October Literary Moods

 

October Literary Moods 

by Kristin Battestella

These memoirs, biographies, and literary adaptations range from delightfully macabre and witty mysteries to gossipy yarns. Here's what to read or skip this autumn.

Must Read

Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson – The Queen of Halloween's 2021 tell all book made headlines for Peterson's coming out upon its release. However, that's only one late chapter revelation in a fascinating life of highs and lows. Scarring childhood injuries and an abusive relationship with her mother led to escapism in the family's costume shop before cruising the early groupie music scene. Despite a few early film appearances, traveling to Italy to sing in a band leaves Peterson ill and destitute until returning to California has her starring in The Groundlings and living in a tree house with a Tarzan-like boyfriend. Her subsequent marriage, haunted house, and struggles with infertility are told alongside the creation of Elvira – with shrewd business deals, appearances, endorsements, and merchandise retaining Peterson's control of the character. Satanic panic backlashes, conservative fears over her cleavage, and canceled television pilots often meant struggling financially. Thanks to her provocative image, outspoken attitude, and unwillingness to compromise character or convictions, Peterson bankrolled her own films – continuing to appear as Elvira during difficult pregnancies and her divorce. There is an entire chapter dedicated to several sexual assaults of varying degrees in an extremely telling commentary on how our society treats a confident woman. In some ways, Peterson's current lesbian relationship – kept hidden for decades for fear of alienating audiences who only cared about her buxom image – is the least interesting aspect about her life. A supportive friendship blossomed into romance, written as a lovely, natural occurrence topping off an entertaining read. This both reads like the way Peterson talks but is also a chronologically laid out and well written, emotional journey of a woman finally at ease in her own skin. Although I had to avoid leaving this book lying around for my curious niece to find thanks to the topless showgirl photos!

A Fun Adaptation

The Mirror Crack'd – Murder She Wrote meets Miss Marple as Angela Lansbury leads this star studded 1980 Agatha Christie adaptation from director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger). Classy silver screen panache, cigarettes, and scandalous revelations provide a fun awareness to the genre as viewers debate the whodunit clues, motives, and left hand versus right hand weaponry. A new Hollywood production is coming to the quaint English countryside, mixing village airs and graces with swanky jazz, vintage autos, nostalgic reels, and retro cameras. The hats and pearls are a flutter over the dalliances, backhanded insults, and catty attitudes as our jealous actresses trade plastic surgery barbs at the film party. This may be a little slow in setting the scene with who is who, but the film within a film rivalries and temperamental tension lead to murder. Flashbulb pops help the maids revisit the scene of the crime and a suspect daiquiri as Marple weasels the details from the town doctor. Poison, heart attacks, and Tennyson references move quickly once we're on set with Elizabeth I versus Mary Queen of Scots calling each other bitches. Seductive actress Kim Novak (Bell, Book, and Candle) is married to producer Tony Curtis (Some Like It Hot) and will get her way, but director Rock Hudson's (Giant) comeback wife Elizabeth Taylor (Night Watch) expects to win all the awards. Both leading ladies want to change history to benefit their onscreen queen, but which was the intended victim and who had the fatal opportunity? Threatening letters and harassing phone calls escalate the behind the scenes facades and period piece costume checks while our divas – “10 years ago, when I was 16...” – layer the Hollywood commentary, backstory, and trivial British deduction. Everybody in Hollywood is “intimate” but arsenic in the tea, switched medicines, and acid begat more deaths. The show must go on despite the Gene Tierney inspirations, and although the zany movie making and droll meddling are somewhat uneven in the end, the performances with performances remain entertaining. I want the clothes and one can totally see how Murder She Wrote was born here.

