ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Leofwine_draca This modern French epic is a strange, definitely unique amalgamation of a number of different genres: set during the French Revolution, the storyline starts off as a classic horror yarn, with peasant girls being hunted down by an unseen beast (presumably a werewolf); then things move into a mystery-thriller with plenty of conspiracy and dark shadows; finally the film reveals itself to be an action-adventure, incorporating some very visceral and exciting elements of the classic revenge story into its design. There are also plenty of moments of drama and not a little romance thrown into the mixture. The result? Well, sometimes its muddled, sometimes it doesn't feel right and sometimes the whole thing gets a little bit silly, but for the most part this is an enthralling, thrilling film with a fresh feel and an unpredictable narrative. It's also one of the most surprising and entertaining films I've seen in a long time, lacking the predictability of most modern movies, sequels or otherwise.Director Christopher Gans is obviously an accomplished technician, taking care to deliver a film with a distinctive visual style. The colour palette is exaggerated yet beautiful in equal parts; for the best example, check the splendid red costumes of the French aristocracy in comparison to the subdued, dull gloom of the haunted woodlands. Atmosphere and suspense are strong throughout, and definite care is taken with the sound editing, whether it be the ceaseless patter of the driving rainfall or the heaving atmosphere of a noisy brothel. The horror or 'attack' sequences are artfully played out, coyly refusing to reveal the identity of the creature; but when at last it is shown, the special effects do not disappoint. Gans uses some graphic violence and bloodshed sparingly, adding to the impact, so although this is not a bloodbath, it is sometimes a fairly strong film in that respect.Unfortunately by necessity I watched the dubbed version of this film. It has to be said that the dubbing (by one or two English actors, seemingly) is fairly awful, reducing the effect, so the subtitled version is the one to go for if possible. The acting, as far as can be told, is strong, especially with Samuel Le Bihan's charismatic lead. A whole host of familiar French actors fill out the supporting parts, from Vincent Cassel's almost caricaturish turn as the one-armed de Morangais to Monica Bellucci as an alluring French prostitute. The only non-European actor is B-movie martial arts specialist Mark Dacascos, who undoubtedly gives us his best performance yet as the honourable Native American companion, Mani. Dacascos also takes centre place in the numerous martial arts sequences in this film, delivering a wide array of powerful kicks and bone-breaking punches. Gans goes a little overboard with the slow-motion in the fight sequences, but they can be genuinely electrifying, and get better and better as the film progresses until some moments literally drip with death-dealing power.BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF: a strange film, yes, with a myriad mixing of genres which can be a little confusing, or unrealistic in places. Yet the overall impression is one of a powerful, ambitious production, created with infinite care and technical skill; I recommend it to one and all, just to see the kind of cinema the French are capable of when they feel like it.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Brotherhood Of The Wolf is the kind of film that has juuust a bit too much packed into its two plus hour running time to be an instant classic, but at the same time I can't help but say to me it's a personal favourite. It's tailored towards my love of grisly adventure, comic book style frames and wilderness set action mayhem. It's based on the allegedly real 'beast of gevaudan', a massive carnivorous monster that terrorized rural France during the 1700's. That historical event is built upon to create a mythic, larger than life cinematic whirlwind that resembles The Ghost & The Darkness, mixed with The Last Of The Mohicans with a touch of occult intrigue. Samuel Le Bohan plays a womanizing french debonair who takes it upon himself to hunt the creature, and the impressively athletic action star Marc Dacoscas plays his native companion Mani. Together they scour the misty french wildlands and shady, vaguely corrupt small town aristocracy, searching for clues as to the creatures origin. It's a curious film, one that transcends the genres a bit too much, but at the same time in a fun way that finds you never correctly guessing where the film might take you. It's part Sleepy Hollow, part B Movie and part decadent soft core porno in the vein of caligula, and is certainly never boring. It's great strength is in set design, and especially cinematography. There are a whole bunch of shots that are so lush, so gorgeous that they seem almost like an exquisite oil painting. The creature is kept wisely out of sight for most of the film but it's eventual appearance is shocking, and shows how much work went into the effects. It's almost a perfect film, with a bit of editing out the unnecessary bits (that DTV lookin melodramatic orgys gotta go, man), it could be truly something special. But nevertheless it's still a rip roaring, atmospheric action horror silver bullet of a film that deserves praise for its undeniable imagination and creativity.

