Skinwalkers (2006) Reviews

• I tell ya... We get no respect... Or regard... But no respect...

  s2dio2007-08-02

  Werewolf movies are always difficult to make. They touch on an area of mythology that has so many facets, it's impossible to please everyone. Everyone from Asia to the Natives of North America have tales of shape-shifting humans, and for some reason wolves became the go to animal for it. Stoopit sheep farmers... Anyhoo... I honestly liked this flick... I won't go so far as to say it's a must see, but it was entertaining and had just enough bite (see what I did there? classic comedy). It's extremely difficult to sell a werewolf movie to someone who doesn't dig them in the first place. They're nothing like vampyres. They aren't sexy, they aren't stylish, and they hardly ever keep a loft in a New York high rise. Werewolves are the blue collar creature. They're always running, fighting, and sweating for everything they need. And this flick does just that... They start the clock running from the outset and establish that a single boy holds the key to the destruction or salvation of a race of werewolves, loosely based on the Native myths of Skinwalkers. 1 group attempts to protect the boy, while the other... Well... Wants to eat him. Along the way, a few thousand rounds are spilled out of big shiny guns, and stuff gets blown up. There's enough sweat, hair tossing, and growled lines to keep any action fan happy. There's the mandatory martyr, rebel, desperate mother, and hot chick (even though she definitely loses some looks when she changes, werewolves ain't sexy). There's even the loving Grandma figure. Turn off your brain, and pop some corn... You'll enjoy this flick if you don't read much into it.

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• Another Disappointment to the Werewolf Genre

  mike132412006-07-21

  Tonight I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at the movie "Skinwalkers;" a new film by creature effects guy James Issasc's. He is probably best known for his work on "The Fly" and "Enemy Mine." I had heard about this film a few months back when I had the pleasure of attending a screening of "Alien" at the wonderful Arclight in Hhe creature effects were supposedly a twist on the usual werewolf film. So when a ticket for this film passed my way, I jumped at the chance. The story (which I was in the dark about before) is about a 12 year old boy caught in the crossfire between two warring werewolf clans. One consists of werewolves happy to feed on humans, while the other camp believes they're cursed and are trying to find a way to become fully human again. They look to a 12 year old boy, who was prophesized (never made totally clear by who) to have something within him that would cure them of their terrible burden. But the catch is he has to live until his 13th birthday, and while that seems simple enough the werewolves who want to remain that way don't want to see that happen. Three days prior to his 13th birthday, the moon turns red, signaling that the prophecy is going to come true. So the whole movie is basically this race to keep him alive to break the curse. Stating it simply the movie unfortunately is not very good. I've seen the standard werewolf films, like "The Howling" and "A Werewolf in London." Both of which I thought were great for different reasons I won't get into here. Then I've seen ones I really didn't like…ehem… "Cursed." So I was hoping for a lot here knowing that Stan Winston was involved. The problem with this film is it has trouble finding itself. You don't know if this is supposed to be serious, or one big joke. Parts that are not meant to be funny are funny because they're so absurd, and then parts that are meant to be lighthearted leave you confused and wondering if you just missed a laugh. The acting was very mixed across the board, but no one hit any major high notes with me. I had a hard time seeing Jason Behr, who plays the leader of the "we love to be werewolves gang," as being very villainous. Elias Koteas, who leads to good guys, was fine in the role but his performance was just bland and didn't stand out much. Then you have Rhona Mitra, who I loved on "Boston Legal" and on "Nip/Tuck." She was perfectly fine, if anything I thought she was too good for some of the annoyingly badly written lines she was uttering. The child actor was just that, a child actor, 'nough said. I was hoping that the creature effects if anything would be the highlight, but even those left something to be desired. I was looking forward to a great transformation scene, something akin to "A Werewolf in London." So I waited…and waited…and was left empty handed. The transformed werewolves did look somewhat different then ones I'm more accustomed to. As opposed to simply being big dogs, these were more human in appearance. Imagine Michael at the end of "Underworld" but much harrier, and there you go. The female werewolves were probably the most different then anything I'd seen before. Usually you can't tell a female werewolf from a male one. But these kept a more feminine figure when they transformed, and their faces became more elongated then the males. Point being, it was very easy to distinguish. Even though I didn't have high hopes for this film, I was still hoping the creature effects would save it. But they weren't enough to carry this film to the end, and had I paid for it I would have felt cheated out of $10. There wasn't anything that distinguished this film from any others similar to it that I've seen. So my recommendation when this film hits a theater near you is rent "A Werewolf in London" and be thankful for it.