Better Bios Available

Montgomery Clift: A Biography by Michelangelo Capua – The format of this 2002 ode to the October 17 birthday boy is odd, with a gossipy, anecdotal tone rather than a factual recounting. Although there's nothing necessarily unusual about the footnotes being indexed in the back of the book rather than at the bottom of the page, the lack of immediate citations makes this reading hear tell frustrating. For all the book's complaints about Clift's overbearing, desperate to be well to do mother Sunny, this also reads very much like that kind of tut tutting old lady. Who said what and when quotes are treated as scandalous nuggets whispered over tea, with truth or origin unimportant compared to the trite, down low gay torment tack. Some early theater material and photographs may be new, but the author's voice is increasingly loose, as if he knew Clift's inner thoughts when most of the information is borrowed from other sources with unclear references. Whether Clift was throupled with his married friends is passed off as confirmed – continually falling back on Clift's tawdry sexuality and ill health while describing his trips to exotic islands with Hispanic men claimed to be his favorite. When not worried about which rich woman hopelessly in love with him was influencing him on set, this repeatedly recalls Clift's drunken antics, embarrassing dinner party routines, or his running through the streets naked. This is a short read with the appendices padding the page number so it maybe an easier introduction to Clift for classic movie newcomers. However, compared to older, longer biographies, this is completely superficial with an eye-rolling Hollywood Babylon pitch. New information about the behind the scenes of Clift's films is far too few and far between the garish here.

Now Reading: I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This by Bob Newhart

For more movies meets literary analysis, listen to several Women InSession Book to Film episodes including:

Othello

Hamlet

Female Writers Onscreen

Frankenstein

A Christmas Carol

Mid Century Mystery and Thrillers!

Mid Century Mysteries, Macabre, and Mayhem

By Kristin Battestella

From big sci-fi horrors and mental scares to quiet Victorian fair and murder, classic film stars of the fifties and sixties knew how to spot these quality, good, old-fashioned, noir-infused mysteries and thrillers. 

The Hitch-Hiker – Actress turned director and co-writer Ida Lupino (High Sierra, Outrage) sets the bar with this ominous, black and white 70 minute road trip noir from 1953. From the foreboding “this could be you” opening warning and the faceless what you don’t see start to public paranoia and international investigations hot in pursuit, William Talman (Perry Mason), Edmond O’Brien (The Barefoot Contessa), and Frank Lovejoy (House of Wax) keep the suspense heavy. Everything from getting gas to stopping for groceries becomes intense here!  Ominous scoring, period music, stylized shadows and light, and Spanish flavors accent the peril while cool cars, gunplay, and desert locales keep this carjacking dangerous. The vehicular footage is anxious too thanks to nice interior filming and claustrophobic camerawork. Speedy roadwork and more close calls keep the viewer wondering when and how this all comes to a head. Though the end is a little rushed, the tension is entertaining in getting there. Sure, some may find the early fifties look dated, but this one feels quite modern actually, with desperation and intensity to spare. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Kevin McCarthy (Death of a Salesman), Dana Wynter (D-Day the Sixth of June), and Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family) star in this 1956 science fiction fright fest full of interpretive allegories, scary great scoring, precious little special effects, and a simply stunning mood. Director Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) and author Jack Finney’s visions are tamed a touch thanks to the flashback frame, but the slow build of askew and helplessness creates the perfect mix of noir and what you don’t see paranoia. Where would you go and what would you do if alien pod people invaded your town? The natural fears escalate into desperation as friends and neighbors become the people you can’t trust. Nothing around you is what it seems, the clock is ticking, and there is nowhere to turn. Crooked camera views and angled perspectives accentuate the simplistic, seemingly innocent events as they turn into a frenzied chase, mass hysteria, and can’t fall asleep panic. The whiff of love story and focus on humanity before the science fiction and effects works surprisingly well against the erratic loss of emotion threatening our couple, too. Despite the sweet frocks, cool cars, classy drinking, and those slide across bucket seats, the fifties trappings may be too over the top for some of today’s viewers accustomed to more stylized variations on the theme. The 1978 remake is for those audiences, but this original remains a must see, taught thriller from start to finish. 

Man in the Attic – Jack Palance (Shane, City Slickers, and most importantly, Ripley’s Believe it or Not) stars in this black and white 1953 remake based upon the oft-adapted Jack the Ripper novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes. While the fifties meets Victorian Ripper colloquialisms and trite accents are tough to start the 82 minutes, period fashions and décor add to the old world mystery atmosphere. The young and handsome Palance is, of course, slick as always – he looks slightly fifties in his suave suit, but not so American as to be unbelievable  in the role. Although we suspect him of Ripper relations just because he’s Jack Palance, to his credit, his nicely odd, antisocial, awkward, and wound up tenant Slade plays against our sinister expectations. The criminal pace, police investigations, and suspicions, however, mount accordingly with a tense score to match. Sadly, the Can Can and French style musical scenes are too dated, small scale, out of place, and simply not as interesting as the titular implications, and this gives the scenes away from Palance a slightly unpolished feeling. Thankfully, the clarified, easy to follow, step-by-step Ripper plot is well done – good screams, smart uses of shadows and light, and off screen killings lead into a pursuit finish for this nice little atmospheric thriller. 

