Or, as it's titled on TV where I am, 'A Company of Wolves' (though when the film starts, the title that comes up onscreen has 'The' in place of 'A'. I don't know why anyone would object to the word 'The'). This is probably my favourite werewolf movie ever. Though I never did realise that the lead character's name was RosaLEEN, as when anyone said her name, it always sounded to me like RosaLEE. It wasn't until sometime later when looking at the IMDB page for the movie I discovered what her name actually was (or maybe I discovered it when watching the end credits. I forget).
What I love about this movie first and foremost is the 'atmosphere'. It's downright unsettling throughout. I first watched this movie when I was quite young-ish, so that's probably why it had such an impact on me. There were quite a few truly disturbing moments in the film, the most obvious one being the face-ripping-off werewolf transformation. That was fairly disturbing when I first saw it, plus it was totally unexpected that it was going to get so gruesome (the movie was on during the middle of the day when I first watched it on TV, so not exactly the time to be expecting to see something like THAT). Another disturbing moment (not so much now, but still somewhat unnerving) was Angela Lansbury getting decapitated and her head shattering like a vase. That was certainly 'WTF'-worthy. On rewatch, though, it was just sort of morbidly amusing.
I remember when I watched the movie for the first time, I found Sarah Patterson pretty alluring as Rosaleen. She had this quality about her that made her almost seem 'otherworldly' (which, given all the other strangeness in the movie, was probably appropriate). She'd sometimes act a certain way that made me wonder what was going through her head (nevermind the fact that she was told repeatedly by Granny to stick to the path and avoid men whose eyebrows met in the middle...and she pretty much ignored that advice in the end and got cozy with one such creepy unibrowed dude).
When I first watched the film, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the young guy who clearly had the hots for Rosaleen in the movie. She wasn't overly nice to him. However, on rewatch, I found him to be rather irritating (and he just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer/take the hint that she just wasn't that into him. I guess there's a reason he was credited as 'Amorous Boy'. The scene where Rosaleen (or rather, some other version of her) arrived in the white limo, dressed in white and sporting a blonde wig, along with Terence Stamp as the Devil, I found rather unsettling when I first watched the movie. The way the kid practically unhinged his jaw as he was yelling "Noooo!" over and over was particularly weird.
I also much preferred that they went for 'normal' wolves with glowing eyes than trying to create some sort of monstrous beasts that simply did not work. It was probably cheaper just to add the 'glowing effect' to the eyes of them anyway. This was also the first time I'd ever seen a werewolf transformation done where the wolf snout emerged from the human mouth. It wasn't until much later in time that the TV series Hemlock Grove came along and did this as well, having somewhat 'refined' the effect (and added even more grossness), though I'll always remember this movie as being the first (that I know of) one to do it (then again, I haven't seen that many werewolf movies, so maybe others beat them to it. I wouldn't know).
I liked that the movie was just basically made up of big sets. I've grown so tired of CGI settings/scenery in things now, that I really appreciated how 'real' the sets felt in this movie. If done right, they can make you buy into the world which the characters inhabit (even if, on closer inspection, you might be able to see the 'fakeness' of it all). I never saw 'sets', just this world in which Rosaleen was part of...and what a strange/scary world it was. I also liked that there were separate little stories within the main story of the film. They added to what was already an unsettling feeling to the movie, I thought. The wedding scene was kind of creepy, but at the same time sort of had a 'lightness' to it as well (might've been the music). Regarding the music/score used, I thought it added SO much to the film. It helped give an 'eerie' feeling throughout...but especially at the end.
Speaking of the ending...I think it could be debated whether the entire film is 'all a dream' or not, but the first question asked on the movie's IMDB page in the FAQ section has a really good, solid answer that I think explains the narrative structure of the film and what is/isn't a dream. All I know for sure is the ending always kind of freaked me out. Yes, it may 'just' be wolves busting through glass and paintings to enter Rosaleen's room as she's asleep, but the whole atmosphere throughout the film is unsettling, and that combined with the music playing as the pack of wolves run up to her room and Rosaleen's bone-chilling scream, are why I find the ending so effectively creepy. Up until this point, Rosaleen had seemed pretty 'chill'/rather calm around wolves (although that may have been because she thought it was a dream up until the end where the dream seemed to bleed into *actual* reality).
