Adam MacDonald’s Out Come the Wolves bears a striking resemblance to his vicious wilderness horror debut Backcountry. That’s not a negative — MacDonald tore our nerves to shreds with his man-eating black bear nightmare. Out Come the Wolves opts for what’s in the title, gnashing at our throats like similar thrillers The Pack or The Grey. It’s not as composed as Backcountry and reads as redundantly familiar in parts, but animalistic brutality still prevails. MacDonald’s turning his fearful respect of the animal kingdom into a filmmaking signature, even if Out Come the Wolves is a step backward.
Missy Peregrym reunites with MacDonald to star as Sophie, a former outdoorswoman gone vegan who just got engaged to preppy journalist Nolan (Damon Runyan). Her soon-to-be hubby’s latest assignment explores humankind’s relationship with food, specifically the killing of beasts for meat. Nolan’s committed to hunting his meal for an article focus so he can write about the primitive connection between slaughterer and prey. He won’t be taught or accompanied by Sophie, though — Sophie’s best friend since childhood, Kyle (Joris Jarsky), completes their third wheel.
There’s something about MacDonald and love triangles, a holdover theme from Backcountry. Although, it’s a little more overt in Enuka Okuma’s screenplay for Out Come the Wolves. Sophie refers to Kyle as her “brother,” but there’s a secret crush shadow about Kyle when he arrives solo, minus the girlfriend he previously mentioned. Nolan immediately asserts his dominance as Sophie’s alpha while he and Kyle sip expensive cognac, almost like he’s marking his territory, driving a tense wedge between the two men in Sophie’s life. It’s an optimal tension builder out the gate, yet lacks the establishment of organic distrust. Theirs is the cheaper, Easy Mac version of love triangle entrapment — stick to the basics and just add water.
It’s long enough before Kevin and Nolan four-wheel into the forest after Nolan exhibits his novice weapons training with arrows and ammunition. Out Come the Wolves then takes the Jaws approach to When Animals Attack!, sparingly calling upon its territorial canines. MacDonald savors the violence of razor-sharp teeth ripping back bleeding flesh in shorter bursts, as well as the discomfort that clouds judgment as Kyle’s “friendship” intentions become suspect. We’ve seen this standoff between those who have, and those who want — that’s the biggest issue with Out Come the Wolves. Kyle and Nolan are so obviously pitted against each other from the start, while Sophie excuses her touchy-feely closeness with Kyle as purely platonic, almost targeted at Nolan. Okuma’s screenplay and MacDonald’s direction overplay the Sophie-Nolan-Kyle connection, which is hardly the film’s excitement.
Out Come the Wolves might be lopsided, but crimson savagery is a headrush of terror. Animals act on behavioral instincts — it’s that same Backcountry flavor of food-chain dread. The multicolored pack of snarling predators proves why seasoned hunters respect their furry foes, as the camera zooms on squealing victims while they’re defenselessly chewed open. The silence is deafening as four-legged stalkers circle their next snack, and Peregrym once again displays tremendous resolve as a survivalist pushed to the physical brink. It’s “Man vs. Nature,” so animal lovers should also expect the wolves to take licks — just a warning. MacDonald doesn’t disappoint as a creature-feature director, especially when using beautiful “creatures” we could encounter by taking a wrong hiking turn (doggies are innocent).
MacDonald aims to contrast treacherous “wolf in sheep’s clothing” commentaries against actual, rip-your-guts-out wolves. He recalls the best parts of Backcountry — heart-racing attack scenes, one extremely gory glimpse, backwoods helplessness — and successfully reworks them into a spiritual sequel. What’s less impressive are character evolutions as Kyle and Nolan jockey for Sophie’s attention, an unstimulating examination of our weaknesses that are too plainly outlined. What you see is what you get in Out Come the Wolves, for better and worse. Intensity is not the film’s problem — but sustaining that intensity is a different story.
Movie Score: 3/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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