The Phantom Fiend – Then again, this 1932 hour long talkie with Ivor Novello – star of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 silent version, too – is also from same Lowndes source and still worth a look. The print quality is poor and the fast, tough to hear dialogue can be confusing, yet it’s neat to see those classic phone operators, newspaper headlines, tilted hats, furs, and period dressings adding to the crimes. Though seemingly charming, there is something creepy and suspicion afoot as the body count rises for a screaming finish. And did I mention there’s a 1944 adaptation just called The Lodger as well? Whew!

Please Murder Me – This 1956 black and white 75-minute noir starring future television crime solvers Angela Lansbury (Murder She Wrote) and Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) mixes guns, affairs, and bribery. The courtroom doubts and debates up the ante, too, and for love or money motives accentuate the crimes. Though stylized shadows and dark, up close photography add to the mood and suspense, the picture is too dark in some spots. The more telling than showing start is also a little slow, but great one on one scenes with fun soap opera drama and dialogue keep up the tension in all the right places. Lightning, hefty scoring, and black cats are tossed in for good measure as the titular actions hit, too. Some of the deduction and legalese may be too simplistic for today’s trial savvy audiences, yet other unforeseen twists and the novelty of seeing the stars in such early performances more than makes up the difference.

The Psychopath – I caught this 1966 Amicus toy creeper and murder mystery from director Freddie Francis (Evil of Frankenstein) and writer Robert Bloch (Psycho) late one night on Turner Classic Movies, and the sinister little dolls at the scenes of the crimes are very effective. Likewise, Inspector Patrick Wymark (The Plane Makers, The Power Game) is affable in his deduction – even if the investigation techniques are perhaps straightforward or obvious compared to the intricate plots tempting today’s criminology wise viewer. There’s a fine, international feeling to the intriguing suspects as well. Each has interesting accents, quirky vibes, snotty airs, suspicions, motives, and secrets. Nutty old lady Margaret Johnston (Portrait of Clare) adds to the macabre with her creepy doll collection, and the old school Victorian feelings and décor accent the then-contemporary classy, swanky sixties looks. There’s room for humor, too, thanks to the sardonic autopsies on the doll victims, and a hint of skin and sauce balances the suspenseful killings. The eerie sounds, music, and silence keep the pace steady for the full 83 minutes as the crimes escalate towards a memorable topper. Sure, there’s a plot hole or two, but there’s also room for some guesses, twists, and good old-fashioned mystery. 

Classic Men's Nostalgia

Classic Nostalgia for Men

By Kristin Battestella

The teakettle is whistling, meatloaf is in the oven, a fresh apple pie is on the windowsill, and the records are playing! What’s a working man to do but light his cigar, pour his scotch on the rocks, and sit down in front of the boob tube to enjoy these masculine classics?

Mister Roberts – This totally classy World War II naval comedy-drama boasts the eponymous always trying for a transfer Henry Fonda, a wonderfully cranky captain James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy) and his palm tree, and the Oscar winning ne’er do well Jack Lemmon (Some Like It Hot) as morale officer Ensign Pulver.  But let’s not stop there, director John Ford (How Green Was My Valley) -with much needed help from Mervyn LeRoy (Gypsy) and writer Joshua Logan (Bus Stop) - also enlists William Powell (The Thin Man) in his final movie, Ward Bond (It’s A Wonderful Life), Phil Carey (One Life to Live), Ken Curtis (Gunsmoke), Harry Carey, Jr. (Red River), and Patrick Wayne (The Searchers). Whew! The endearing wartime highs and lows, witty characters, shore leave humor, and perfect irony excel beautifully. Though largely stage-like in its ship bound locale, the interiors are bright and colorful, and the oceanic exterior photography and Polynesian flavors top it all off.  This is my favorite Fonda film, and for my money, his best work- and I know that is saying something of the Best Actor winner for On Golden Pond who lost for the likes of The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men.  A must see, indeed.

