Skinwalkers
Title: SkinwalkersRating: 2.5/5
Genre: Action, Horror
Starring: Natissia Malthe, Jason Behr, Elias Koteas
This an action horror based in the fantasy setting of werewolves, or ‘skinwalkers’ as they are referred to in this film. They are incapable of controlling their change, occurring at a full moon, they transform into bi-pedal man/wolves, and have animal strength (or superhuman if you will), both in wolf form and human form. The plot revolves around two ‘clans,’ the typical good guy characters who believe it to be a disease, protecting a boy (the reason for this does later become apparent)[1] who are being hunted by the clan who treat it as a gift to be cherished. Whilst its clear which side we are meant to root for, more often than not I found myself rooting for the leather bound, long-haired, Harley-riding ‘evil’ characters.[2] Naturally, with all films of this nature we already know that there will predictably be a happy ending.[3]
The script felt pretty thin. It was a simple game of cat and mouse which was done in such a way to reveal the information required to make any sense of the story in short intervals, the first coming about 30mins into the film, though even then was poorly explained.[4] Despite this, as a means to provide a healthy dose of action it worked fairly well provided you ignored the plot-holes, but a lot of the action felt tired. It was a lot of shooting and poor aiming, with someone inevitably dying each action scene in some attempt to rescue the kid. There were certainly points where I felt more could have been done to add a bit more diversity, beyond shooting guns in a different location.[5]
The effects were not done using CGI, and instead utilised well utilised make up to give the actors individual wolf-like features (for those familiar with the classic “Wolf Man,” similar thing), but for the most part their features behind became impossible to distinguish any more clearly than what gender they belong to. Not knowing who you’re meant to be rooting for in the fight scenes makes things a little confusing, though luckily for the most part they are in human form. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of the actors don’t in any way change their physicality in wolf form (exceptions go to Natissia Malthe and Jason Behr, who’s acting strength[6] contributed to the ‘rooting for the bad guy’ issue), though ignoring this oversight, the performances were for the most part pretty mediocre. Nothing fantastic, but then there was little required of them for the most part.
There was little here that really screams out at you as being terrible, and a couple of scenes that were actually fairly amusing,[7] despite that probably not being the intention. The action came in thick and fast enough to keep me interested for the most part, and despite the shoddy explanations and plot holes, this was clearly not their focus. Overall, a pretty average film. Nothing to rant about but not worthy of sneering at either.
Genre: Action, Horror
Starring: Natissia Malthe, Jason Behr, Elias Koteas
This an action horror based in the fantasy setting of werewolves, or ‘skinwalkers’ as they are referred to in this film. They are incapable of controlling their change, occurring at a full moon, they transform into bi-pedal man/wolves, and have animal strength (or superhuman if you will), both in wolf form and human form. The plot revolves around two ‘clans,’ the typical good guy characters who believe it to be a disease, protecting a boy (the reason for this does later become apparent)[1] who are being hunted by the clan who treat it as a gift to be cherished. Whilst its clear which side we are meant to root for, more often than not I found myself rooting for the leather bound, long-haired, Harley-riding ‘evil’ characters.[2] Naturally, with all films of this nature we already know that there will predictably be a happy ending.[3]
The script felt pretty thin. It was a simple game of cat and mouse which was done in such a way to reveal the information required to make any sense of the story in short intervals, the first coming about 30mins into the film, though even then was poorly explained.[4] Despite this, as a means to provide a healthy dose of action it worked fairly well provided you ignored the plot-holes, but a lot of the action felt tired. It was a lot of shooting and poor aiming, with someone inevitably dying each action scene in some attempt to rescue the kid. There were certainly points where I felt more could have been done to add a bit more diversity, beyond shooting guns in a different location.[5]
The effects were not done using CGI, and instead utilised well utilised make up to give the actors individual wolf-like features (for those familiar with the classic “Wolf Man,” similar thing), but for the most part their features behind became impossible to distinguish any more clearly than what gender they belong to. Not knowing who you’re meant to be rooting for in the fight scenes makes things a little confusing, though luckily for the most part they are in human form. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of the actors don’t in any way change their physicality in wolf form (exceptions go to Natissia Malthe and Jason Behr, who’s acting strength[6] contributed to the ‘rooting for the bad guy’ issue), though ignoring this oversight, the performances were for the most part pretty mediocre. Nothing fantastic, but then there was little required of them for the most part.
There was little here that really screams out at you as being terrible, and a couple of scenes that were actually fairly amusing,[7] despite that probably not being the intention. The action came in thick and fast enough to keep me interested for the most part, and despite the shoddy explanations and plot holes, this was clearly not their focus. Overall, a pretty average film. Nothing to rant about but not worthy of sneering at either.
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