In WOLVES Hayter, the screenwriter of WATCHMEN and two X-MEN films makes his feature directorial debut and he has gone down the teen wolf route in this horror opus that stars man of the moment Jason Momoa. The former GAME OF THRONES star is enjoying his moment in the limelight since exiting the hit TV series with the release of ROAD TO PALOMA also on DVD and with the upcoming production of DC Comic’s AQUAMAN.

There are no real surprises in this horror film, which serves an almost familiar-feeling effort that will no doubt still attract an eager audience.

In WOLVES, Lucas Till (X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST) plays the central role of Cayden, a good-looking high school quarterback with the requisite beautiful girlfriend who finds his life turned upside down when he discovers his true nature. When his parents are brutally murdered, presumably by him in his lycanthropic state, he’s forced to go on the lam and winds up in the small town of Lupine Ridge.

The moniker is appropriate, because it’s the home of warring clans of wolves, one of which is led by the menacing biker-type Connor (Momoa). Taken under the wing of a kindly farmer (Stephen McHattie), Cayden soon develops an attraction for the beautiful Angelina (Merrit Patterson), who’s unfortunately committed to perpetuating Connor’s purebred bloodline. Indeed, the entire town receives a “mating invitation” to witness the event.

In this film we see how the strength of werewolves alters depending on their ancestry. The “purebred” variety are much more powerful than ones who merely entered their altered state by being bitten. Who knew that there was a werewolf lineage system?

In Hayter’s derivative screenplay, the film opens up positively, providing all that would be expected from a teen horror flick: drama, action, and mystery. It all keeps the audience glued to the screen in spite of the wolf costuming and wolf talking which left a little to be desired. The actors are clad in rather suspect werewolf suits, which unfortunately deter from the action and the dialogue is delivered by the characters in a human-esque way – the characters maintain their full powers of speech, which detracts from their believability of beasts of the night. 

As the plot thickens in the movie, all hell breaks loose, as Cayden discovers his true father’s identity and a climactic battle ensues between the werewolf clans which produces the inevitable high body count. Hayter calls Star Wars to mind in the way he uses the hero’s journey in a genre context, positioning Cayden as the farm boy with a destiny greater than himself and a family lineage he discovers over the course of the movie, thanks to a wise old wizard-like man.

Overall, WOLVES certainly isn’t the most original werewolf movie out there, but it does have a certain magnetism to it. It’s cheesy and predictable, but Till, McHattie and Patterson make for a fun ensemble and the decent werewolf action will keep this genre-specific audience engaged.

Verdict

WOLVES is out now on DVD and Digital Download.