Prince of Foxes - I confess, I think I was expecting Bette Davis and Little Foxes instead of this 1949 black and white swashbuckler from director Henry King (The Song of Bernadette) - though my husband recognized the renaissance players in the description thanks to Assassin’s Creed.  Except for The Mark of Zorro and The Long Gray Line, I’ve never been a fan Tyrone Power. He always comes across as too flaky or droopy eyed for me, trying for pretty rather than actually acting. His romancey scenes slow down the entire picture, and the lacking leading lady Wanda Hendrix (ex of Audie Murphy) just isn’t as magical as other ladies of the day or onscreen pairings like Flynn and de Havilland. Fortunately, Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) - though an un-ethnic cast choice- has the Borgia weight needed to keep the espionage entertaining.  The real Italian locations are also so, so sweet; the great rousing score, fun DVD features, and awesome costuming are a delight as well. Of course, Technicolor would have been divine, but this is worth the look for fans of the cast and classic or historical Italian film buffs.

Sergeant Rutledge – John Ford (Every classic film male really must know who he is.) directs the simply excellent actor and athlete Woody Strode (Spartacus) in this unique 1960 courtroom drama/western. Despite being the second male lead and true star here, Strode received fourth billing as the titular Buffalo Soldier on trial for the rape and murder of a white girl. His defending lieutenant Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers) is a little too good guy to be ruthless, but his defense presentation and cavalry action are solid nonetheless.  The case wonderfully unfolds in flashbacks, adding layers of building evidence and western action alternating with suspenseful crime and mystery.  Some of the nighttime Arizona wilds and isolations scenes are even a little scary.  Unfortunately, the racial drama is both groundbreaking and yet of its time and the period portrayed. Prosecutor Carleton Young (From Here to Eternity) makes numerous backhanded color comments, and nearly everyone mentions the ‘novelty’ of colored regiments.  The court spectators are supposed to be so proper, highbred, and perfectly mannered; yet they must warn the eventual victim to stay away from shirtless, scandalous Rutledge and mock the Buffalo Soldiers’ lack of knowledge and presumed incompetence.  The shocking court charges can’t be read aloud in front of decent folk, and the symbolically white gloved fingers are always pointing at Rutledge. Some of the dialogue for the Buffalo Soldiers is also too stereotypical, but thankfully, the John Ford Stock Company casting is delightful. Sure, those stuffy women are a bit hysterical, but such brevity is needed amid the hefty subjects. Though the sets themselves are a little bare, the Spartan style adds to the dark transitions and stage like telling of the testimonies, and the Monument Valley locations are lovely, too. This is a beautiful and powerful film for western fans, law studies, and racial historians.

The Three Musketeers – Gene Kelly (Singing in the Rain), Lana Turner (Imitation of Life), Vincent Price (House of Usher), June Allyson (The Glenn Miller Story), Van Helfin (Shane), and Angela Lansbury (Murder She Wrote) bring this 1948 Dumas adaptation to life with style, lively action, fun sets, and solid battles. Yes, the costumes and décor are uniquely mid century- not exactly period but strangely fitting and good looking despite some garish color.  The obviously timed music is also of its day- both annoying and endearing just like Gene Kelly’s goofy humor.  The attempts at accents and true French panache are off, too.  However, this D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Armis were the spectacle of their day, with no insane or ridiculously unrealistic stunts or CGI needed.  Younger spoiled audiences may very well prefer the new 3D (ugh) adaptation or the fun 1993 Disney version, and adults who didn’t grow up watching this witty Kelly or juicy Price may have grown out of the joy here indeed.  For those who fondly remember this swashbuckler of their youth, however, the nostalgia and family faire is still delightful.  

Gothic, Classic Horror

More Gothic Classics

By Kristin Battestella

Sometimes the sex, gore, and violence of the modern slasher pictures isn’t enough. To find the twisted, macabre, sinful lessonry needed along with a good scare or two, I find myself revisiting the classics once again. Here’s a list of demented thrillers full of vile characters, spooky imagery, and twisted tales.

Dracula (1931) – Even if you haven’t seen this early monster classic, our collective consciousness knows Bela Lugosi’s iconic portrayal of the titular count from Transylvania. Beyond the cape and the widow’s peak, modern viewers can still find delightfully naughty performances, spooky smoke and mirrors filmmaking, and screaming ladies with lovely necks.

