Event

Wolfen

Based on the novel by Whitley Strieber, a wealthy land developer and his wife are viciously murdered in the South Bronx, and detective Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) is assigned to the case. After more people turn up dead, Wilson meets up with some Native Americans who inform him of the nature of the creatures that are inhabiting the inner-city slums.

"According to the current state of received ideas, rightwing formalism in movies is good clean fun, not politics at all, while leftwing formalism is supposed to be pleasureless politics, no fun at all. The incredible thing about Wolfen a spectacular, metaphysical mystery-horror fantasy about New York thats visceral and leftist in about equal doses, often at the same time is that it builds its exciting, unfashionable politics largely through pungent sounds and images."

"What struck me in 1981 and again recently about Wolfen is how much it reflects the same grandiose '60s blend of leftist idealism, countercultural eclecticism and big-screen (and multi-track audio) experimentation" - Jonathan Rosenbaum

"The werewolf movie was revived and reworked with a vengeance in 1981 and Wolfen (1981) was a far more radical take on the genre than An American Werewolf in London or The Howling, though not as popular as either." - Stream on Demand

"What is perhaps most interesting about Wolfen is that the story remains plausible given its basic assumptions, of course. This is not sci-fi, fantasy or violent escapism. It's a provoking speculation on the terms by which we share this earth with other creatures. " - Roger Ebert