First-time writer-director Neil Marshall takes a fairly familiar
premise, borrows from several other locations - Predator, Aliens,
An American Werewolf in London, Southern Comfort and The Evil
Dead being among them - and still manages to turn out a movie
which remains fresh and exciting throughout.
And while not everything works - there are occasional lapses
in logic, the aforementioned tacky dialogue and some amazing
acts of stupidity, such as standing with backs to windows or
going off alone - Marshall should be applauded for the enthusiasm
he has brought to the project, barely giving the audience time
to draw breath in between attacks and producing some well-conceived
and very bloody set pieces (how the film escaped with a 15-certificate
is a bit of a mystery).
His cast is also superb, with Pertwee making a credible father-figure,
Kevin McKidd a suitably brow-beaten hero and the likes of Darren
Morfitt and Chris Robson providing the type of supporting players
which audiences can actually root for (rather than merely waiting
to die).
And given that this is a Brit-flick (shot in Luxembourg instead
of Scotland) and therefore cannot make use of the mega-budget,
CGI-backed Hollywood special-effects teams, it is quite pleasing
to be able to report that the grisly wolf pack is particularly
impressive, as are some of the latter transformations, while
the movie as a whole only occasionally feels like the low-budget
flick that it is.
All in all, this should have horror fans howling in delight,
rather than with derision.