Rebecca – Alfred Hitchcock directs Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in this Best Picture adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel. As in the literary edition, the new Mr. and Mrs. DeWinter can’t seem to shake the ghostly specter of the late Rebecca-or Judith Anderson as Rebecca’s dearly devoted and obsessively terrifying maid Mrs. Danvers.

Suspicion – Cary Grant’s new wife Joan Fontaine is afraid he’s going to kill her. While Fontaine may have won the Best Actress Oscar here as the fearful and suspicious wife, its Grant’s restrained and equally suspicious husband that captures every scene. Hitchcock’s analysis of suggestion is beautifully portrayed in every nefarious comment and deceptive gesture, and Suspicion keeps us guessing until the very end.

Bluebeard (1944) – Some of the music and the overlong puppetry fun is dated, but John Carradine’s disturbing portrayal of a guilt-ridden artist who strangles his female followers is still, well, disturbing. The styling is old, yes, but the claustrophobic filming angles keep the audience uncomfortably and closely involved in the mayhem.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) – Sure, not everyone can take Angela Lansbury’s singing, but there’s much more to this fine adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s most famous tale. George Sanders’ louse is delightfully trumped by Hurd Hatfield’s titular descent. This Jekyll and Hyde notion of the portrait displaying Dorian’s evils while he remains ever young is a fantastic possibility we shouldn’t soon forget.

Spellbound – Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck mix mystery, romance, nut houses, and psychoanalysis in this Hitchcock thriller questioning dreams and memory. Is Peck the killer? Can Bergman heal his mind before she’s the next victim? Exceptional performances by the leads, tight direction by Hitchcock, and a great mystery keeps this picture viewable-even after you know how it ends.

The Strange Woman – Samson and Delilah goddess Hedy Lamarr turns up the devilry as a northern Scarlett O’Hara willing to do anything to keep her beauty, wealth, and power-even if it includes killing a few husbands and seducing her stepson. Perhaps tame by today’s standards, it’s a treat to take in this scandalous black widow from a post World War II mentality.

Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte – We adore Joan’s sister as the bittersweet Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, but Olivia de Havilland is deceptive and cruel towards Bette Davis’ murderously maniacal old Charlotte. The atmospheric Southern charm, scene-stealing performances from each Oscar winning lady, and the plot at hand keeps you on the edge until the end. The titular song will also get stuck in your head.

I know not all audiences today can appreciate the old-fashioned filming styles, over the top performances, or even black and white photography. Nevertheless, some classics are classics for a reason; and there are plenty more of them to scare, delight, and set the spooky mood for a cold autumn evening.

The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves Still Creepy and Alluring

By Kristin Battestella

I vaguely remember seeing 1984’s The Company of Wolves cut up as a kid. Deemed too sexual and kinky back in the day, this quiet little dark fantasy has survived with weird tales, slinky werewolves, and fine storytelling.

In her dreams, Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) lives a harrowing story of charm and fear. Her sister (Georgia Slowe) is killed by wolves, so her parents (David Warner and Tuss Silberg) send Rosaleen to live with her Granny (Angela Lansbury). Granny tells Rosaleen tales and warns her to beware of ‘wolves on the inside’ and traveling men-especially ones with bushy, connecting eyebrows. A boy (Shane Johnstone) in the village tries to charm Rosaleen as wolf attacks on the town rise. Unfortunately, on a return visit to Granny’s house, a Huntsman (Micha Bergese) charms Rosaleen. He bets he can make it to Granny’s house before her-and if he wins, Rosaleen must ‘give him a kiss’.

Understandably, The Company of Wolves might be too confusing for some. Its dream frame and story within a story packs an awful lot and can lose the not careful viewer. In some ways, however, the multiple characters and jumping from event to event add to the dream like, bizarre feelings Oscar winning director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with a Vampire) is trying to create. It’s sexy, fun, weird- symbolic in some places yet all in good fun in others. The anachronistic nature of The Company of Wolves also aides the story in blurring the lines of dreams and reality- some of the storytelling gives us a break from Red Riding Hood stylings in favor of other creepy and ironic wolf tales. A woman’s husband disappears on their wedding night, only to return years later as a wolf; a jilted pregnant woman curses a wedding party and turns them into dogs; even the devil makes an appearance in a Rolls Royce to tempt us into beastly ways.

