Review: Wolf Garden

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Wolf Garden
Directed by Wayne David
Lightning Strike Pictures; Gravitas Ventures; Strike Media
89 minutes, 2023
www.strike-media.com

For some reason which I care not about nor to be explained, the production of the werewolf genre seems to be more focused out of the UK than in the US. And this release is no exception. This is true even though the arguably biggest werewolf film, An American Werewolf in London (1981), is actually a North American release, though filmed across the lake.

For this film, which is both arty and gritty, William (Wayne David, who also wrote and directed) is a man living in an isolated location in Hertfordshire in a relatively big house (referred to in the film as “The Cottage”) on large grounds. He is sad and despondent. William thinks back, thanks to many montages of flashbacks, to his beloved wife, Chantelle (Sian Altman).

Wayne David

The woods and the mood are dark (but not too visually dim) that reflect his inner emotions, as he goes out to a padlocked shed (called “The Garage” though it is too small to hold a car; perhaps it is a British term?) on the property where he feeds cut up raw meat to something inside that is growling.

An extremely slow burn, with little dialog, mostly between William and Chantelle in the flashbacks, William’s loneliness is palpable. And who is the stranger (Grant Masters) who keeps appearing?

Sian Altman

Twenty minutes in, and it has been all mood and mostly William, pouting his depressed way throughout the house and woods intercut with happier memories. Still, It is interesting that it is often hard to tell what his reality is, and what is in his mind. Isolation can screw with thoughts, and it does not appear that he has a television or even a book to pass the time, just to mull the situation, whatever it is, and stew in it.

There is a bit of gore, but this is not a film for fans of that subgenre. This is definitely more psychological, and there is more emoting than there is rampaging. Most of the wolfism is seen POV and in the sound of the growling and howling, though it is not hard to figure out just who is the wolf in question, if there actually is a lycanthrope, or if it is in William’s possible madness.

There are only three characters seen on screen (other than in the background or heard on the phone), keeping the story tight and almost claustrophobic, even with William often being in the woods, many times in the dark. Those three prove themselves to be able to hold up the film, and this is certainly a tour de force by David, who is in nearly every scene, usually by himself.

Grant Masters

It is also a very beautiful looking piece, with luscious cinematography and well-timed editing. With the exception of a single scene near the beginning, all of it takes place in The Cottage, the woods, and at the shed.

The small cast gives me the impression that this was filmed during COVID. Or perhaps it is budget constrains. Or both?

I really enjoyed the film, with its near gothic moodiness and lighting, though I was sometimes confused about the storyline. Even though everything coalesces during the third act, there are so many flashbacks to various periods that I occasionally felt like Billy Pilgrim, unstuck in time.

IMDB listing HERE