Wolf Garden review – English rural werewolf horror is a major slow burn | Film

You might politely describe this werewolf thriller set in the English countryside, in which the werewolf is kept off-camera, as a slow-burn. A devastating revelation awaits us at the end, but for the first two-ish-thirds of the movie we watch a man in a cottage – sometimes with his girlfriend, sometimes without – looking alarmed and perturbed, possibly having a psychotic breakdown. I have to confess it lost me around the 20-minute mark.

The man is William (played by director Wayne David), who is in possession of a prize more precious than gold: a friend with a cottage in the countryside. William is staying there with his girlfriend Chantelle (Sian Altman), who is in heaven, and wonders aloud if they should relocate. William is less impressed, griping at the quality of the coffee in the village cafe. He’s also not sleeping well – waking up sweaty from nightmares in which a wolf can be heard howling in the woods.

As the film goes on, the timeline gets tangled, and it becomes less and less clear what’s happening. Chantelle is here and then she’s gone again – is she a figment of William’s troubled mind? A memory? Oh, and there’s also a creature locked up in a shed in the woods that William is feeding slabs of raw meat. Then comes a phone call: “Quite the scene of carnage you left behind.” says a mysterious man. Is William a werewolf? His beard is certainly lustrous. Has he had a nibble on Chantelle?

The problem is that for film with a psychological angle there’s not a lot of actual psychology to sink your teeth into. The acting is clunky in places, too – or perhaps what’s clunky is the lines the actors are being asked to deliver. Werewolf movies risk peaking too soon, showing the beast too early – but by holding back so much this felt slightly dull. Still, it’s atmospheric and there are a couple of tingly prickles of fear.

You might politely describe this werewolf thriller set in the English countryside, in which the werewolf is kept off-camera, as a slow-burn. A devastating revelation awaits us at the end, but for the first two-ish-thirds of the movie we watch a man in a cottage – sometimes with his girlfriend, sometimes without – looking alarmed and perturbed, possibly having a psychotic breakdown. I have to confess it lost me around the 20-minute mark.

The man is William (played by director Wayne David), who is in possession of a prize more precious than gold: a friend with a cottage in the countryside. William is staying there with his girlfriend Chantelle (Sian Altman), who is in heaven, and wonders aloud if they should relocate. William is less impressed, griping at the quality of the coffee in the village cafe. He’s also not sleeping well – waking up sweaty from nightmares in which a wolf can be heard howling in the woods.

As the film goes on, the timeline gets tangled, and it becomes less and less clear what’s happening. Chantelle is here and then she’s gone again – is she a figment of William’s troubled mind? A memory? Oh, and there’s also a creature locked up in a shed in the woods that William is feeding slabs of raw meat. Then comes a phone call: “Quite the scene of carnage you left behind.” says a mysterious man. Is William a werewolf? His beard is certainly lustrous. Has he had a nibble on Chantelle?

The problem is that for film with a psychological angle there’s not a lot of actual psychology to sink your teeth into. The acting is clunky in places, too – or perhaps what’s clunky is the lines the actors are being asked to deliver. Werewolf movies risk peaking too soon, showing the beast too early – but by holding back so much this felt slightly dull. Still, it’s atmospheric and there are a couple of tingly prickles of fear.