The Company Of Wolves (1984) ****
"And if there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too."
Neil Jordan's The Company Of Wolves (1984) is a wonderful, surreal, 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 Lansbury, David 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. There really is nothing quite like this film.
The cast (including Angela Lansbury, David 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. There really is nothing quite like this film.
Recommended for fans of Legend (1985) (theatrical cut review, Director's Cut review), The NeverEnding Story (1984), and Phenomena (1985) (review).
You can find my Neil Jordan Feature Films Ranked list here.
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