Nerdly » ‘Lord of Wolves’ VOD Review

28th Oct2024

‘Lord of Wolves’ VOD Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: Joshua Tonks, Chris Lines, Rosie Edwards, Elliot Hadley, Jake Watkins, Michaela Longden, Ray Calleja, Jon Holmes | Written and Directed by Charlie Steeds

Lord of Wolves, the latest film from British writer/director Charlie Steeds, marks the third time he’s taken on the subject of lycanthropy. Unlike A Werewolf in England and Werewolf Castle, Lord of Wolves creates a new version of the werewolf mythos. Trying to redefine a traditional creature can be a risky task, especially to the extent that Steed does it here, but what he has in mind for them is quite interesting.

Nic Cross (Joshua Tonks; There’s a Monster at the End of the Film, The Latent Image) is a photographer living in London. On his way home one evening, he sees a strange man in the subway holding an object shaped like a pyramid. When his roommate and mentor Professor Malone (Chris Lines; The House of Screaming Death, The Fourth Musketeer) suddenly dies, he comes into possession of one like it.

The film’s publicity only mentioned Nic, so I was a bit surprised when I was quickly introduced to Beth (Rosie Edwards; Gods of the Deep, Videobox) and her abusive boyfriend Todd (Elliot Hadley; Freeze, Cottontail). We also meet out and proud party boy Sean (Jake Watkins; The Gardener, Meat Eater), his sister Kristy (Michaela Longden; When Darkness Falls, The Creature Below) and her boyfriend Dean (Ray Calleja; The Apocalypse Box, Tales of Babylon).

Eventually, all of their stories will come together, but for much of its running time, Lord of Wolves bounces between the three stories, whose only connection seems to be that the people involved all are miserable and unhappy. Nic over Professor Malone’s death, Sean is estranged from his parents and his relationship with his sister is stressed. And Dean’s drug habit has just gotten them evicted. Worst of all, Beth, who’s pregnant but not by Todd. She was raped by a co-worker but knows Todd won’t believe her.

What has this got to do with werewolves, you ask? Well, there’s an urban legend about a man named Lycaon (Jon Holmes; Christmas at the Holly Day Inn, Fear the Invisible Man) and a cult of wolf people with supernatural powers and an attraction to those who are on the edges of society. The result is a tribute of sorts to Clive Barker, with story elements that are influenced by Candyman and Hellraiser and a title that echoes Lord of Illusions. Granted, I don’t remember Barker ever writing about injecting werewolf blood like it was heroin, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did either.

In an interview, Steeds said that each of Lord of Wolves’ main characters could have been the subjects of their own movie, and unfortunately, he’s right. There’s so much going on in that the story, especially in the first half, has trouble gelling and frequently seems disjointed. This is one case where a ninety-minute film really should have been longer to better integrate the various plot lines. The last half-hour somewhat makes up for all of this with several decent kills, but it still lacks cohesion and, doesn’t make a lot of sense.

There’s also the matter of the creatures themselves, they’re supposed to look like a human with a wolf’s head, but their heads really don’t look anything like that of a wolf. Their rather strange appearance, along with their fondness for leather and ability to speak, makes them resemble Cenobites and further reinforces the comparisons to Hellraiser.

I’ve seen and reviewed almost all of Steeds’ films, and most of those reviews have been positive. And while Lord of Wolves isn’t a total waste of time it is one of his lesser films. It’s not as bad as Winterskin which remains his weakest film to date, but it is a disappointment, the budget, and running time, just weren’t enough to do the central concept justice.