 1981 (US) Cast: Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines, Tom Noonan, Dick O’Neill, Dehl Berti, Peter Michael Goetz, Reginald VelJohnson, James Tolkan. Box Office: $10.6M (US)
Rating: ***
According to the Chinese calendar, 1981 was the Year of the Rooster. At the movies, it was the Year of the (Were)Wolf with three lycan-themed horror flicks- An American Werewolf in London, The Howling and Wolfen– in release that year. You could also count the Larry Cohen spoof Full Moon High if you’d like, but I prefer to forget it even exists.
The thing about Wolfen is that it’s technically NOT a werewolf movie. These wolves are spirit animals, mythological creatures associated with Native American culture. They travel in packs protecting their territory, their hunting ground, from the evils of humanity. There are no silver bullets or cool transformation scenes in Wolfen. How do you market a movie like this? The studio (Orion) didn’t seem to know as they barely promoted it. Audiences didn’t bother with it either. As I recall, it came and went in a week, maybe two. I didn’t get to see it until two years later on cable. It was different from any other “werewolf picture” I had ever seen in that it explored themes generally not seen in horror movies. It was weird, but I liked it.
Albert Finney (Tom Jones) plays Dewey Wilson, a recently reinstated New York cop assigned to investigate a bloody triple murder in Battery Park. One of the victims is a high-profile real estate magnate who recently broke ground on a big development deal in the South Bronx. The high-tech firm that handles his security wants to blame the killings on terrorists. Wilson isn’t so sure about that especially after a homeless junkie is killed in a similar fashion. Working the case with him is criminal psychologist Rebecca Neff (Venora, F/X) and coroner Whittington (Hines, History of the World: Part I).
The case takes an unexpected turn when Whittington finds identical animal hairs on both victims, hairs that are later determined by zoologist Ferguson (Noonan, Manhunter) to have come from an unknown species of wolf. How can that be? Wolves are supposed to be extinct in the East. He points Dewey in the direction of Native Americans. This leads him to question formerly jailed activist Eddie Holt (Olmos, Blade Runner) on top of the Manhattan Bridge. Indians aren’t afraid of heights which is why many of them go into jobs in construction or bridge maintenance. The investigation leads to a horrifying discovery, one that no rational thinking person would ever believe.
Directed by Michael Wadleigh (Woodstock), Wolfen is adapted from the 1978 novel by Whitley Strieber, the oddball writer whose alleged alien abduction is recounted in the strange 1989 film Communion. It’s an unusually intelligent horror movie that’s less about wolves than it is urban decay and renewal. The “wolfen” live in the South Bronx, a decrepit section of the city that, in the early 80s, resembled a bombed-out wasteland with its ruined buildings and piles of rubble. It’s the wolves’ hunting ground. They prey on humanity’s forgotten people- e.g. the homeless, junkies, winos, etc. The proposed renewal project will deprive them of their primary source of food. They must protect it. In a larger sense, they’re trying to return a sense of balance to nature, something that’s been mistreated by man for generations. Wadleigh’s choice to shoot on location is not only brave (it was an extremely dangerous part of the city), it also lends a note of authenticity. It’s kind of a stand-in for the lands in the West they were forced to flee with the slaughter of the Native Americans in the late 19th century.
Another great stylistic choice is the switch to thermal imaging when showing the action through the eyes of the wolfen. It’s similar to the effect later used in Predator. This had never been tried before; it was a cool idea. The gore effects are also quite good. The killings are bloody, something that should please gorehounds.
The acting is decent even if the characters are barely more than one-dimensional. Finney’s character, for example, has some psychological problems that are never really explained. They were bad enough that he took a leave of absence from the force which is where we find him at the start of the movie. I didn’t get much of a read on Hines’ character; he’s simply the token black guy, one with a casual attitude towards his work. Olmos is pretty good as the former activist once arrested by Dewey for manslaughter. He claims to be a shapeshifter; it leads to one of the movie’s weirdest scenes.
At nearly two hours, Wolfen is perhaps a bit too long. It moves slowly in parts. Yet it’s never boring especially looking at it now more than 40 years later. It’s interesting to see how New York looked then and think about how much it’s changed. The themes it explores are also interesting. It’s definitely deeper than the average horror movie. Of course, calling Wolfen a horror movie isn’t entirely accurate. There’s more to it than cheap “BOO!” scenes, gruesome effects and a body count. It’s actually somewhat intelligent. I can see why audiences were put off by it in ’81. It’s a movie ahead of its time. If you haven’t seen it yet, now’s a good time to check it out.
