The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie Review

An unsettling animated surrealist horror film of the highest order...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 3, 2024

No. Nope. No no no nope nope nope... noooope. The Wolf House is a thoroughly unsettling, altogether disquieting film, though sometimes it's difficult to put your finger on exactly what it is -- or isn't -- that's slicing and sliding beneath your skin. Other times it's more than obvious. The visuals, the sounds, the cries, the bestial crackling, the ever-shifting mediums of the animation, the sense that nothing, especially our young protagonist, is remotely safe. One minute a painting, the next a live-action dollhouse furniture scene, the very next a Claymation nightmare, The Wolf House is all about the "feel" and the emotion of everything transpiring. You'll get little context and even less grounding exposition. Directors Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña aren't interested in either. Theirs is a film that transports. Offers a fever dream of an experience. Disarms and unnerves. Attacks and attacks and attacks again, without fear of alienating its audience. It's bold, original, hauntingly evocative animated filmmaking of the highest order, and it deserves whatever praise you and I can heap upon it.

The Wolf House is a fraught fairy tale from Chilean writers Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña and Alejandra Moffat, inspired in part by the nightmarish true-life events that occurred at the Pinochet regime’s post-WWII torture colony, "Colonia Dignidad" (a horrifying story in its own right). In it, a young girl named Marie, pursued by a vicious beast, flees in the night and takes refuge in a disheveled cabin. There she meets two pigs -- that she names Pedro and Ana -- which inexplicably begin to transform into humans. But what begins as a pleasant found family soon devolves into something far more frightening as Marie has to contend with her housemates and decide whether they or the wolf outside are the greater danger. With a dash of Little Red Riding Hood from the gullet of the wolf, the film is an unpredictable, sinister shape-shifter shot and animated over five years of painstaking labor, presented as if crafted by the leader of the Colonia Dignidad sect himself in order to indoctrinate his followers. Unrelentingly disorienting and claustrophobic, its experimental animation traces its roots to the works of Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica and Jan Švankmajer.

Never has an animated film stirred up more fight-or-flight feelings in me than The Wolf House. Punishing from the start, it tells an at-times frustrating story that's far more poignant than it might first appear. Exploring impenetrable abstract concepts like manipulation, deception and fear, it's a seemingly minimalistic fable that has no desire to offer any respite from its horrors. Even its earliest moments of peace and homemaking are quickly displaced, making way for more insidious forces on the hunt for Marie and for the film's audience. The Wolf House invites you in, gives you a seat at the table, then leaves you questioning your own autonomy and independence in a world of influences and power structures. Am I actually in charge of my own life? Is the life I've built actually one free of those who would abuse me and twist truth to their benefit? Am I someone's wolf? Am I Ana and Pedro? Marie? All three at once, depending on who I'm interacting with? And do I have any control over the world around me, or am I merely running from one cabin to the next, avoiding whatever wolves might be on the prowl? The harrowing true story of Colonia Dignidad reveals that mankind is more than eager to prey on its children -- three cheers for nihilism -- while The Wolf House uses that framework to demand attention be paid to one's role in our species' more animalistic pursuits.

Sound a bit too high concept? You won't think so while cowering your way through the film. The wolf is eventually presented as a self-proclaimed savior of sorts, diving headlong into the most sinister trick played by cult leaders and religious opportunists the world over, and Marie is left with little choice but to ignore her own eyes and instincts to embrace whoever has the power, or the teeth, to convince her their way is the only way forward. The "feel" of The Wolf House is terrifying (you'll want to turn it off), the truth in its parable is terrifying (you'll want to look away), and it's conclusion is the most terrifying part of all (you'll want to forget what you just witnessed). Pessimistic and fatalistic to the nth degree, it suggests that we're all running from something that, one way or the other, will capture and dominate our lives. There is no freedom, only the selection of which slave master we wish to obey. And that, dear readers, is as dark as it gets. One deeply religious friend of mine even had a small crisis of faith after watching The Wolf House (he survived but it took him by complete surprise). Proceed with caution, but proceed nonetheless. This is precisely what art and cinema are meant to do.

The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Blu-ray release of The Wolf House features a stunning 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer every bit as powerful and efficient as the nightmarish visions it presents. Colors are subdued and desaturated throughout the film, reveling in the near monochromatic hallways and rooms of Marie's cabin, yet warm fire-lit colors still provide some rare comfort in a joyless setting. Black levels are inky and cannibalistic, swallowing detail intentionally to create a more foreboding and frightening image. Don't confuse these moments for crush or encoding issues either. This is precisely how the edges of the animation and models are meant to disappear into the darkness. Detail is actually excellent, with crisp, clean edges (note the imperfections and loose strands of hair jutting off the characters) and wonderfully resolved fine textures (clothing looks especially good). Add to that a virtual lack of banding, blocking and other issues and you have a presentation as flawless as it is faithful and proficient.

The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I'm tempted to say I would've loved to experience The Wolf House with a lossless 5.1 surround track. But that would mean I would've needed to allow the film to attack from all angles, and I actually felt palpable relief that I wasn't jumping at noises from the back of my home theater. Take that as you take it. Instead we're treated to a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that is about as good as modern stereo tracks come. The Wolf House relies on sound effects above all else and every grunt, growl, crinkle, crackle, snap and nauseating squelch is present and accounted for, delivered with terrific fidelity. LFE output and rear speaker support would have, of course, made The Wolf House even more immersive, but the mix we get honors the filmmakers' intentions extremely well nonetheless.

The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Three short films are included: "Weathervene" by Joaquin Cocina, "Der Kleinere Raum (The Smaller Room)" by Cristobal Leon and Nina Wehrle, and "La Bruja y El Amante (The Witch and the Lover)" by Cocina and Leon. Each one -- the first two are 3 minutes in length, the third is 21 minutes -- is presented in 1080p with a lossy Dolby Digital stereo mix.

The Wolf House Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I love The Wolf House. I'm also not sure I ever want to watch it again. But just because something is difficult to process or receive doesn't mean we shouldn't return to it and reap its rewards. Thankfully the film's Blu-ray release makes the return trip oh so easy with a striking video transfer and a strong DTS-HD Master Audio mix. More special features would've been nice (especially some providing insight into the making of the film) but the shorts we get are a nice touch. This one comes highly recommended.