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Wolfen (1981)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
24 July 1981 (USA)
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Tagline:
It will tear the scream from your throat. more
Plot:
A New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
From the Files of Fangoria: Never Call A Wolfen a Werewolf
(From Fangoria. 20 September 2009, 10:45 PM, PDT)
Excl: The Nye Incidents , Making Aliens Scary Again
(From shocktillyoudrop. 14 May 2009)
(From Fangoria. 20 September 2009, 10:45 PM, PDT)
Excl: The Nye Incidents , Making Aliens Scary Again
(From shocktillyoudrop. 14 May 2009)
User Comments:
Thus concludes the threesome of "Wolf" movies of 1981.
more (72 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Albert Finney | ... | Dewey Wilson |
 | Diane Venora | ... | Rebecca Neff |
 | Edward James Olmos | ... | Eddie Holt |
 | Gregory Hines | ... | Whittington |
 | Tom Noonan | ... | Ferguson |
 | Dick O'Neill | ... | Warren |
| Dehl Berti | ... | Old Indian |
 | Peter Michael Goetz | ... | Ross |
| Sam Gray | ... | Mayor |
| Ralph Bell | ... | Commissioner |
| Max M. Brown | ... | Christopher van der Veer |
| Anne Marie Pohtamo | ... | Pauline van der Veer |
| Sarah Felder | ... | Cicely Rensselaer |
| Reginald VelJohnson | ... | Morgue Attendant |
| James Tolkan | ... | Baldy |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
115 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby (35 mm prints) |
70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding) (70 mm prints)
Certification:
Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) |
Finland:K-16 (cut) (1989) |
Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1987) |
France:U |
Australia:M |
Norway:15 |
UK:18 |
West Germany:16 |
USA:R (certificate #26425)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The theatrical trailer contains scenes/dialogue not present in the movie: When Van der Veer jumps out and startles his wife, the trailer shows a clip of their bodyguard reaching for his gun which is not present in the film; when Executive Security is reviewing the video of Becky Neff, someone says "team her up with Wilson". In the film, the head of security says "I want her."; the trailer includes a scene where Dewey and Becky, en route to the South Bronx, are talking in his car about the mysterious nature of the killings. This scene is not in the film; an overhead shot of the moon and clouds in "Wolfen-vision" that is present in the trailer is not in the film; in the scene where the Wolfen lures Becky up to the second floor of the abandoned church, there is a voice-over from Dewey (although it is NOT Albert Finney's voice) where he tells her that something was trying to lure her upstairs and separate them.
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Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the doctor is riding his motorbike through the tunnel and spots the wolf, he is mouthing "Help me," repeatedly, but we don't hear his voice. At the end, he says, "Oh my god," but is still mouthing, "Help me."
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Quotes:
Edddie Holt:
The smartest ones, they went underground into a new wilderness, YOUR CITIES. You have your technology but you lost. You lost your senses
Old Indian: In their world, there can be no lies, no crimes.
Edddie Holt: No need for detectives.
Old Indian: In their eyes, YOU ARE THE SAVAGE.
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Old Indian: In their world, there can be no lies, no crimes.
Edddie Holt: No need for detectives.
Old Indian: In their eyes, YOU ARE THE SAVAGE.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Revenge of the Mooninites (#1.8)" (2002)
more
Soundtrack:
Jitterbug Boy
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (72 total)
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Horror section | IMDb USA section |
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In addition to "The Howling" and "An American Werewolf in London", this picture came out, based on the novel by Whitley Streiber. Surly NYC police detective Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) investigates savage murders that look like animal attacks, teaming with his coroner friend Whittington (Gregory Hines) and terrorism expert Rebecca Neff (Diane Venora).
A horror movie with a social and cultural conscience, this intelligent movie is well crafted and doesn't go for cheap thrills. Although the deaths are in fact gory, very little of the gore is actually shown on camera. Venora and Hines were just fine, although Finney seems half asleep and mutters a lot of his dialog. I know he's supposed to be ordinarily a fine actor, but this film could have benefited more from a more dynamic lead. There's a number of familiar faces in the cast, including Reginald VelJohnson of "Die Hard" 1 & 2 and 'Family Matters'. Another thing I must say is that Edward James Olmos, cast as a Native American, at least seems like a better choice for his role than Armand Assante was for a similar role in "Prophecy", which I watched last night.
The film's strongest asset is its inventive photography, even if the prospect of showing things from the predators' perspective is not exactly original. Also, one good move is to not give the audience a good look at the beasts until late in the film.
How odd that this film and the 1970 documentary "Woodstock" are the only feature-film directorial credits for Michael Wadleigh to date.
The recently deceased, legendary comic Alan King (R.I.P. Mr. King) was the executive producer.
7/10