Chad

Undeadcow

I enjoyed Wer. The forensic docudrama feel of Wer is great and it takes a gutsy approach to structure in the end when there is no doubt who the werewolves are, not depending on subtlety to tell a story that's more 'in your face' than usual. I think a werewolf on werewolf mixed martial arts style brawl is just what I needed at this point in the challenge.

From newclips to set the stage to a forensic rationale for investigation it mostly works brilliantly but sometimes the attorney's 'all people deserve to be heard' over involvement seems odd, like that the police wouldn't tag her along in their manhunt. The accidental infection of Gavin is a bit odd too but pays off well enough to overlook with the fight and the menacing way he escapes undetected revealed at the end. Some of the CGI blood effects are cheap though lend themselves nicely to the docudrama feel of things with much of the violence never quite feeling real both because it's so over the top and because of the CGI - but never to the point it disrupts the film as maybe a good example of cheap looking effects helping a film.

The implied story with a legacy of werewolves is great, how we see that Talon's father chained himself down and the mother's response to the animal expert with questions "I'm not your mother." The sly suggestion that the police just accurately knew this family was bad through reputation and superstition rather than science and were taking proportionate action is great. I'm surprised the werewolf actor hasn't been in much else, he's an imposing beast of an actor and does a good job as a human werewolf not inhuman but not human. Wer does a good job with shades of grey, the cops are corrupt because the seemingly sympathetic accused is actually a werewolf.

MysterioMan007

I've seen this one a few times before this, so this isn't a new viewing. While it's not as good on repeat viewings, this is a very good werewolf movie. I love A.J. Cook in most things. But, even without her, this movie would be enjoyable. I only watched Chuck within the past year and never connected Vik Sahay until this viewing, so it was different to see Lester not acting a fool and actually doing a little bit of acting here. Still, it's not your typical werewolf movie, but it's a good time to watch it.

numbercrunch

Wer was a refreshing new take on the werewolf mythology. I even liked the subplot with the 'sjw' attorney and how that resolves itself. Had this been a big budget hollywood funded film, i think it would have played out much differently.
8/10

Trevor

Very nice “serious” werewolf film. It doesn’t really add anything all that impressive to make it stand out as an all-time great of the type, but just well done in almost all respects and a fun ftv.

DaveyJoe

The subtitles aren't working for me when they're speaking French/German. Is that intentional or is it an issue on my end?

WillieMLF

I assume the french dialogue wasn't important. It didn't impact much of what was going on for me, but I don't think we missed much.


This was the first time I've seen this all the way through. I had seen snippets of this one and was glad it was picked as a theme. Oddly enough it's my second werewolf film chosen as a theme night. I liked it a good bit, and felt it was a really fresh approach.

I also liked the whole scientific approach. Porphyria is a scientific approach to explain something werewolf-like but not a werewolf, which I believe he was. Yes, this is a confusing sentence.

Bullets don't kill werewolves, or do they? I assume the only way to dispatch a werewolf is during an epic werewolf vs werewolf battle, where one is choked out?

ororama

I thought Wer started in the right direction, with the brutal opening attack and the judicial investigation, but it lost me after the escape, when it became kung fu werewolf. I was hoping for a modern take on the werewolf that used the inspiration of a real source, the Beast of Gévaudan, which involved killings that occurred roughly near the setting of this movie, Lyon. I was a bit bothered that the suspect was from a family that had come from Romania, but that may be an appropriate reflection of the xenophobia prevalent in Europe (and the United States) now. I was more bothered by the focus of the defense team on getting their client off and on the street, when the best case interpretation of the available facts very early in the story is that he is a psychotic killer certain to kill again. There is no rationale for the lawyer to follow to follow the police pursuit, or for the police to permit it. I could have overlooked these flaws because I know that a lot of people are racist and xenophobic and even more people do stupid things. However, when a movie posits a being that cannot be killed it usually needs to provide more explanation, and I find horror movies in which a newscaster has to tell you how many unidentified people have been killed to be kind of lazy.

I found Wer to be disappointingly average after a strong start, although it did get me thinking about how I could use the same material to tell a better story.

clckworang

I thought this one as OK. I agree with much that ororama wrote, principally the film losing me when it becomes werewolf grudge match. I otherwise liked the approach it took framing the story around a court case, but it just got sillier than I was willing to go. I've come to realize that I'm either not a huge werewolf fan or there just aren't as many werewolf movies that I really get into. It's one of the most underrepresented subgenres in my horror collection, and most of the ones I see don't really compel me to go out and buy them.

DaveyJoe

I also preferred the first two acts to the conclusion, but I find most werewolf movies to be dreadful so this one was pretty fresh.