Wolf - 1994

Wolf is a film set in New York in 1994. Starring Jack Nicholas, who plays Will Randall, an editing publisher, who we see at the start of the film travelling on an ice sealed road, through the night to sign a book deal. On the way to New England, Will’s car loses control and he hits an animal. He gets out to see the damage done, when he sits with remorse and observes the animal laying on the road. The animal gains consciousness and bites Will on the hand, transferring its wolf abilities to Nicholson.

Throughout the film we see Will’s ability, spiritually and physically change to characteristics of a werewolf. Will knows that his body is changing, but in the night, some changes that are happening around him, become unknown to him. Will remembers parts of the night, experiencing the transformation at the beginning of the night, turning into a werewolf, but he cannot remember the rest of the night. His heightened ability to sense if people have had alcohol with their morning coffee or smelling people before seeing them, are just some of the traits belonging to a wolf, that Will starts to mimic.

Will Randall meets Lauren Alden, played by Michelle Pfiefer. Lauren is the daughter of Raymond Alden, who is will’s former boss. They meet at a party on Lauren's father's estate, where Will has just been demoted by Lauren's father. Lauren doesn’t have anything interesting about her character. Lauren stays in the house up the back of the family property. Her position of her house being up the back, out of the way, in my personal opinion, puts her out of her father's way and shows her position as being behind her father and of less importance. She is known because of her father’s wealth and reputation.

Lauren and Will develop a relationship, which blossoms quickly. Suddenly Will’s ex-wife has been found in the dark, murdered and mauled at the throat by an animal. Will can’t recall if he is the perpetrator responsible for the gruesome attack. Will begins to believe he is responsible because he has had episodes in the night leading up to his wife's death of leaving in the night and transforming into a werewolf. Detective Bridger, played by Richard Jenkins, believes that Will is the main suspect.

Will’s protégée Stewart Swinton, played by James Spader, competes with Will throughout the movie for his position at the publishing house. Will believes that Stewart is a friend but quickly learns that Stewart has an ulterior motive and is not who he thinks he is. Stewart gets bitten by a werewolf and inherits the same abilities as Will. We don’t see how Stewart gets bitten, but my personal suspicion is that Will transforms into a werewolf, attacks his wife and kills her and Stewart gets bitten during the attack.

At the end of the movie, Lauren is seen coming out of her room, towards the police. She is dressed in black, wearing dark eye make- up. Instantly I assumed that the way Lauren is dressed shows her alter-ego. Lauren dressed in black, reminds me of Michelle Pfifer’s character she played in Batman, as Catwoman. Lauren comments about Detective Bridger’s scent of alcohol, then is seen walking towards the garden, then turning and showing us a glimpse of her eyes, which reveals she has similar eyes to Will and Stewart as a wolf.

Overall, the film was a great thriller. The effects from the film really emphasized the suspense and mystery and you could tell that the film was produced in the 90's. The sound effects are high and hold the viewer to assume suspense throughout the film. You can hear the saxophone during romance scenes. Throughout the film there is fog that floats across the screen to symbolize cold and the night. When fog is float across the scene suspenseful music accompanies the effects. I also noted that the moon and the eyes of Will’s are very yellow, to emphasize a full moon being associated with werewolves.

Colouring throughout the film is dark at night but great lighting throughout the film when it’s daytime. The props in the film suggest the film is set in the late 80’s early 90’s. Some props include the use of dial-up telephones, older vehicles and the home furnishings and textiles. The costume design of clothes on characters worn signals that the era set in the film is in the 90's.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I would watch it again and I would recommend it to other viewers interested in a good thriller film, set in the 90’s.