Review by Quin
It should be no surprise to anyone that Wer is a werewolf movie. For some reason, the term “werewolf” isn’t muttered until the final word in the last scene. I know it’s not customary to talk about the end of a movie in a review, but I want to point out that it feels like the screenwriter thinks that it is some sort of twist to present the revelation that a werewolf had been responsible for all of the carnage. Even M. Night Shyamalan would be shaking his head at that twist. There are enough clues and completely obvious, well-marked road signs adorned with flashing lights and reflectors, that if you had never seen a werewolf movie, you’d still know that this is one. But even if everyone watching knows of the lycanthropic tendencies of one or more of the film’s characters, the characters themselves certainly have no idea. But why would they? Werewolves don’t exist. I hesitate to call it a gripe, it could just be a structural device for framing a story where the characters are trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. And if I look at it that way, I can easily forgive it; but luckily, other than that, I found virtually nothing wrong with this movie. It’s definitely one of the best werewolf movies of the last several years (I know there aren’t exactly oodles to pick from) and along with Wolfen from 1981, Wer is one of the most original ever.
Wer doesn’t have much in common with Wolfen, other than that both involve police investigating strange murders. Wer begins like most found footage films – a family of three are on a camping trip in the woods and they are videotaping their evening of sitting around the fire and enjoying the fresh air. Suddenly, something attacks them from the bushes. Via shaky cam, we see the father picked up and dragged away, all while we hear screams of terror. For the next few minutes we get news footage of the attack. We find out that the mother was the only survivor and she is interviewed by police on camera. She describes the thing that attacked her family as large, hairy and with gigantic hands. Police quickly find a guy who fits the description and take him into custody. The woman who initially survived the attack soon dies, leaving no witnesses. And so begins the process of piecing together the events of that night in the woods. While the police work on their investigation and build a case against their suspect, a public defender and her team of two assistants are brought in to represent the hulking, hairy man. You’ll all be happy to know that this is where the found footage look to the film comes to a close and we’re still less than ten minutes into the story.
While the young team of lawyers go to work, we learn that the woman and one of the men used to be a romantic item. This makes the third team member uncomfortable and things between the gentlemen get a bit hostile. This is mostly just character development, and it doesn’t get too soap opera-ish. We also learn more about the suspect. His name is Talan and he seems shy and reserved. His mother is interviewed and it becomes clear that he would never hurt anyone. One of the legal team members reads about a disorder called Porphyria. Talan fits the description of someone with this disorder. If they have him tested and he proves to have it, it would prove that he is incapable of committing the crimes he is accused of. During testing, doctors induce a seizure, he flies into a rage, killing several people and flees into the city of Paris. From here on Wer is mostly an action film, but an exciting one.
Wer was directed by William Brent Bell. You may remember his previous work on The Devil Inside. I remember not hating that movie as much as some people, but the little that I recall about the story – it was about as scary and as original as an INXS video. For me it was mostly forgettable. At least it did well at the box office, because I’m pretty sure that’s why Wer turned out so much better. Wer hasn’t had the wide release of The Devil Inside, at least not in the States, which is pretty odd to me, because I think it might have done really well. It has so many elements that make a marketable summer blockbuster. But it doesn’t use movie stars and the story isn’t quite as predictable.
The acting in Wer is excellent. A.J. Cook is great as the compassionate yet aggressive public defender. But Brian Scott O’Connor as Talan steals the show, as he should in a film like this. He speaks very little in the role, but has the ability to be both scary and sympathetic. Certain moments I would compare him to Lou Ferrigno as The Incredible Hulk or even Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster. Rock n’ roll fans may recognize O’Connor as the touring bass player of The Eagles of Death Metal. He is naturally extremely hairy and has enormous hands, in fact his nickname when he plays with Eagles is Big Hands. He is also super tall and his facial features look a bit like someone with Acromegaly – for example, actors like Rondo Hatton, Richard Kiel, Ted Cassidy and Andre the Giant. When he transforms into the werewolf, there is very little that changes about him physically. This adds to the ambiguity over what is going on in the film.
I will admit that my expectations were low going into Wer. I also had not seen any trailers, or stills and knew very little of the plot. But the moment Wer snaps out of found footage familiarity, and thank God it’s early, my eyes were glued to the screen. I had fun watching it, even when it got into action movie territory. I will also tell you that the ending makes it possible for a sequel, so if everybody sees this maybe we’ll get to see that. And maybe the sequel will actually be a good one.
Wer is out on VOD in the United States now from Focus World.