Film Review: THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (1984, Neil Jordan)

Stars: 3.6 of 5.
Running Time: 95 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Sarah Patterson (Cannon's SNOW WHITE), Angela Lansbury, David Warner (TWIN PEAKS Season 2, TIME AFTER TIME, TRON), Stephen Rea (STUCK, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE), Terence Stamp (THE LIMEY, THE HIT). Co-written by Angela Carter. Production design by Anton Furst.
Tag-line: "Where fairy stories meet horror stories!"
Best one-liner: "Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle."

Neil Jordan's THE COMPANY OF WOLVES was designed as a 'Chinese Box' of a film, with flashbacks, fables, and folklore interwoven within a larger, dream/fantasy framework. The end result is kind of a meandering, avant-garde pseudo-narrative that never quite congeals, but I still liked it quite a bit. Cannon Films (who did not produce, but distributed stateside) marketed it as a horror/thriller, a label that is bound to disappoint. In fact, it's more like "Mario Bava's classy English brother does fairy tales on 'ludes"- which is a good thing. The film possesses a sumptuous, Gothic atmosphere, sort of Lewis Carroll by-way-of Edgar Allen Poe, and it owes much of its success to Anton Furst's (BATMAN, FULL METAL JACKET) production design. A grandfather clock sits in the midst of a fog-enshrouded forest, spinning its hands ceaselessly. Giant, hideous teddy bears and sinister dolls come to life, bounding about the underbrush with uncanny mobility:

Satan (Terence Stamp!), dressed to the nines, clutches a real-life pygmy skull and beckons to you from the comfort of his Rolls-Royce:

A long-lost husband (Stephen Rea) rips the fleshy mask from his face, revealing the sinewy, lupine monstrosity beneath. A pack of wolves- hypnotically photographed in slow motion- burst forth from a shorn oil painting, dashing down the furnished hallway to your bedroom...

Yes, this film certainly makes an impression. It's also injected with a dose of mythological protofeminism, channeled by Angela Carter, co-screenwriter and author of the texts on which the film is based. The cast is a talented ensemble: as our substitute Riding Hood, the actual pre-teen Sarah Patterson exhibits a maturity far beyond her years;

Angela Lansbury is exactly as ideal a fit as you'd imagine for 'Grandmother'; and the always-serviceable David Warner gives a stoic, weighty turn as 'Father.'

David Warner unloads the groceries.

In all, it's a solid phantasmagorical mood piece, but it will rankle those looking for a traditional narrative. Nearly four stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: STUCK (2008, Stuart Gordon)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 85 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Jeffrey Combs (star of REANIMATOR and many Gordons; here, in a cameo as the voice of the 911 operator), Russell Hornsby.
Tag-lines: "Ever had one of those days?"
Best exchange:
PETERSON: Of course, this is not an official offer, but I wanted you to be aware that you are high on my list of possible captains.
BRANDI: Thank you, Mrs. Petersen. I'll really try to do my best.
PETERSON: I know you will. Then I can count on you coming in tomorrow?
BRANDI: [surprised] Uh, Saturday?
PETERSON: I know what day it is, Brandi.
BRANDI: Yes, of course, I know you do; but, but I came in last Saturday.
PETERSON: Oh. I see.
[She starts to turn away]
BRANDI: But no, no, no, no, it's - I can come in, it's fine. It's no problem.

I didn't used to consider myself a Stuart Gordon fan by any means. Aside from DOLLS, his horror flicks just didn't get through to me, even though I'm was trying rather hard to like them. Yet I think sometime after DAGON, Gordon matured, began to fix his gaze upon quotidian horror, and finally found the perfect niche for his dark sense of humor. EDMOND and STUCK are by far my favorite Gordon films, and they brilliantly tackle some of the most important frustrations of our times, STUCK being a brilliant parable for the undercurrent of paralysis that seems to run beneath modern society. Using the story of Chante Mallard, the Texas woman who struck a homeless man with her vehicle and left him in her windshield to die, Gordon spins a black comedy which draws on the Kitty Genovese syndrome to the nth degree. But in this case, there's no one else to blame or to assume will 'take care of it.' It's a parable for an America who is willing to make the phone call, but hangs up as soon as someone answers. A people who will pull up to the hospital gate, but then peel out, frazzled and afraid.

It's about not being able to take responsibility, the pervasiveness of indecision, the hesitation that morphs into complete paralysis- something I think we can all truly relate to on some level, whether you're unsure about takeout options, a college major, or where to stash the body. Mena Suvari is impressive as the deluded 'upwardly mobile' nursing home attendant who lives only for the weekend club scene. Stephen Rea literally drips pathos as the recently homeless sad sack. Now some were angered by it (vague spoilers ahead), but I was actually pleased to see the narrative cathartically diverge from the news story, though I can't help but feel that it's meant as an "Owl Creek Bridge"-style finale which doesn't go through the motions of jolting back to reality. For an interesting double-bill, see it with Noah Baumbach's 1995 tale of post-grad ennui and paralysis, KICKING AND SCREAMING.

-Sean Gill