“Nature has a way of showing you who you really are.” It’s a simple truth, if a little on the nose for a survival horror film that pits people against nature with bloody consequences, but it’s still true. It’s also a fair way to describe director Adam MacDonald’s latest film, Out Come The Wolves: it’s a little on the nose, but it’s still true.
The story begins with a reunion. Kyle (Joris Jarsky) arrives at a cabin in the woods owned by Sophie (Missy Peregrym), his best friend since childhood, to meet her new boyfriend, Nolan (Damon Runyan). The next day, Kyle is to take Nolan Hunting as a way for them to get to know one another, but this evening, they share dinner and a few drinks, and tensions predictably flare. Kyle and Sophie are very familiar, Nolan is defensive, and nobody goes to bed happy.
While out on their hunting trip, the men are attacked by wolves, and Kyle flees, leading Sophie to charge out on her own to find the severely wounded Nolan.
It’s a simple setup. The animals are angry, and the people are… well, people. A lot can be mined from that, and the film mostly delivers. Kyle, you see, is a coward. If you couldn’t tell from the setup, he is in love with Sophie but has never had the guts to do anything about it. Sophie is a little oblivious to Kyle, but she’s easily the smartest and most capable of the three of them in the woods.
Nolan seems well-meaning -he’s a writer who is also looking to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to eating meat- but ultimately, a bit of an asshole. He gets a few small moments of crawling through the bush, but despite being the most wounded, he is the least tested of the three.
Jarsky has the most heavy lifting to do. Kyle is feeling many things on this trip, and Jarsky does a good job of making sure you can tell those emotions are swirling and then, later in the film, dealing with the fallout of his actions. Peregrym is also good if underused. She has the most satisfying standoff with the wolves, and her fury at the situation with Kyle feels sincere and relatable.
That she’s underused is the biggest fault in the film, though. The marketing would have you believe that the film is mostly her in the woods against wolves, but in actuality, there’s a much slower start. The film is only a few minutes longer than 90, and Peregrym doesn’t enter the woods until the second half. MacDonald seems interested in exploring this relationship drama, but the split focus between that and the actual interactions with the wolves means neither gets the full attention they perhaps require, and Peregrym -the best part of the movie- doesn’t get as much screen time as you will want her to have.
Still, there’s enough there in both to make for a good time at the movies, and if you’re a fan of people vs. nature then Out Come The Wolves does have a few great moments of carnage. If you’ve seen MacDonald’s previous film Backcountry, then you know what he’s capable of as a filmmaker, and while no scene goes quite as far as that one scene in Backcountry, there are many more of them here, and they’re all effective.
Again, that is the way to describe this movie. It’s a little on the nose, but it’s still true. It doesn’t reinvent anything or bring anything new to the genre, but it does some of the things it sets out to do well. Fans of this genre will be rewarded, and newcomers may find a gateway to something they love. In the meantime, everyone gets to watch a solidly made film.
Out Come the Wolves is now in select theaters.
Learn more about the movie, including how to buy tickets, at the official website.
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