Wolves

Director - Alvaro Rodriguez Areny
Starring - Isak Ferriz (Black Sails), Irene Quero (El Principe Azul), Hector Mas (Idiot Love), and Rodrigo Garcia
Release Date - 2016
Genre - War
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's rare that I get asked to review films outside of horror.  Don't get me wrong, I love horror and I'm hard pressed to find someone that loves the genre more than me but sometimes its nice to take a break away from horror and check out something else.  A few weeks back the Horror Society Facebook page was contacted by director Alvaro Rodriguez Areny asking if we would check out his new short Wolves.  Thinking I was in for a werewolf or when natures attack short but I was wrong.  I was actually being treated to a World War II period peace.  Thank you Alvaro for reaching out to Horror Society and asking us to check out your short!

     The short follows a fighter pilot who is crash landing in the wilderness of Germany.  He is able to escape the wreckage and is now injured.  He comes across a farm house and ventures inside where he finds a gun and a small child hiding under the bed.  He is soon confronted by a Nazi soldier.  He is able to deal with the first solider but is shot by the second when he is forced to reload his shotgun.  He shoots the second solider and the child hiding under the bed is able to escape but is followed by the sounds of wolves.
     I rarely check the messages on the Horror Society Facebook page but when I do I usually find a few filmmakers asking us to check out their films.  Most are found footage or no budget torture porn but I have never seen a filmmaker reach out to us to check out their war film.  With that being said, I am glad they did.  The acting in this one is solid.  The cast keep their performances to a minimum and it works for the type of film this is.  There is no over-dramatic scenes and just enough cast actions to drive the story on home.  The cast works very well with each other which is astounding considering they use body language and not dialogue.  The story for this one is simple and works very well for a short.  The film is fantastic as a period piece but the short length does raise some questions.  How was he shot down, what was the wolves, what happened to the little girl?  A little more could have been added to answer these questions.  Finally, the film does have a little blood and some on screen deaths but they are nothing memorable or cringe worthy.  The kills we get are gun related and lackluster.   They fit the film very well but horror fans want more blood than what we got.  Overall, Wolves is a phenomenal short that packs the right punch.  It may not be horror but it was still fun to watch.  Check it out!