Anyway, I just find the ending very effective with its eeriness (it gives me shivers every time), I like how the film plays around with dreams and reality, blurring the lines between the two, and that's why it remains my favourite werewolf film.
What I love about this movie first and foremost is the 'atmosphere'. It's downright unsettling throughout. I first watched this movie when I was quite young-ish, so that's probably why it had such an impact on me. There were quite a few truly disturbing moments in the film, the most obvious one being the face-ripping-off werewolf transformation. That was fairly disturbing when I first saw it, plus it was totally unexpected that it was going to get so gruesome (the movie was on during the middle of the day when I first watched it on TV, so not exactly the time to be expecting to see something like THAT). Another disturbing moment (not so much now, but still somewhat unnerving) was Angela Lansbury getting decapitated and her head shattering like a vase. That was certainly 'WTF'-worthy. On rewatch, though, it was just sort of morbidly amusing.
I remember when I watched the movie for the first time, I found Sarah Patterson pretty alluring as Rosaleen. She had this quality about her that made her almost seem 'otherworldly' (which, given all the other strangeness in the movie, was probably appropriate). She'd sometimes act a certain way that made me wonder what was going through her head (nevermind the fact that she was told repeatedly by Granny to stick to the path and avoid men whose eyebrows met in the middle...and she pretty much ignored that advice in the end and got cozy with one such creepy unibrowed dude).
When I first watched the film, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the young guy who clearly had the hots for Rosaleen in the movie. She wasn't overly nice to him. However, on rewatch, I found him to be rather irritating (and he just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer/take the hint that she just wasn't that into him. I guess there's a reason he was credited as 'Amorous Boy'. The scene where Rosaleen (or rather, some other version of her) arrived in the white limo, dressed in white and sporting a blonde wig, along with Terence Stamp as the Devil, I found rather unsettling when I first watched the movie. The way the kid practically unhinged his jaw as he was yelling "Noooo!" over and over was particularly weird.
I also much preferred that they went for 'normal' wolves with glowing eyes than trying to create some sort of monstrous beasts that simply did not work. It was probably cheaper just to add the 'glowing effect' to the eyes of them anyway. This was also the first time I'd ever seen a werewolf transformation done where the wolf snout emerged from the human mouth. It wasn't until much later in time that the TV series Hemlock Grove came along and did this as well, having somewhat 'refined' the effect (and added even more grossness), though I'll always remember this movie as being the first (that I know of) one to do it (then again, I haven't seen that many werewolf movies, so maybe others beat them to it. I wouldn't know).
I liked that the movie was just basically made up of big sets. I've grown so tired of CGI settings/scenery in things now, that I really appreciated how 'real' the sets felt in this movie. If done right, they can make you buy into the world which the characters inhabit (even if, on closer inspection, you might be able to see the 'fakeness' of it all). I never saw 'sets', just this world in which Rosaleen was part of...and what a strange/scary world it was. I also liked that there were separate little stories within the main story of the film. They added to what was already an unsettling feeling to the movie, I thought. The wedding scene was kind of creepy, but at the same time sort of had a 'lightness' to it as well (might've been the music). Regarding the music/score used, I thought it added SO much to the film. It helped give an 'eerie' feeling throughout...but especially at the end.
Speaking of the ending...I think it could be debated whether the entire film is 'all a dream' or not, but the first question asked on the movie's IMDB page in the FAQ section has a really good, solid answer that I think explains the narrative structure of the film and what is/isn't a dream. All I know for sure is the ending always kind of freaked me out. Yes, it may 'just' be wolves busting through glass and paintings to enter Rosaleen's room as she's asleep, but the whole atmosphere throughout the film is unsettling, and that combined with the music playing as the pack of wolves run up to her room and Rosaleen's bone-chilling scream, are why I find the ending so effectively creepy. Up until this point, Rosaleen had seemed pretty 'chill'/rather calm around wolves (although that may have been because she thought it was a dream up until the end where the dream seemed to bleed into *actual* reality).
Anyway, I just find the ending very effective with its eeriness (it gives me shivers every time), I like how the film plays around with dreams and reality, blurring the lines between the two, and that's why it remains my favourite werewolf film.