Macabre…ish Horror Review: The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves, 1984/ 1 hr 35 min

Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) dreams that she lives in a fantastical forest with woodland and fairytale creatures in the 18th century and one night her sister, Alice (Georgia Slowe) is chased down and killed by wolves and while their parents (Tusse Silberg and David Warner) mourn, Rosaleen goes to live with her superstitious grandmother (Angela Lansbury). Her grandmother warns her to “never stray from the path, eat a windfall apple or trust a man whose eyebrows meet”.

Grandma then tells a disturbing story about a newly wed couple (Kathryn Pogson and Stephen Rea) and their ill fated union, the wife’s subsequent second family and the first husband’s return and death.

Rosaleen returns to her village and she and a boy with a crush (Shane Johnstone) discover the village cattle have been slaughtered by wolves and when a wolf is trapped and killed, it shapeshifts into a person. Her granny has a lot of stories and she claims every single one is true.

Rosaleen later carries a basket of goods to her grandmother’s house and meets a huntsman (Micha Bergese) on the path and he has a unibrow. He insists on a picnic with her and then races her to her grandmother’s house and then kills the lady after she attacks him when he let’s himself in.

When Rosaleen arrives and finds him there and her granny gone, she knows what he is and wolves circle the cottage. She injures him with his own weapon then takes pity on him.

Rosaleen later wakes up screaming at home with a wolf crashing through her window.

This is a gothic fantasy horror directed by Neil Jordan. This is a red riding hood story with tales within tales with the addition of werewolves.  It definitely seems like a children’s movie except when it becomes gory. The physical effects are few but they are graphic and sometimes gory. The effects also range from really good monster make up to almost amateurish physical effects. The werewolves fully formed are just regular wolves. If you like the story of little red riding hood or historical dramas, you might like this.