The Company of Wolves

It was disappointing the first time and I really don’t know if there’ll be a second. The atmosphere is certainly mesmerising and the concept is original, but that dreamy and muddled narration felt contrived and almost too detached at times. Maybe it’s a great lesson on how to design a fictional and fantastic world, but the dynamics weren’t fun and, compared with the equally old and somewhat similar The NeverEnding Story, the story never drew me in. Maybe next time. 65% (01/11/2020)

A considerably more morbid, perverse and extended version of Little Red Riding Hood. The classic fairy tale motifs are present and recognizable here – the mysterious forest hiding evil, the fearless and reckless main character, the wise and life-skilled grandmother who gives valuable advice for the next life through fairy tales, passes on life experience, etc. Neil Jordan already let me down in a big way with Interview with the Vampire, where despite the gorgeous sets, the great acting of the main characters, and a pretty decent atmosphere, the whole story was incredibly long and the direction was painfully bland and unimaginative. In the case of The Company of Wolves, both the direction and the script are of a decent standard, but when compared to any other work I like and simply enjoy, this film comes out as just a good average. Neil Jordan is the first "bigger" director that I haven't really clicked with from the start, but I'm going to see The Crying Game soon, so maybe I'll change my mind. (07/07/2011)

This bewitching phantasmagoria simultaneously delights with Neil Jordan’s masterful, emotional direction and annoys with the virginal innocence of its story, which was unfortunately conceived as an irritating tangle of three intertwined storylines. It is an experience that is at once amazing and painful, and definitely a film the likes of which you rarely see these days. Beautiful set designs and a nice cameo by Terence Stamp. (12/02/2009)

A dreamy tale of a 13-year-old girl in a fairytale world with werewolves with a slightly horror atmosphere that will keep the perceptive viewer spellbound. Some may not like the slow pace, but there is one thing that cannot be denied, there are not many visually refined and original films in the world. In my opinion, one of the most interesting films of the 1980s, which made a household name out of Neil Jordan. (25/05/2002)

An artistically highly stylized studio spectacle, drawing from multiple sources, mainly from the well-known story of Little Red Riding Hood, from folk myths influenced by the perspective of the church, from 19th-century romanticism, and ultimately also from modern horrors of the present. The result is a horror fairytale for adults, similar to movies such as Sleepy Hollow or other fairytale films. The most valuable aspect is precisely the visual concept, as this is exactly how I imagined as a boy a spooky forest full of giant mushrooms, forest giants with massive twisted roots, with plenty of dark corners full of cobwebs and glowing eyes. The director mixes bloody red with the white color of milk, plays with slow-motion shots of shattering glass, and with various details of toys or living creatures, which together create a mysterious atmosphere full of increasing tension and, not least, also eroticism. Just as the erotic motif is used in old vampire films, here the werewolf motif is used in terms of primal sensuality, as there is a piece of a predator hidden within every man and woman. Overall impression: 85%. (21/01/2009)