Joshua Nelson’s horror/thriller Aware of the Wolf takes the self-help industry in an entirely new and horrid direction. A life coach and motivational speaker known only as Terry seems to develop his shy and socially anxious clients into an assertive version of themselves. Of course, Terry’s methods raise eyebrows, as his clients’ self-assertion training involves contemplating Darwinism’s “Survival of the Fittest” philosophy whilst howling like wolves. Werewolf movies, anyone?
On the other hand, there is a killer on the loose or would I say killers? A torn-apart corpse or, in some cases, corpses turn up at the roadside and inside the woods surrounding the town. Detective Wagner and Sanchez are working on it, but the gruesome and savage context of the killings both makes the case incredibly hard to investigate and the victims impossible to recognize.
Speaking of Terry, one of his clients is a teenage girl who is pregnant and has a stepmother who speaks to her as if she is a two-dollar s***. Then, there is a woman whose husband is using her goodness to shatter his vows to her whenever he gets the chance. There is also one with an overbearing office boss, as well as a young lady who has super low self-esteem with a roommate whose only obsession is to paint her perfect.
“Terry’s work is helping his clients learn to find the words needed to stand up to their bullies. The results are counterproductive to put it lightly.”
Aware of the Wolf is right on the cusp of that DIY cult horror film sub-genre. The budget for this film is very small. Writer/Director Joshua Nelson manages to get around some of his budget problems by incorporating stock video footage as transitions for different scenes. This is not where things end for him, however, as he struggles with color grading as well as maintaining consistency with video clarity.
What Nelson does right however is add some unique touches that help separate the film from the rest. First would be the hostile and abusive relationship between a pregnant teenager and her stepmother the writing and dialogue are spiteful in a realistic and almost cruel way. Not to mention some of the crime scene investigations have body parts where limbs are one thing but Nelson goes even further. My complaint stems more from stuff like this, there could be way more. It is absolutely worth pouring money into.
There is also a story for this movie, and it is a strong asset. How the narrative has a sort of self-help guru in it is amazing and how it can make all sorts of followers is even better. But is he for real? In the end, the offenders get what they deserve.
This has been said before, but the film suffers because of its lack of budget. While Hollywood horror productions can’t be rivaled, in terms of no-budget horrors, Aware of the Wolf is right on par with his contemporaries in acting, cinematography, and all other productions. If you can overlook the budget, then you will definitely enjoy this one.
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