Turns out not ALL dogs go to heaven...

I know I'm a bit of a broken record here, but the visual stylings of this movie were done well. I will say, one of the things it immediately reminded me of was being in the theater for 28 Days Later back around the same time frame as this movie, early 2000's. I know a lot of horror movies are generally low budget but finding out the production budget for this movie was around $3M on the high end, I was even more impressed. Filmmaking in Britain has converged with the traditional US visually in recent years, but there was a very distinct look to this film that screamed indie film. It wasn't necessarily grainy, but if you know the look, you know the look. I also really enjoyed how different shots were employed at different times throughout the movie. Quick cuts heightened the action sequences. Black and white highlighted seeing things through the eyes of the predators. Maybe my favorite piece was that they managed to push any kind of significant reveal of the werewolves until late into the movie. It was refreshing to go back to a point in time where the delayed gratification of unveiling a monster was a treat instead of a gimmick. There was intentionality and meaning to it and that made it that much more satisfying. And when they did, it was clear they put a similar measure of effort on that front as well.

This is where I have to give more credit where it's due. The practical nature of the physical effects was really well done. When we finally got to see the werewolves, there wasn't a particular aspect of them that stood out, it was just nice that it was simple but effective. Knowing the budget on the film was tight, producing something of such significant caliber between both the filming techniques and the practical effects made things even better. Knowing that the director, Neil Marshall, went on to do The Descent after this film. it's clear to watch the evolution his stylistic vision. There was a similar crossroads of angles, lighting, cuts and the build up to the curtain being pulled back in that film that you can easily see was born out of the proving ground of this film. Even watching that in reverse, having already seen The Descent, actually made this even more enjoyable on that front. It was like seeing proof of concept in reverse. I would also note that there were a handful of "transition" scenes where those who were turned begin to change, and even those were done well. Again, practical effects and camera work made these scenes even more impactful but the acting matched the energy which I have to really credit the casting on for that piece.

I do have to really give it to the cast on this one. As a fan of British film and television, the rotation of players, even in smaller budget productions, tends to still be relatively tight. This film featured a couple players I was familiar with prior to the viewing. But what may have been even more impressive was the fact that each role felt cast well. I wouldn't pretend that every scene came alive with some kind of magic delivered through the dialogue but for a handful of young, relatively unknown actors, I feel like they actually did a fairly impressive job of bringing this movie to life given the level of expertise. My favorite performance was from Sean Pertwee, hands down. As one of the biggest names in the film, that's not surprising obviously. He's probably best known for his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the television show "Gotham" but I best remember him for a brief stint as Inspector Lestrade on the CBS modern re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes known as "Elementary". He's always possessed a significant balance of dramatic prowess combined with an unfolding action presence that was utilized well in this film. His authority as the leader of the military unit combined with Kevin McKidd as the take charge private, fully capable of leading in Pertwee's infirmed state, kept the pacing on point and provided an oasis in the midst of chaos.

I won't just gush on this movie though. It's not making my shelf, I don't think. I quite enjoyed it for sure. But it also had that appeal of a film I could enjoy once without the expectation of subsequent viewings. Its a weird internal line of demarcation. I just sort of know when something deserves to make the shelf and when it doesn't. By the time the credits rolled, there didn't seem to be that urge to run to Amazon and toss it in my cart for two day delivery. I wouldn't attribute it to a lacking on the part of this film. I was quite pleased with the end result. As I've said in the past, for some reason I have an affinity for werewolf movies. Not sure why. It just sort of is, really. But for every diamond in the rough, there's a seemingly endless parade of garbage films in the same genre. I'd say this one is above average for sure, but I would feel irresponsible putting it at the top and it just didn't cross that line and into the collection.

Without a lot of refuse to rip up, I really am confined in my words. As I said, there's no need to gush on this movie. It's good, for sure. Probably one I'd easily and gladly recommend if someone was looking for a film of this variety. Looking for a good werewolf flick? Check this one out. It feels very on point for UK 2002. Visually and tonally it felt very at home with others like 28 Days Later. So if that scratches your itch, you'll definitely like this one. I feel pretty comfortable giving this one a B+. I don't know that it really rises all the way to the A realm but it's close so I'm going to let it linger just outside that range. I almost wish I'd started the 31 days on this note but I'm happy we reclaimed things quickly after the Primate debacle from yesterday. That being said, we will wait and see what day 3 has in store and hopefully we can keep this trend up with more solid picks. Until we get to that though, this is where I leave you. Until tomorrow, I'll catch you on the flip side.