Flipping the channels the other night, I caught the glimpse of a beautiful young lady being attacked by wolves and had to stop. The channel was the Superstation, and this movie was Billy Bob's horror choice for the night. I spent the rest of the night watching "Company of Wolves", and it was extremely enjoyable on two levels. As a cheesy horror movie it excelled, but there was also a deeper and more intellectual facet to the film. Horror with a message, this is a deep film which deserves more recognition that it's received....
The plot of the movie is based upon the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Rosaleen is a beautiful young girl coming of age, whose grandmother has knit her a blood red shawl to keep her warm. As the movie progresses we see Rosaleen growing up, dating, seeing her parents have sex, tormented by evil wolves who devour errant children. All of this happy fun is unified by a set of stories told by her Grandmother, each of which describes a horrible incident where a seemingly wonderful young man is transformed into a "man with fur on the inside, better known to the rest of the world as a werewolf. As Rosaleen learns to identify these men, she becomes more and more intrigued by their existence. Following vaguely the plot of LRRH, the final scenes involve Grandma's death and Rosaleen's confrontation with an especially wily wolf, which culminates in a stunning and intriguing surprise ending...
Directed by Neil Jordan(of Crying Game fame), this movie is really all about puberty and sexual development. The werewolves are sensual men, who rob women of their virginity and represent the animal passions of the male sex. Every scene is packed to the brim with images of sexuality and fertility of every sort, including a gorgeous and creepy scene with Rosaleen up a tree, finding a small statue of a baby in a stork's egg. This is definitely a film that will make you think, but the horror elements will also scare the poop out of you...the best of both worlds for my money!
For me, the shining star of this film is Angela Lansbury, that queen of stage and screen(big and small) on whom I have had a lifelong and somewhat embarrassing crush. She plays Granny, the raunchy and superstitious grandmother of Rosaleen who tries to protect the young girl from werewolves that are "furry on the inside". An important figure in both the plot and structure of the tale, she tells all of the short stories that become "fairytales within a fairytale", and which are so essential to an understanding of the sexual theme of the film. Beyond great acting and an inescapable classy charm, the sheer entertainment value of hearing Jessica Fletcher say "not too shy to p~ss in a pot" in enough to make a film for me...
The movie is also peppered with appearances by wonderful, if relatively unknown in the U.S., actors from British television. The most recognizable and enjoyable of these is Graham Crowden, who played the hilarious role of Tom Ballard on the old British comedy "Waiting for God", a series which is now making the rounds of American public television. He plays a senile, if not subtly profane, Old Priest who becomes an integral part of the werewolf history of the region.
The Final Verdict
As visually stunning and cheesy as possible(yes, both are possible in the same film, "Company of Wolves" is a work of art. Ripe with enough sexual symbolism and arcane imagery to blow the head off any high school english teacher, the story is engaging, frightening and more than a bit erotic. It's currently out of print, so I highly recommend that you try and catch it on the Superstation, or check your local video store.
The desire the fantasy the nightmare. In the dead of night, the beast is unleashed. Director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview With A Vampire) h...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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