Lord of Wolves is not the cut and dry werewolf movie it sounds like. After the death of a friend, Nic (Joshua Tonks) comes across a mysterious pyramid shaped contraption. He also meets some people who are going through dark periods in their lives. They all soon learn that the worst parts of London are controlled by a group of wolf-people.
There is more going on here than the synopsis suggests. For starters, there are a lot of characters. While Nic seems like he is going to be the main protagonist, Lord of Wolves is much more of an ensemble piece. Each person is fleshed out and while it may be a stretch to say there is depth to them – the rich siblings are basically just jaded with life – the amount of attention given allows audiences to form a strong opinion about them.
Lord of Wolves does not just throw everyone together, either. There is a patient build to each of them, leading to their chance encounters. It builds an air of mystery that is not often seen in these types of movies. Much of the time is spent wondering just how all of these people from different walks of life are going to find each other.
This may be the most disappointing part of the story. The individual storytelling may be strong, but as everything converges, Lord of Wolves becomes muddled. Some of it is the clumsy manner in which the strangers meet. It is all very random and can even be hard to follow. Another issue is once the final group does come together, they immediately have the type of bond that is only formed through time and shared experiences. It ends up feeling rushed.
For some, the writing will be enough to make up for these slip-ups. The bulk of the time is spent with the characters separately, after all. Even more impressive is the direction the film takes. Creature features with deeper messages tend to be the exclusive domain of vampires – especially when it comes to addiction.
Lord of Wolves is a tale about dependency that works thanks to the time spent defining each person. Nothing is rushed and the script builds to an “a-ha” moment when audiences will realize this is more than just a horror movie. In an era filled with stories that try their best to make some sort of social commentary, this is one of the most competently done.
Lord of Wolves comes to digital September 20