Writer Angela Carter’s adaptation from her own short story is to say simply, a treatment on the classic Little Red Riding Hood. This film, however, is so much more. Though it looks like a Saturday Morning story time in some places, The Company of Wolves is mature and dark. The sexual and womanly innuendos suggested by the Little Red Riding Hood tale are all here; from wolves and their ‘call of nature’ to Rosaleen’s first discovery of a mirror, lipstick, and eggs that hatch into baby dolls. Is Little Red Riding Hood merely a tale warning one not to talk to strangers or stray from the trusted and safe path- or is it a darker analysis of the predatory nature of man’s carnal desires for girls as they menstruate and grow into womanhood? The Company of Wolves critiques both views and delivers a kinky, satisfying blend of alluring werewolf men along with shuddering beastly horror. The ages of the cast also lend a pedophile bend on some scenes, and though everyone mocks Granny and her ‘old wives tales’- it turns out some of her methods are the word of the wise.

Murder She Wrote queen Angela Lansbury is a delight as the loveable and not so misguided old kook Granny. She’s suspicious, yes, and her outlandish stories are meant to warn as well as frighten, but she also has Rosaleen’s best interests at heart. Her delicate, porcelain style is perfect against her strong and feisty words. Lansbury’s voice and mannerisms create the perfect and wise little old lady. Perhaps she had her choice of roles, and one might wonder why the wholesome Jessica Fletcher would choose The Company of Wolves. It may be a departure for Lansbury, and her role is a little creepy but nonetheless charming.

Sarah Patterson (Snow White) is also a pleasant surprise as Rosaleen. She’s seems to have done little else, which is a bit of a shame. Her unknown status, however, helps in her portrayal of Rosaleen. She is this girl one hundred percent, but she can be any young daughter, sister, or friend. Patterson looks older than she is here, but still young enough for all this budding sexuality to be too creepy. When Rosaleen comments ‘What big teeth you have!’ it might be the best part of the film. David Warner (Titanic) and Tuss Silberg (The New Adventures of Robin Hood) combine for Rosaleen’s equally ambiguous parents. There’s something kinky about this sexually active couple, yet they are also fine, understand parents at this confusing time for Rosaleen.

Micha Bergese (Zina) doesn’t appear as the Huntsman until the final half hour, but his wolf in disguise is the nastiest, creepiest, sexiest, and most frightening werewolf since Quentin Collins. We know him when we seem him, but we can’t help but be charmed by him along with Rosaleen. He’s a little older than Sarah Patterson, adding to that statutory feeling. Likewise on the creepy are brief appearances by another Jordan favorite Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, The End of the Affair) as a jilted wolf, Terrence Stamp (Smallville, The Phantom Menace) as the Devil, and singer Danielle Dax as a naked she wolf.

Classical music, fine costumes, and scary eyes go a long way in The Company of Wolves. The toys and stage like village sets are a little weak, but also atmospheric. It looks like an old time, scary show. This is all just a dream and people at play-or is it? The Company of Wolves is dark, but you can see everything amid the moonlight effects. Though made to look scary and creepy-eyed, many of the wolves in The Company of Wolves are obviously nothing more than decked out dogs. Some of slow motion wolf odes and running pack sequences are a little hokey and humorous, too. Yes this was a low budget eighties production, but The Company of Wolves trumps any bad effects with ethereal charm and a fine story.

The DVD doesn’t appear to have subtitles or little else beyond the film itself, and The Company of Wolves will look dated and on the cheap now to some audiences. Fans looking for all cool effects ala Underworld are not going to find it here. Others may find its sympathic wolf views a bit too weird, but lycanthrope-files will enjoy this picture time and again. Though styled as a Little Red Riding Hood tale, The Company of Wolves is not for kids or prudes. There’s a touch of R sex and nudity, and the overall sensual styles and budding sexual euphemisms are a bit too much for sensitive audiences. Scary and cool, The Company of Wolves is for anyone who’s ever wanted a mature, stylized, and intelligent take on the Big Bad Wolf. Sink those teeth into The Company of Wolves tonight.