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Viking Wolf 2023 Movie Review
The problem with the werewolf films is they generally fail to stand up to the well known . That’s usually a budget issue, resulting in a poor script, average acting, so so directing and the lack of the money shot — the obligatory transformation scene. Basically, you can usually see the money running out as the film progresses, leaving no bite for the third act.
Enter Netflix, it would seem their pockets are deep enough to make a worthy addition with Vikinggulven (Viking Wolf). Actually, this is a surprisingly good addition to the genre, a perfectly fine plot which wasn’t too caught up in subterfuge, which is usually a bad sign in werewolf films, so no guessing as to who the wolf protagonist is, just tension as to when they will figure it out for themselves so we can start with the real fun … the wolf.
Excellent CGI has been around for nearly 30 years now. First of all dinosaurs, then meteors and space aliens, but they still didn’t have the rendering skill to produce hair, and those wolves in the late 90’s through the early 2000’s didn’t really look right unless there was a mix of traditional effects and CGI. However, now they’ve got that one down even for lower medium budget films, and the wolves are acceptable enough. This one was well conceived, the transformation scene and the resultant animal is good enough to pass the test.
The rest of it: a reasonably decent plot, good acting and a perfectly fine job by the director leads to a suitable third act for any werewolf film buff with plenty of blood and guts and many minutes of onscreen wolfery which should satisfy even the genres most ardent critics.