Wolfen

A very interesting urban horror film with a great atmosphere. The fact that Wolfen is the only feature film ever directed by documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Michael Wadleigh, the man behind the legendary 1970 film Woodstock, is no mere curiosity. Wadleigh imprinted the film with his flair for capturing subcultures, the spirit of a vanishing era, and a unique setting (here, the endless demolition of the South Bronx and, by extension, all of New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s). And the more you see similar older films in which a city is practically a character in its own right, you realise how this element is increasingly missing from contemporary cinema, with a few honourable exceptions. Story-wise, it's a bit heavy-handed, and it's clear that the studio took the film away from the director in post-production and did their own thing with it, but it's still a fairly unique watch if you're after a film with an edge and not just straightforward horror. A very refreshing piece of work. Only notorious recycler James Horner performs here basically half of his themes for the one-year-younger Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the five-years in the future Aliens, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (it's still a great score), but it does take a bit out of the plot. (04.02.2024)