Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001)
Action | History | Horror | Mystery

"An action-packed extravaganza with kick-butt martial arts andispooky thrills!" -USA Today

A dangerous, thrilling mystery of chilling proportions, Brotherhood Of The Wolf leaps from the screen with breathtaking action and incredible suspense blended with high-flying martial arts excitement.

When a mysterious beast ravages the countryside, two unlikely heroes are called in to fight the evil. The only way they can save the land from this unspeakable terror is to face their greatest fears, unearth a dark power and reveal a deadly secret. Harry Knowles of Aintitcoolnews.com raves, "A remarkable film. As cool as they come!"

Jami Bernard from The New York Daily Times praises it as "An unexpected touch of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

User Comment: beingofsoundmind, 24 November 2003 • Candle-lit interior cinematography, lush misty landscapes, strong characters, exquisite costumes, an authentic boudoir recreation of 18th century French society, a new kind of savage 'monster' and some of the finest stylized fight scenes ever laid down in a 'genre' film, place "Brotherhood of the Wolf" among the classiest horror adventure films of all time.

Great moments include the culminating rage of Samuel Le Bihan's gentlemanly character 'Fronsac' who explodes into a Conan-like fury as he meets out 'justice' to those that wronged his Iroquois-Mohawk 'blood brother' played by Marc Dacascos, Vincent Cassel suitably creepy as the decadent 'Morangias', sensuous Monica Belluci as the dangerous and vicious 'Sylvia', interesting historical plot-points, and a bond of friendship between an unlikely pair of frontier adventurers, make director Christopher Gans "Brotherhood of the Wolf" an original masterpiece of 'genre' film-making...

User Comment: -2- mikerichards from Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK, 23 October 2001 • In 1765 something was stalking the mountains of south-western France. A 'beast' that pounced on humans and animals with terrible ferocity. Indeed they beast became so notorious that the King of France dispatched envoys to find out what was happening and to kill the creature. By the end, the Beast of Gevaudan had killed over 100 people, to this day, no one is entirely sure what it was, wolf? hyena? or something supernatural? Whatever it was, shepherds had the same life-expectancy as the red-suited guys in 'Star Trek'. The Beast is a popular myth in France, albeit one rooted firmly in reality; somewhat surprisingly it is little known to the outside world, and perhaps incredibly it has never been made into a movie. Until now, and what a movie!

Categorising 'Le Pacte des Loups' would be tricky, but I'll try. Its a period costume horror martial-arts werewolf movie and surprisingly all those pieces work together provided you don't concentrate too hard. Why no one has previously made a period costume horror martial-arts werewolf movie before is a mystery, but I expect plenty of imitations in the future.

A strong female role is unusual in movies, but two? And such different characters. There is the strikingly elegant and almost hypnotic courtesan Sylvia (Monica Bellucci), playing her role of seductress with frigid professionalism. In a world where women had little more than their wits to protect them, she is the most dangerous of all and far more than she first appears. For most of the movie you are unsure if she is going to help or hinder the heroes, she is always mysterious and captivating.

In complete contrast there is the innocent, fragile, and astonishingly beautiful, Madeiline (Emilie Dequenne), younger sister to the protective Jean Francois. Surrounded by evil, prejudice and superstition on all sides she is clearly the romantic heroine, but is also intended to represent the French Republic; the very symbol of which gives her name. De Fronsac falls hopelessly in love with this witty and charming woman, but in doing so he risks further conflict with Jean Francois.

The two leads are fantastic and share a chemistry reminiscent of the relationship between Butch and Sundance. Le Fronsac is wise when needed, with a sensational put down for those who think that Mani is less than human. Mani is a man of few words but utterly dominates the screen when present. Needless to say, they are both fantastic fighters.

Horror movies live or die by the creature and fortunately this movie delivers. Wisely there is never a chance to get a good look at the animal - it is enough to know that it is big and nasty, the viewer's mind will fill in the details. The creature is also used surprisingly sparingly. When the viewer might expect it to pounce it doesn't, a few minutes later it appears out of nowhere - wonderful, shocking stuff reminiscent of 'Alien'.

Whilst the design of the animal from the Creature Workshop is perfect, some of the CGI work is a little below the standards we have come to expect - a couple of the daylight shots are well-below par, but the nighttime work is outstanding. Indeed one shot where the creature stalks out of the fog behind the hero has to be amongst the most effective CGI work in film.

Cinematically this is some of the best work of late; it bears many resemblences to Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' - luscious slow character-forming scenes mixed in with frantic camera work for the action scenes. Again, this strange hybrid style works exceptionally well, although perhaps it can get a little too frantic. Just about every camera and digital trick is used at least once, some to excellent effect (one flashback scene is particularly striking, using a strongly solarised effect to give it an otherworldly texture).

Summary: A brilliant genre film...

[CSW] -4- All the pieces worked together much better than would ever have been expected for a period costume horror martial-arts werewolf movie. I liked it.

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