Customer Reviews

Wilderness

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is marketed like a horror and sex fest. That's not exactly what it is. I saw it on tv when it was shown as a miniseries a few years back and I absolutely fell in love with it. If you like werewolf tales, I would definately recommend it. It's a high-quality production for British tv with good acting, and a good story. It reminds me a little of a 'Grim-brothers type fairytale', mysterious and romantic in an old fashioned kind of way. I had been cursing myself for not recording it when it was shown, and I had never even thought that it could be released on video. I was so happy and suprised when I found it here. I've ordered my copy immediately, and I can't wait to recieve it

Wilderness is an unusually intelligent "werewolf" drama. Unusual in that the transformation scenes are gentle and quick, with none of the usual gore - just simple morphing into a real wolf which shows the gentle nature of its human form - "Alice", a lonely librarian. The drama is more about loneliness than anything else, and Amanda Ooms very effectively expresses the isolation that her condition brings, and her longing for love and a "normal" human life. Not that there isn't any action - there certainly is, but it's not overdone. Another bonus is that the film gives the viewer a good feel for how the wolf Alice feels as she hunts through the woods - and city streets - at night. The realism is heightened by the fact that only one person believes Alice's story - even her lover just can't accept it. Clever, exciting, and ultimately very moving, with no sugary happy ending to spoil it.

A 150 mn BBC 3 part drama edited t a 99min pic released by Fangoria. Not a gore pic or one with a heavy emphasis on special effects.. It is more of an artistic fairy tale of the sort of thing M. R. James might write. More a character drama than a horror pic. Intelligent and interesting with good actors. Amanda Oombs is excellent as the woman who is a wolf. There is little blood but Oombs is naked in many scenes. This adds to the pic and she handles it well and she gives her character a real sense of wildness. Really worth seeing though teen males might not like it as much as adults.This is an interesting werewolf pic since most emphasise the horror of an unwilling werewolf while Oombs' character prefers being a wolf to living her human life. Give this a try. The DVD has a trailer, a stupid quiz and an article on the movie, including a section on the problems of working with a wolf.(Never allow yourself to be lower than the wolf or she will attack you.) I like directors such as Dario Argento but this shows that a lower key pic can deal with traditional horror characters in an entertaining manner.

Alice White is a librarian with a secret problem...She's a werewolf! After dating and (dumping), a series of losers, Alice consults an unscrupulous psychiatrist to help her with her problems. Over time, the psychiatrist falls in love with her and tries to manipulate her into a relationship not really believing Alice can turn into a wolf. Can Alice control the 'wolf within?' Or is she destined to be an outcast in human AND wolf society.

I enjoyed this movie, despite the cast of rather skanky male leads (Why is it that they always pair a beautiful woman with horribly unattractive men?)Even without this detractor, I enjoyed this film. A++++

I read Dennis Danver's "Wilderness" before I saw the movie based on it. The book wasn't too bad, and I liked some parts of it (such as the fact that the werewolf was NOT a murderer, and was supposed to look like a real wolf when in wolf-form). I rented the movie expecting the same story as in the book, but I was dissapointed. The movie takes place in Britain, while the book takes place in Virginia and Canada (I would have liked to have seen more woods and less inner-city London, I believe the book had more scenes in the woods than the movie). The movie also ends differently than the book. The movie did seem to use a real wolf (which is a plus), but the computer-generated transformation scenes leave something to be desired (they are too quick to be really interesting and at least one full-body transformation scene just didn't look right, some of the human body-parts don't seem to turn into the equivalent wolf body-parts). I would recomend reading the book, and avoiding the movie. If you want to see a good werewolf movie, I reccomend "The Company of Wolves" (which stars Angela Lansbury and uses some real wolves) and "Wolf" (which stars Jack Nicholson).

Being a huge fan of werewolf fiction, I absolutely love the book "Wilderness" by Dan Danvers. When I saw this film on the shelves of the movie rental place I picked it up immediately. The first time I watched it, I was sorely, sorely dissapointed. The movie is so far from the book that it is almost an entirely different story. But as I got to thinking about it later, I realized that in its own right it's not half-bad. In fact, if you can forget the book while you're watching it, it is quite good. If you can keep in mind that the movie is not the book then you might just enjoy it.

To the person who said that Erik was a wolf biologist in the book: You need to re-read the book.

Wilderness is an enjoyable flick. I liked the way they spun around the old tale and re-imagined it. I just wish it was available in it's original version. Over an hour is missing but don't let that dissuade you from getting a copy.Amanda Ooms is very hot and easy on the eyes. I can't wait to read the novel this movie was based upon.

Highly recommended

I saw this movie and thought Finally!! someone made a movie based on the wonderful book by Dennis Danvers. Rented and blech! Terrible. Not at all like the book. First of all they changed the biologist's name from Erik to Dan. Then they make him a penguin biologist. Give me a break! He was a wolf biologist. Then they add in the parts like the wolf eating a little girl. Never happened in the book. and the worse part was the ending. Erik/Dan is suppose to stay with Alice. But whoever made this film did a total 180 and had the guy go back to his ex-wife. Shudder and gag. As werewolf movies this was marginally ok, especially with the effects. But the low rating is from the fact that it is totally and completely different from the book that it is suppose to be based on. If you want a good werewolf video, keep looking.

I greatly admire the novel of the same name by Dennis Danvers upon which this UK TV movie is based and have reviewed it favourably on these boards .This UK TV movie version does it justice simply by virtue of concentrating on the essence of the book -the people caught up in the plot rather than razzle-dazzle special effects .

Alice -played by Amanda Ooms -is a librarian who thinks she is a werewolf and transforms at every full moon .Michael Kitchen is the psychiatrist in whom she confides and who does not believe her ,feeling that her problems lie in her over active libido and sexual predatoriness .Who is right ? Watch it and see -its worthwhile your doing so

The performances are uniformly excelelnt ;the transformation scenes are adequate but not exceptional .This is a character driven werewolf movie -the UK answer to Paul Schrader's re-imagining of the old Lewton movie Cat People

It takes its subject and characters seriously ,which alone sets it apart from most werewolf tales

If you are a fan of Fango and expect a cool horror flick, look elsewhere. This is not a bad film but not something I would associate with Fangoria. It's a decent werewolf drama but not a horror film.