WOLFEN (1981)
Article 5093 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-28-2016
Directed by Michael Wadleigh
Featuring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos
Country: USA
What it is: Creature feature

A series of murders seem to be the result of a creature with wolf-like features. What are they, and do they have a connection with a group of native American terrorists?

This is one of those movies that is based on a novel. It’s also one of those movies that feels like it’s based on a novel. Finally, it’s one of those movies that feels as if the novel is better; I’ve not read Whitley Strieber novel, but I feel that the various characters in the story have a more complex involvement in the story than I see in the movie, especially Albert Finney’s detective character. In its present form, the movie feels like the scenes would work a little better if I were reading them than watching them. The main exception are the various tracking POV shots of the title creatures, which are very effective; in fact, they’re so effective that it’s more than a little anticlimactic when you actually see them for the first time. There are things I like about the movie, but my overall impression is that the movie falls short of what it could have been.