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• Worthless werewolf crap.

  BA_Harrison2007-11-30

  Horror fans are idiots. Or at least I think that is what the makers of Skinwalkers must believe. A werewolf movie which makes up its own rules and mythology in order to suit its weak story, and tries to detract from its sheer awfulness with some shoot-outs and a couple of babes, this absolute mess shows complete contempt for fans of the genre. Throwing the audience straight into the middle of a storyline from the outset, director James Isaac confuses viewers for the first 20 minutes, and then spends the rest of the movie's running time dishing up sub-standard lycanthropic hogwash. In Skinwalkers, according to an ancient prophecy (that old chestnut), a half-breed boy will have the power to end the werewolf curse once he reaches the age of thirteen (at the stroke of midnight, of course!). With only days to go before his all important thirteenth birthday, a gang of nasty lycanthropes, who wish to remain as they are, set out to kill the boy. Fortunately for the lad, a small group of good werewolves, who wish to become human again, risk their lives to protect him. Had the makers of this wolfish cack bothered to dish up some decent looking beasts, or perhaps some effective gore, then maybe I would be a little more forgiving. But since we are treated to some risible make-up, very little in the way of splatter, and absolutely no transformation effects, Skinwalkers genuinely deserves the lowest rating possible.

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• Good Enough To Make Coke Shoot Out of My Nose

  One_hand_clap2007-08-10

  Okay, I saw this movie at the matinée show and no coke didn't shoot out of my nose but it would have had I been drinking coke. I've been waiting for nearly two years to see this thing and let's just say I was a little disappointed. No, it's not that bad but I was expecting there to be a lot more violence. I still really liked it for the most part but I guess the R to PG-13 re-cut affected that? I liked the Werewolves and wouldn't mind owning the Stan Winston made one. Though I have no idea where I'd put it? Garage? There are plenty of fight scenes to whet the appetite, though, like I said they aren't that graphic. The hot girls in this are definitely very hot. I have this weird thing for Rhona Mitra, perhaps a tad unhealthy. The look of the movie is very good. There's some very cool shots at night and the final scene is pretty damn sweet. The plot is fairly straight forward but adequate for a movie of this type. No big surprises, nothing that will change your life, or change the way you look at Werewolves. The acting is okay, not great but okay. Believable enough. I'd say this movie is worth seeing and you could bring you kids if they are like, ten or above. It's not too scary for them I think. Overall, it's like a B-. If you love the monster movie genre this should fill you up for little while.

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• Skinwalkers: A B-Movie with a little bit more.

  viviewages2007-08-10

  Skinwalkers are actually from Navajo mythology. They are supposed to be people who put on the skin of animals and take on the attributes of said animal. Well, that's not really what "Skinwalkers" the movie is about. It's about werewolves who are in an argument that's been raging for centuries. What if some werewolves didn't want to be werewolves and other werewolves loved being werewolves? That's the basic premise for this B-movie avalanche of gun fights and claws called "Skinwalkers." It starts off quickly and never stops moving. There's plenty of action and hot bodies and the occasional Werewolf wearing Levis. The cinematography is good and gives the movie nice a look especially in the night scenes. There's a huge battle at the end that is very fun. Overall, I'd say this is not a great movie but fun enough to see it on the big screen. Also, they are giving away one of the Skinwalkers from the movie or something. That's cool.

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