Wer (2013)

It's a not so bad French werewolf movie. Still, it is not on the same level like the real important French terror movies from the last years (Martyrs, High Tension, Inside, Frontiers, etc.). Only the 'strong'-female lead cast is completely annoying in her self-obsession and the extreme shaky camera can drive normal movie goers insane. I don't know why producers/directors/photographers have permanently the feeling that found-footage inserts and extreme-shaky POV-shoots should be somehow 'modern'. The too erratic camera and this permanent 'strong'-female lead focus in the script (which is basically hidden feministic ideology & propaganda => together with the bad leading actress) ruins unfortunately this movie, but besides these flaws the movie is not so bad.

It's Just Okay Nothing More Nothing Less, I Read The Reviews And Well "The HOWLING Pt 1 (1981) Starring Dee Wallace And Her Ex Husband Christopher Stone Is The Best Werewolf Movie Ever Made And From The Looks Of It Will Be The BEST EVER Made With "WOLF" (1994) Starring Michelle Pfeiffer And Jack Nicholson Coming In 2nd!

"Wer" is a modern take on werewolf mythology. Taking place in France, this horror flick brings the concept of the full-moon, flesh eating creature into the 21st century, and boy does it deliver! A family is ravaged by what the lone survivor calls a hairy creature that stood on two legs and had huge hands. The mother described how the creature proceeded to eat her young son.Almost immediately, the local police detective Pistori has a suspect in custody-- Talan, a huge man with hair that covers his body. He belonged to a family with history in past land disputes and mysterious deaths.His defense team gathers to dispute what appears to be a miscarriage of justice. The team is made up of attorney Kate Moore (A.J. Moore from "Criminal Minds"), her assistant Eric Sarin (Vik Sahay from "Chuck") and animal specialist Gavin Flemyng (Simon Quarterman from "The Devil Inside").While researching, Gavin discovers a rare condition which could explain Talan's appearance. Should they be able to prove that Talan has this condition, it would pretty much exonerate Talan, as symptoms include elongated, weak bones that cause the sufferer to have no strength, and move slowly.This leads to an awesome scene in the hospital, where Talan is to be tested.The movie is break-neck-paced. There are a few subtitles, but most of the movie is in English. There are outstanding visual effects, especially of the practical kind. There are even some crackly, snapping standard werewolf turning scenes. There is a handful of POV/Found footage used, but not over-used, which is refreshing. They are used only for maximum impact (for example, weapon cams). The acting is first rate, and the directing (by William Brent Bell, who also co-wrote Wer) is top notch. William Brent Bell brought us such creepy fair as "The Devil Inside" and more recently "The Boy." And of course, there are a few "oh-- you KNOW this is going to get bad" moments, that are pretty much inevitable in a movie like this. It's easily the best werewolf film I have seen since "American Werewolf in London," which came out over 35 years ago. While AWIL was considered a comedy/horror mashup, Wer is all horror.In my opinion, Wer would have garnered a score of 10/10 if not for a blatantly Hollywood ending.Regardless, the film is outstanding!

An American family is camping in France (?) with their dog and all. At night and during the full moon, suddenly the dog vanishes, the father goes looking for it, then something attacks him and the rest of the family. This all filmed by them. The wife survives. She tells the police she was attacked by some tall thin hairy guy with huge hands. Next the police arrest a guy named Talan who lives in the area with his mother.His defense lawyer is for some reason an American lawyer living in France. She works with some Indian guy who procures information and she also calls one of her exes who is a scientist.They interview Talan, who's rather quiet, shy, and reserved. They inspect the mutilated bodies and conclude it was some unknown animal that attacked the family. They interview the mother and find out that the father died in a mysterious one-car accident. Talan suffers from some condition that weakens him and causes him to be bed-ridden on some days. The government is also after their land because it's suited for nuclear waste disposal.When a rancher's horses are attacked the police mount an operation and kill the culprit--a bear.The researcher discovers that the unidentified condition from which Talan suffers could be porphyria. To confirm they have to perform some tests on him--a corneal swab and expose him to strobe lights. The corneal swab result is positive. During strobe light exposure Talan flips out, kills everyone brutally. All this in front of his defense team and the cops.Talan escapes to a building where the police mount an operation to capture him. They shower him with bullets but he's unaffected. He just wipes out all the cops then jumps from the building to the ground and escapes to his home in the country.They mount another operation to capture him--at night for some reason. But in the meantime something is happening to the scientist. We learn that he was bitten by Talan during a jail scuffle and now he's changing. And he actually realizes that only he will be able to face Talan.Wer is yet another update on the tired old POV movie format. While things start out POV, after the family attack, there is no moron there to "film everything no matter what." In the end the movie is more of a hybrid POV. It's mostly third person perspective but retains some POV camera-work--the camera angles, and some movements. Fortunately we are spared the hysteric shaking camera as well as the awful cheap green nightvision. But Wer retains some of the POV weaknesses--a cast you can't care about and some logic-defying stuff.It is however a remarkable improvement in terms of budget, effort, effects, and story. The important thing is that there is here an objective story. It's not about some idiots bickering at each other for two hours and losing their minds. There's plenty of cool gore and some very neat special effects and wirework. They even use a chopper and explosions.Not only is it an upgrade of POV movies but also a good effort at restoring some credibility to the werewolf genre which has been terribly abused by greedy filmmakers who couldn't care less about the genre. With Wer and the great Dracula Untold perhaps we'll see an updated revival of classical monsters.