5/5 As much of a hoot as a howl - and all the better for it
  by still searching (MK UK)
In no way a conventional horror movie, nonetheless, it is, alongside the Coppola `Dracula' and the `Branagh' Frankenstein, all brought out within a couple of years of one another in the early nineties, supposedly, part of a revisionist trilogy of that traditional staple horror fare.

Directed by Mike Nichols with a script by Wesley Strick and Jim Harrison (of Legends of the Fall fame), Nicholson is at his brilliant best as the jaded lead editor of a publishing house recently acquired by a billionaire asset stripper played in suitably predatory fashion by the excellent Christopher Plummer. He gets the `shot in the arm' needed to fight back against the twin evils of rampant capitalism and cuckolding protégé Spader, who has more than an eye on Nicholson's wife, Nelligan, and his mentor's job, when travelling back from a business trip through the frozen wilds of a New England winter. When asked to visit Plummer, ostensibly to be offered a `sideways' move but, in reality, a lower prestige job, he encounters Plummer's slightly wayward daughter, Pfeiffer, who plays her spoilt little rich girl part to perfection and who, initially at any rate, is only too willing to ally herself to Nicholson as a way of spiting her presumably negligent father.

There are, too, turns by stalwart Brit actors, Prunella Scales and Eileen Atkins and Frazier's David Hyde Pierce. The movie has wit, irony, elegance and a superb and, by turns, lushly romantic and jazzy Ennio Morricone score: all this and some wonderfully amusing moments make for a truly enjoyable experience even if the label `horror' normally turns you off.


4/5 A Classy Werewolf Story
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
Here's a werewolf movie done with some style and some class. This may be the only werewolf-business world story combination. It features effective villains played by James Spader and Christopher Plummer and the always unpredictable Jack Nicholson.

Nicholson has the lead role, naturally, and is refreshingly low-key, especially for him. I don't believe he ever raised his voice in this movie, acting very subdued throughout.

There isn't as much action as you see in most modern-day horror movies but yet this is such an intense story that you don't lose interest. It's pretty good in the visual department, too, and it doesn't hurt to have Michelle Pfeiffer to ogle.

4/5 This Wolf Blows The House Down
  by B26354 (Atlanta, GA)
Jack Nicholson makes the perfect gentle, mild-mannered protagonist as Will, who becomes slowly transformed after being bitten on a stretch of dark lonely road in the snow after hitting a wolf with his car and then climbing out to investigate in perhaps the creepiest scene in the movie ("A wolf in Vermont? Are you sure?" everyone keeps asking him). Great star power, atmosphere, and lush interiors in this film, with Pfeiffer as the blue-blood, sarcastic street-smart and estranged daughter of Will's ruthless boss (played beautifully by Christopher Plummer) who replaces Will as senior editor of the publishing house he takes over, with younger, upstart punk Stewart (played by the flawless James Spader who is seemingly BORN to play these kinds of roles) and who we could really refer to as a "wolf-in-sheep's clothing" because he has everyone fooled that he is really a nice guy instead of the ruthless backstabbing coward he really is. David Hyde Pierce is also perfectly cast as Will's coworker and buddy who stands by him and whose role could have been expanded so he would have had more screen time, but hey, I'll take what I can get. The story is a refreshing and original modernization of the werewolf tale that has been told a thousand different ways that we have all seen throughout the history of cinema, complete with humor and gore and plot twists that keep it fresh and exciting. They even retained the mystical element of the story as well, but keeping it relevant with this day and age (Will's transformation enables him to deal with these hard situations in a way he was not previously capable of, so it is a joy, in a way, to see him come into his own so the deserving people get what's coming to them) and the effects on the different interpersonal relationships of the characters. The strange, slow-mo ending sequences of the film fall short compared to the first part of the movie (would a climactic werewolf battle include using gardening tools as weapons and attempted rape? um, probably not, but hey, suspension of disbelief is important here), but are unique and interesting enough to keep you guessing as to how the action will end and who will survive. Sit down with a hot cup of tea on a stormy night and enjoy this great re-telling of a classic horror movie story complete with humor, horror, and some great star power, which also includes Prunella Scales (remember Fawlty Towers?), David Jenkins, Kate Nelligan, Eileen Atkins, Ron Rifkin (who has one of the funniest lines in the film), and Allison Janney and David Schwimmer in bit parts - no pun intended!

5/5 It's a Gift!
  by Richard Drozd (Shoreline, WA USA)
There isn't much I can add to the many fine reviews of this underrated film, except this: when one looks at all the many werewolf movies produced, going back to Lon Cheny, Jr's THE WOLFMAN, the one constant is that lycanthropy is a curse, an unwarranted damnation. What struck me after watching this film recently is the possibility that the transformation of man (or woman) into wolf can be viewed as a blessing, a gift. It certainly is for Nicholson's character Will Randall. Notice he never maims or kills except in self defense (OK, he DID slaughter the innocent deer, but that is a normal event in the animal kingdom). What he gets out of it is an escape from the treacherous brutality and betrayal of homosapiens and the freedom to make his life what he wants it to become--we get a clue of this early on from his truthful, but tasteless (and funny) remark at the party about the decline of civilization and the triumph of pop and therapeutic culture. He has no use for the world humanity has unmade, and werewolfism becomes his ticket out of it. Added to this is the likely possibility that he'll wind up with his new love as an added bonus. Seems like the perfect happy ending to me!

2/5 Where's Creepy Jack?
  by D. Mikels (Skunk Holler)
Jack Nicholson as a werewolf. Now THAT should be some serious entertainment. Imagine the irascible actor in his typical "rip you a new one" form--only this time he's got the physical traits to literally make it happen. So it was with gleeful anticipation that I recently pulled up a chair to watch WOLF, a film originally released in the Nineties. And I was so. . .

. . .underwhelmed. Jack, playing an editor at a publishing house where corporate takeover is, well, taking over, goes through his role with all the intensity and grit of a plow horse going to the barn. Bitten by a wolf, he begins to experience other-worldly powers, yet for all his energy the filmmakers might as well have given him a sedative. Love interest Michelle Pfeifer looks good and disinterested at the same time, while "villain" James Spader is, I suppose, comic relief. The "showdown" between Jack and James as this film draws to its yawning conclusion is just. . .silly.

Another reviewer has dubbed WOLF a "thinking man's" werewolf movie, and while I agree the film elicits thought, for me it pertained to second-guessing thought. Like why-did-I-just-lose-90-minutes-of-my-life second-guessing? And, come on: The jumps and leaps by the assorted werewolves were so lame they reminded me of the lousy special effects from The Six Million Dollar Man. Which pretty much sums up my feelings for this movie. Lousy. Snarl.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning