I love the scenes, Finney and Hines have together and that this is the only feature film Michael Wadleigh made after "Woodstock". Even if the effects today feel totally dated, they give the movie a unique charm and work well with the depressing atmosphere of New York City in the early 80`s. Albert Finney is brilliant and I could watch and listen to him the whole movie, even if nothing else would happen 🙂

Wolfen, Fright Night, An American Werewolf in London, House (Teil 1), Lost Boys, Zeit der Wölfe; Near Dark, Night of the Creeps, Gremlins, Dracula'79, Teufelskreis Alpha, Lifeforce... Da ist etwas, was sich heutzutage nicht mehr wiederholen lässt. Es ist sehr schwer Filme dieser Art zu finden. Wolfen hat eine einzigartige Atmosphäre. Der geerdete Cop, der immer tiefer in eine mysteriöse Geschichte um Wölfe in der Großstadt gezogen wird. Die Kills, die man in der Art und der Sicht vom Wolf, nie wieder so gesehen hat. Die Stadt, wie sie heute nicht mehr Aussieht. Das gesamte Setting und der Ton. Das Story Telling, um die Ermittlungen. Geht es vielleicht um elnen Werewolf? Die Verknüpfung mit indianischer Mythologie. Natürlich die Dialoge. Diese Art zu reden in jener Zeit Und nicht zu letzt, die Darsteller Riege. Absolut Sehenswert

Each of the characters become enduring right after they are introduced (no doubt due to the consistently funny dry humor) which is sort of a rarity for these kinds of monster movies. Also, the movie almost completely avoids certain obvious narrative choices in favor of something weirder which I always appreciate

A so so 'werewolf' film, the acting however I thought was okay. If you really want to get into the wolfen, the book is definitely the better option

horror gelijk vroeger met echte dieren geen weerwolven die mens zijn en veranderen in wolven neen gewoon dieren met goede speciale effecten voor die tijd redelijk spanning en horror. wolven die mensen vermoorden maar dit zijn geen gewone wolven maar volgens de legende zouden het geesten zijn van indianen die hun grond beschermen. lang geleden gezien en gekocht om dvd

I don't understand the high scores this movie got from Ebert and Metacritic. It was just average to me.

Edward James Olmos goes full frontal in this movie, which is not something I was expecting. Though it might lack the sheer brutality or nuance of a film like Candyman, much of what people like about that 1992 Bernard Rose classic is present in Wolfen - a horror film with themes of political injustice, hammered home by settings rife with authentic urban decay. Taking advantage of the extensive urban renewal initiatives that New York City was undergoing in the '80s, the production team deliver these shots of sprawling desolation, with full blocks of demolished apartment complexes at the center of which rests a burned-out church (constructed for the film, but shockingly convincing); it's quietly some of the best urban on-location set design you'll ever see. Seriously, Tarkovsky wishes he could have filmed Stalker in 1981 New York City. While nominally a werewolf movie, Wolfen actually earns its keep as a surprisingly modern investigative thriller, following a grungy and thoroughly convincing Albert Finney through a series of clues featuring the sense of suspense and dangr in lonely rooms that thrillers still trade off of. This was also my first time seeing the work of Gregory Hines, notable for both his film career and in particular for his tap dancing expertise - he nails his role as expressive coroner and co-investigator Whittington. It's crazy that director Michael Wadleigh made this tight little thriller, the highly acclaimed 1969 Woodstock documentary, and essentially nothing else. An underappreciated gem that delivers consistent (if slightly simple) themes of past social misdeeds, and features underappreciated performances and production design. Bonus points for essentially creating Predator vision years before Predator came out. (3.5/5)

I love a good werewolf movie and this isn't one. Wolfen is borderline unwatchable with terrible special effects and a heavy-handed message that feels like a throwback to worst excesses of mid-1970s cinematic moralizing.

It is an alright movie, but, by the end of the film, it becomes downright silly.

Lovely wolf POV, 80s infra-colours and distorted sound really build the tension and sense of suspense. Finney is grizzled, Hines is the black character in a horror. There's social commentary running though it, nice turn from Olmos. Teeth marks and history and nature. Finney starts to think 'shapeshifter'. The Feds are wrong and looking for a leftie angle... But for all that, these wolves aren't nice! Is this the best werewolf film of them all?

Too much human cop stuff and not enough werewolf stuff going on

Wolfen is a brilliant revenge werewolf horror thriller with unbelievable grisly death scenes, chilling musical score and great cast.

While there wasn't anything in the movie that I thought was bad, there also wasn't anything in the movie that I really liked, either. Wolfen is not a bad movie, but it's not a very memorable one in my opinion.

Wolfen takes a look at the plight of Native Americans in urban centers like NY and weaves a werewolf tale around this premise. Released in 1981, a year of great cinema and three werewolf flicks, Wolfen stands apart for its detective style story, excellent special effects, creepy atmosphere and the use of trained wolves for many of the films sequences. Stand out performances by Albert Finny,Edward James Olmos and Gregory Hines all highlight this often overlooked but frighteningly good romp through Native American legends. A sophisticated horror classic!

Wolfen is an amazing werewolf horror film it's really gruesome and shocking and really amazing cast, great director, great script, great cinematography and terrific music score by the great James Horner.

I first saw WOLFEN back on opening weekend in 1981. I still watch it once a month or so...you can definitely call it one of my staples. Amazing how a 40 years old film casts a shadow over current events. For those expecting a werewolf film...of which there were two others also released in the months leading up to WOLFEN. Of course, they are the more popular AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and THE HOWLING! I am a huge fan of all three...but WOLFEN is a more sophisticated, stylish horror film... and the werewolves are portrayed by actual wolves...giving more of a mystical presence rather than a monstrous one. All kinds of political and historical anecdotes here...that held up well over the course of time. If you've never seen WOLFEN...give it a try...you'll be impressed by a thinking-man's horror film...with top notch innovative effects for its time! If you've seen it once or twice, take two hours to reacquaint yourself with well-made, less explotative horror film!

A police procedural masking as a werewolf horror howler, the movie has a lot style and atmosphere, though the climax is so muddled, loony, and culturally offensive—trucking in tropes of magic Native Americans coterminous with the mystery and power of nature—that it undermines any sense of suspense that came before.

Ah the werewolf, there are times when this sometimes forgotten beast gets pushed into the movie spotlight. Normally when this happens it’s as the villain in some horror movie where our monster is misunderstood or straight out a killer with no reason for why it has the desire to chew on human flesh. 1981 was an interesting year as we got 3 tales in one year. The first time are well remembered and sit nicely in the horror genre, An American Werewolf in London and Howlin. Both movies are more or less the same thing, someone gets bitten and next thing you know they are up howling at the moon. But like I said there was 3 that year and the third one for my money is the best of the three because it’s less horror and more a tale of culture and beliefs. So Wolfen is not a horror movie. Yes I said it. Now that does not mean that it does not have its great moments of blood and gore, because it does especially towards the end. But when you go back and see how everything goes down you realize that the point of the movie is about a more interesting element then simply getting bitten by a werewolf and turning into one. It’s about the idea that tales of shape shifting amount Native Americans is real. But lets go back at the start shall we before we get so deep into the myth of things that luck in the shadows. At the start we have a murder of a wealthy couple which of course gets the police looking for answers everywhere. In comes our hero Albert Finney, who plays Dewey Wilson, a cop who after some personal struggles has just rejoined the force. Pretty soon Wilson is going down a path that the murder and more that come along are not drug or crime related. No the answer is about land and does Wilson believe in things that are just legends. This movie has a great cast going for It besides Finney, it has Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines, Tom Noonan, Dick O’Neill, James Tolkan and Diane Venora. The POV shots of the werewolves was groundbreaking and used by many later movies. It builds on its supernatural theme is layers without it seeming to be just some cheap idea. The idea of a belief that is older then we know in which people can transform seems somehow more real then the idea that bitting turns you into one because its missing that deeper richer legend behind it. So why isn’t Wolfen better remembered? I think maybe the themes and the fact that its not an all out horror movies, in which we see heavy make up to transform people into animals, plays into why it’s a classic like the other two. People want to see gore and this movie isn’t about gore or monsters. So should you see this movie? Yes all horror fans should watch this movie. I would even say that non horror fans should find it. It’s no family movie but it can lead to a great discussion about what we believe in.

Amazing werewolf horror film with terrific cast members, great special effects and incredible score

Thought it was great movie and story for it's time. I first saw it when it came out and I was young. Shape shifting wolves is what it's all about. It's real and terrifying in the Native country and I could actually envision this happening into the future as our society devolves via recession and fall into 3rd world status. If you combine this story with how they made The Grey, now that would pack a punch. Anyone who wasn't phased by the Grey, I guess they could do better in that circumstance. Yeah. right! They wouldn't last a day out in that and with those wolves. I don't care who you are. But these days people are so thick and callous in their senses. Watching people dye and suffer don't phase them unless it's them that get a little scratch or inconvenience. I give it 4 stars rather then 5 because of the quality and they don't elaborate somewhere confirming the wolves were actually shape shifted natives. It leaves you hanging on that and I detest cliff hangers.