Apparently Director-Writer Kevin James Barry’s “Wolfman” is a mock trailer/short film for what is a project currently in development. If that is a fact, I will eagerly be waiting for the feature length film with baited breath. “Wolfman” has shades of “V for Vendetta,” “Machete” and “Escape from New York,” and judging by what is presented, we’re in for a balls to the wall bit of neo-grindhouse action cinema that will blow the walls off.
In a near Dystopian future, California has been consumed by Nazism and has been conquered by the Reich. Now, a mysterious masked vigilante known as “Wolfman” begins an armed rebellion against the fascist overlords armed with a artillery of bombs and a lot of guns. “Wolfman” was shot on 2-perf 35mm film stock and really pops as a grindhouse throwback that threatens to become a banger of a cult classic.
From the outset I was hooked on this concept, delving in to a world where California is Nazi territory. James Barry’s titular avenger is a masked man in a menacing wolf mask who is in no short supply of machine guns and explosives. Kevin James Barry seems to be working on a small budget, but it’s tough to really tell as he successfully realizes this world in such a small time frame.
There’s a great back drop, a unique premise, a femme fatale, and an absolutely dynamic variety of characters that will either contribute to the Wolfman’s freedom fight, or make it so much tougher. I don’t know what Kevin James Barry has planned for the feature length story, but I hope there is a colorful array of villains, and some great bits of nazisploitation and throwbacks to John Carpenter. In either case, I had a blast with this sampling; “Wolfman” is a concept short teeming with potential for a genre masterpiece. I want in.
CINEJOY featuring CINEQUEST Artists is held from March 1st through March 12th.