dookie43 Supernatural antagonists, sexy without being distracting, post-colonial martial arts, pre-French Revolution intrigue, mystery, romance, arcane Catholic mysticism, 1700's CSI, etc. This *beep* covers all the bases, loosely. It's a ton a of fun. A great story and it develops perfectly for 2.5 hours. Nothing in excess and very little wasted. (watching the director's cut) I can't recommend this movie highly enough.So, this review requires 10 lines. I'd add that the shots look pretty film school in the beginning (probably quite sharp for 2001) and develop quite a bit over the time frame. Action, mystery, and horror for the price of one ticket. Your usual film critics can suck it. This one rules.

ma-cortes Interesting as well as exciting epic movie plenty of violent fighting , thrills , inevitable ending confrontation and resulting to be a mix selection of genres . The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with frenetic action , surprises , wolf attacks , fierce combats and groundbreaking struggles . In 18th century France, a dashing hero , the Chevalier De Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his native American friend Mani (Mark Dacascos) are sent by the King Louis XV to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast (based on facts about an unknown animal who killed more than one hundred people in France at the end of 18th century) , a werewolf-like creature (made by Jim Henson factory) that has been massacring villagers . As an Iroquois valiant fighting alongside white blood brother . A huge wolf-hunt produces a pile of carcasses , but the attacks continue . Meanwhile , Chevalier and Mani visit a bordello , there meet Sylvia (Monica Belucci) , in fact the only person who knew the whole truth to both sides of the story regarding the beast and she manipulated Fronsac into dreaming and nightmare . Then , Chevalier falls sin love for a mysterious courtesan (Emilie Dequenne) and they are hindered by her jealous brother , Jean Francois (Vincent Cassel) . All of them become caught up in religious , political intrigues , rampant superstition and the vested interests of local aristos . At the end The French Revolution has swept the land and The Revolution has become the Terror.This sumptuous period drama displays action-packed , Chop-Socky , thrills , swashbuckling , fast-paced and wild fighting images . It is an action-filled and violent film , being splendidly filmed by Christopher Gans . Director carries out an alchemical fusion of cinematic elements such as scary monster film , mystery , thriller , Kung-Fu and period drama . The movie was released in January 2001 and was a great success , as more than five million people saw it. Fights , attacks and exciting combats very well staged by expert Philip Kwok , the result is a strong entry for action buffs . Marvelous production design , set in 18th century France , though imbued with a 21th century sensibility . The picture was based on true events , in fact there actually was a Beast of Gévaudan which was a real wolf-like creature that prowled the Auvergne and South Dordogne regions of France during the years 1764 to 1767, killing about 100 people, often in bizarre circumstances and all the primary characters, except the Native American Mani, actually existed and lived during reign of King Louis XV. Extraordinary support cast formed by prestigious French actors such as Jérémie Renier as Thomas d'Apcher , Jean-François Stévenin as Sardis , Jacques Perrin as Thomas , Jean Yanne as Comte De Morangias Bernard Farcy as Laffont , Edith Scob as Mme De Morangias , Bernard Fresson as Mercier and Philippe Nahon as Jean Chastel . Thrilling as well as evocative musical score by Joseph LoDuca . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Dan Laustsen . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Christophe Gans and achieved big success at European box office . Universal Pictures paid $2 million for the rights to distribute this movie in the United States, and this movie went on grossing $11.2 million in limited theatrical release in the United States, making it the second-highest-grossing French-language movie in the United States since 1980 . Its director Christophe Gans is a good French professional who has realized a few but stunning films . Gans first realized Shorts and he then decided to make movies and directed one of the three parts of Necronomicon (1994) called "The Drowned" , later on , "Crying Freeman" from the famous Japanese Manga. And finally the big budgeted horror ¨Silent Hill¨ , he is nowadays preparing a new version of "Beauty and the Beast" .