The Cycle
If I knew what this movie was going to be before I watched it, I think I would have liked it more. If you wish to know nothing about this movie, you should skip this review. There won't be any major spoilers, but be warned.
So this is a werewolf movie! I like to go into movies without knowing anything, and I'm watching this because I have seen a lot of reviews of it but haven't read any of them yet. Yeah, I should have guessed...
Anyways, I really hate about 2/3 of this movie. What a howling disappointment... The police procedural reminded me of Malignant and Longlegs (as well as Shelby Oaks for other reasons), and this one really falls in the middle of the pack. (Pun intended.) It's an exhausting slog with characters that seem too perfect and artificial for this type of story. Everyone says exactly what they mean, and at face value, it's the most asinine exposition ever. There's no nuance, and the performances were rather dull.
(Tangent inbound!)
I would like to recount a real cringe-worthy two-minute stretch where I almost just gave up on this movie. So, there's a legitimately unnerving moment that is ruined by a jumpscare. Just randomly, the main character has a vision and then ROAR, BOO, ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!?! Well, I was, and the next 2 minutes are the dumbest, most un-fur-givable shit ever...
We follow a cop doing dumb lone-wolf cop stuff, wandering around. He finds something spooky, aims at the ceiling, and misses whatever is crawling on the floor without even calling out to it. I would call that an itchy trigger finger, but he missed because he does not know how to aim. He then runs off into a room and closes the door, only to immediately get attacked, even though the creature should be two rooms back. He should at least have had time to finish his call for backup, and even if it was interrupted, someone else should have come. This is the worst cop I have ever seen in a film, and we are meant to empathize with his character and draw themes about his family. Sigh... Sorry for the tangent, but I was fur-ious.
(Tangent over!)
In other words, this movie really irritates me. I feel like it's fair to say that my tangent was not nitpicking. All of that affects the main plot, and if it had been handled differently, it would have been more believable and enjoyable to watch. There are many moments like this in the movie that just irk me. Unrealistic characters, dumb, contrived scenes, and just pitiful pacing.
But that's not to say I hated everything or that this was a complete waste. The practical effects are really gnarly and have some of the best werewolf prosthetics since An American Werewolf in London. The bloody scenes are also visceral in a way that I enjoyed. Finally, I got to enjoy writing this review. I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree by hating on this, but the next movie I have planned is a rewatch of a movie that I quite enjoy.
So this is a werewolf movie! I like to go into movies without knowing anything, and I'm watching this because I have seen a lot of reviews of it but haven't read any of them yet. Yeah, I should have guessed...
Anyways, I really hate about 2/3 of this movie. What a howling disappointment... The police procedural reminded me of Malignant and Longlegs (as well as Shelby Oaks for other reasons), and this one really falls in the middle of the pack. (Pun intended.) It's an exhausting slog with characters that seem too perfect and artificial for this type of story. Everyone says exactly what they mean, and at face value, it's the most asinine exposition ever. There's no nuance, and the performances were rather dull.
(Tangent inbound!)
I would like to recount a real cringe-worthy two-minute stretch where I almost just gave up on this movie. So, there's a legitimately unnerving moment that is ruined by a jumpscare. Just randomly, the main character has a vision and then ROAR, BOO, ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!?! Well, I was, and the next 2 minutes are the dumbest, most un-fur-givable shit ever...
We follow a cop doing dumb lone-wolf cop stuff, wandering around. He finds something spooky, aims at the ceiling, and misses whatever is crawling on the floor without even calling out to it. I would call that an itchy trigger finger, but he missed because he does not know how to aim. He then runs off into a room and closes the door, only to immediately get attacked, even though the creature should be two rooms back. He should at least have had time to finish his call for backup, and even if it was interrupted, someone else should have come. This is the worst cop I have ever seen in a film, and we are meant to empathize with his character and draw themes about his family. Sigh... Sorry for the tangent, but I was fur-ious.
(Tangent over!)
In other words, this movie really irritates me. I feel like it's fair to say that my tangent was not nitpicking. All of that affects the main plot, and if it had been handled differently, it would have been more believable and enjoyable to watch. There are many moments like this in the movie that just irk me. Unrealistic characters, dumb, contrived scenes, and just pitiful pacing.
But that's not to say I hated everything or that this was a complete waste. The practical effects are really gnarly and have some of the best werewolf prosthetics since An American Werewolf in London. The bloody scenes are also visceral in a way that I enjoyed. Finally, I got to enjoy writing this review. I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree by hating on this, but the next movie I have planned is a rewatch of a movie that I quite enjoy.
Mini Review: I should have known this was a werewolf movie! I like going in blind but yeah, I should have guessed. I hated 2/3 of this. The police procedural reminded me of Malignant and Longlegs, with artificial characters, asinine exposition, dull performances, and awful pacing. One cop misses a creature by aiming at the ceiling, then runs into a room and gets attacked. The practical effects are so gnarly, with werewolf prosthetics worthy of An American Werewolf in London. The gore is visceral. 4/10!