The Company Of Wolves (1984) ***1/2

Neil Jordan's The Company Of Wolves (1984) is a surreal, wonderful, fantastical anthology film that serves as an exploration of a young girl's budding sexuality, a cautionary tale of the dangers of strange men, and a horrifying fairy tale with themes of female empowerment.

The cast (including Angela LansburyDavid Warner, the young Red Riding Hood-clad lead Sarah Patterson, and an uncredited cameo by Terence Stamp) are all great, even when the dialogue is a bit silly at times. The visual f/x, including a couple of wolf transformations, are at times impressive and at times laughable, but all the while endearingly bizarre. The score is lush, varied, and unusual—the electronic aspects add to the mystery of the film. I love the artifice of the sets, particularly the well-staged, fog-enshrouded shots in the woods. 

I've seen Wolves three to four times now and always enjoy it. There really is nothing quite like it.

"And if there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too."

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