Wolves Against the World gets off to a wild and wacky start. After pulling out his innards, a man transforms into a werewolf. He crawls over to a drum kit and begins playing. It looks like the audience is in for a rock ‘n’ roll horror movie. As it turns out, there is more to the story than lycanthropes and death metal. The plot centers on former bandmates who are reuniting after their lives have taken different paths. They both want what they feel is best for each other, leading to a battle wills.
The second of three movies from Quinn Armstrong (who also plays Anders here), Wolves Against the World revisits many of the same ideas. Belonging and change are the central themes and drive the entire film. The rapid cuts and strong imagery seen in The Exorcism of Saint Patrick can also be found.
The focus is on two people once again, and this time around there is more depth. The first part of Wolves Against the World introduces the audience to Louis (Michael Kunicki). He is down on his luck and trying to move on from his ugly past. It is a little muddled at times, but there are some scenes that successfully build empathy.
Aside from a throwaway line at the end about his name, Anders is not given as much attention. He is there to be a foil for Louis and little else. This would not be an issue if Anders had a strong personality, but there is nothing to him. When he is not speaking in a low menacing tone, he is screaming racially charged comments – and Wolves Against the World is satisfied to leave the discomfort at the slurs.
Without two powerful leads, the film becomes a series of unimpressive flashbacks and incidents of racism. The story of redemption and trying to save a friend is fine in theory; the execution just falls flat. This is most apparent in the final shot which is a reminder of more innocent times. It is a common technique and can be very impactful. But when the more innocent times include swastikas and hate crimes, the moment is not quite as wistful.
Wolves Against the World is not an actively bad film. On the contrary, there are some well shot scenes. It is the story that never comes together. In an attempt to convey a powerful tale of redemption and friendship, Armstrong forgets to create something in which audiences care about.
Wolves Against the World is now available on demand.
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