Here in the modern world where people seek entertainment from all kinds of diverse pop culture, ranging from TV shows to movies, werewolf films seem to be a nightmare for filmmakers to create. I think constructing a dramatic yet likable character who is a tragic victim of circumstance, who gets bitten by a werewolf, or cursed by a gypsy, and solves life by sacrificing something dear to them in order to save someone they love is a unique touch. Moreover, one can also easily create an evil werewolf horror, which is always enjoyable. It is totally flexible; there are a million different directions one could pursue starting from this skeletal structure.
“Werewolf Rising” misses the mark on so many levels. It is poorly produced, it is poorly written and there is a lack of both decent characters as well as werewolves. I admit I’m not a fan of the phrase “digital age” of cinema, especially for lower-budget films because my problem is that it looks like a hoе video. That being said, I managed to make peace with digital filmmaking so this isn’t my issue with the technical aspects of the movie. There are a lot of aspects I could discuss, but I only have two main problems regarding the technical skill that went into this.
Let’s begin with you budding filmmakers out there buying a tripod is a must if you want to shoot any moving shots. You can grab one of these devices for $15 on Amazon. As such, watching Werewolf Rising was like having to sit through a video my mom recorded on her cellphone. To your second point, unless you’re Stuart Gordon, do not rip off your soundtrack. Even he should not have but Re-Animator fucking rule. The first time I heard the score, I thought, that’s actually a cool throwback until I realized it was just a rip-off of Halloween. Seriously.
I tend to disregard technical blindness in writers only if their work is captivating enough. Unfortunately, once again, Werewolf Rising lacks a storyline. The first time we come across the werewolf is through a POV shot as it gouges an escaped prisoner, who happens to be a woman, and intends to rape and kill her while directionless in the woods. The guy ends up doing nothing as the wolf mauls him and the girl ends up dead. This is a decent start for a werewolf movie and also the best introduction of all to the best actor in the movie Bill Oberst Jr, as Rhett the obsessively creepy rapist. The next day we meet Emma (Melissa Carnell), who is heading to her parent’s old house to dry out after deciding to quit drinking.
To be fair, that sounds fine for the movie, and it truly would be if they just focused on that central premise. Unfortunately, writer and director BC Furtny does not seem to know what he actually wants out of this film. I mean, being stalked romantically makes little sense, especially when you have just met the person, as Emma did within 12 hours of meeting Johnny Lee (Matt Copko), who is also an escaped convict who got out with Rhett. The story told roaming between British and American styles is the ‘erotic’ stalker fantasy many teenage girls wish is reality. There is very little left for Emma to choose from other than two escaped cons and her father’s friend who goes by Uncle Wayne (Brian Berry). I would pick the least creepy sociopath too. And the final character who is so not essential for the resolution that he fails to disrupt the calm right at the end of the movie, you are fair to null to fully a whodunit movie. Do a whodunit movie, turning focus in the essence to the viewer, and disposing of a character so late on only puts the insight of the writer into question, having legit two plot lines and this one rather is botched.
And lastly, the greatest blunder of the entire film is that there is no transformation scene. For such a drastic change in appearance, we are only treated with a single look at the face turn and then it cuts to the next scene where the character is already a wolf. This wolf costume, by the way, looks like it was bought from a local costume shop. I normally try and give points to practical effects because it demonstrates that the filmmakers tried something but I cannot do that here. No one made this costume and if they did put effort into it, it certainly does not look like it. I like to think that the actor had an old Halloween costume lying around his place and decided to bring it to set one day only to have them say “Sure, why not?” The answer is Because we want to see a transformed scene, not a wolf-keeper scene.
For years now, I have been hoping for a brand new werewolf movie boom but one doesn’t look like it is coming anytime soon. If any of you reading this have seen it and actually enjoyed it, please explain why. And of course, if you didn’t, go ahead and tell me what you didn’t like too!
To watch more movies visit Fmovies
Also Watch for more movies like:
