Throw a Wolf a Bone
Businessman Stark (Robert Picardo) will stop at nothing to drill on land which once belonged to the Native Americans and when his team unearth what appears to be an ancient artefact he orders them to destroy it. With Chief Turner (Steve Reevis), one of the last Native Americans in the area, putting his foot down Stark calls in hot shot city lawyer Maria (Leonor Varela) to represent him and who just happens to be the daughter of the town's Sheriff (Marc Macaulay) which brings her back in to touch with former boyfriend Yale (Jason London). But Stark's actions in ordering his men to destroy the ancient artefact has unleashed a spirit wolf into the area which no one knows how to deal with.
I would love to be a fly on the wall in a production office when they are coming up with new movies especially when it comes to made for TV horror movies as it almost feels like they have a cup full of dice with the numbers referring to cliches. So if the red dice is a 4 we have contractors trying to destroy an artefact they unearth so it doesn't prevent the building they are working on. And if the blue dice is a 2 we have a woman returning to her hometown and coming face to face with her ex. I could go on because there are a whole box of cliches you find in these movies and "Monsterwolf" is no means any different with ancient Native American artefacts, a vengeful spirit wolf, a hot shot lawyer and her red neck former boyfriend, it is simply a movie built around these cliches.
But this is where "Monsterwolf" splits me because if I had sat down to watch it wanting to be entertained by some horror be it shocks or gore I would be completely disappointed as it comes up short on what I call horror. It also comes up short on originality, decent dialogue and good acting with what there is being typical of this sort of made for TV horror movie. Yet they make these movies for a reason as some, including me, enjoy not only the ease of watching due to their familiarity but also enjoy the fact they are bad movies which if you are in the right mood will make you smile and groan due to their lack of depth.
The thing is that "Monsterwolf" whilst a stereotypical made for TV horror movie does one or two things reasonably well with the special effects surrounding this spirit wolf being better than most CG effects you see in this sort of movie. And whilst the entire movie sits on the bad side of the fence the actors seem to accept and acknowledge what they are making and so without turning it in to a spoof they have some fun with their performances, keeping it light and just the right amount of over the top.
What this all boils down to is that "Monsterwolf" is not for everyone as it is for all sense and purpose just another cliche riddled made for TV horror movie which doesn't really scare and more frequently makes you groan. But whilst unoriginal and often cheesy it is incredibly easy to watch which for some people is exactly what they are after rather than big scares and clever ideas.
