SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF

"BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF"
(2001) (Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Minor	Extreme	None	Minor

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Minor	Mild	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Horror/Action: An 18th century scientist and his Iroquois companion travel to the French countryside to investigate reports of a terrible beast that's killing scores of people.

PLOT:

It's 1765 and a mysterious beast is killing scores of women and children in the Gevaudan region of France. Accordingly, and not satisfied with the unfruitful results produced by Capitaine Duhamel (ERIC PRAT) in finding and killing the creature, the King sends scientist Grégoire de Fronsac (SAMUEL LE BIHAN) and his taciturn Iroquois companion Mani (MARK DACASCOS) there to investigate the killings.

After questioning a recent survivor of such an attack, the two arrive at the estate of the Marquis d'Apcher (HANS MEYER) where they two meet his grandson, Thomas (JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER), who will assist them, as well as Jean-François de Morangias (VINCENT CASSEL), a one-armed aristocrat, and his ravishing sister Marianne (EMILIE DEQUENNE). Instantly attracted to her, Fronsac proves that even nobility can be fooled by a clever prank, a point that doesn't sit well with most of them.

After an unsuccessful hunt rounds up plenty of innocent wolves but no such beast, the men visit the local brothel where Fronsac meets the mysterious and alluring Sylvia (MONICA BELLUCCI), a seer of sorts who fulfills his psychic and physical needs.

As time passes and winter arrives with more killings, the King relieves Duhamel of his command and sends in his own lieutenant, Beauterne (JOHAN LEYSEN), to resolve the matter. Reduced to just a witness, Fronsac is forced into going along with the officer's solution to the beastly killings. Yet, he knows it won't work, and thus sets out with Mani and Thomas to find the deadly creature. With the local priest Henri Sardis (JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN) believing the two visitors to be up to no good, the trio ends up uncovering more than they bargained for as they discover the truth behind the attacks.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Fans of French films (or anyone in the cast) might, while older teens might be drawn in by some of the buzz that's been surrounding this film.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong violence and gore, and sexuality/nudity.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: SAMUEL LE BIHAN plays a rational scientist sent by the King to investigate the beastly killings. Resourceful and smart, he sets out to prove that ordinary wolves are not responsible for the attacks. He also has sex with a prostitute and drinks some.
MARK DACASCOS plays his trusted Iroquois companion who's proficient at martial arts (and thus fights various people) as well as Indian spiritualism and magic.
VINCENT CASSEL plays a wicked, one-armed aristocrat who's suspicious of the visitors, has incestuous longings for his sister and possibly rapes her.
EMILIE DEQUENNE plays his sister who enjoys Fronsac's attention paid to her and somewhat assists in his endeavors.
MONICA BELLUCCI plays a local prostitute and seer of sorts who provides psychic and sexual services to Fronsac.
JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; MARK DACASCOS plays his trusted Iroquois companion who's proficient at martial arts (and thus fights various people) as well as Indian spiritualism and magic.
VINCENT CASSEL plays a wicked, one-armed aristocrat who's suspicious of the visitors, has incestuous longings for his sister and possibly rapes her.
EMILIE DEQUENNE plays his sister who enjoys Fronsac's attention paid to her and somewhat assists in his endeavors.
MONICA BELLUCCI plays a local prostitute and seer of sorts who provides psychic and sexual services to Fronsac.
JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; VINCENT CASSEL plays a wicked, one-armed aristocrat who's suspicious of the visitors, has incestuous longings for his sister and possibly rapes her.
EMILIE DEQUENNE plays his sister who enjoys Fronsac's attention paid to her and somewhat assists in his endeavors.
MONICA BELLUCCI plays a local prostitute and seer of sorts who provides psychic and sexual services to Fronsac.
JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; EMILIE DEQUENNE plays his sister who enjoys Fronsac's attention paid to her and somewhat assists in his endeavors.
MONICA BELLUCCI plays a local prostitute and seer of sorts who provides psychic and sexual services to Fronsac.
JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; MONICA BELLUCCI plays a local prostitute and seer of sorts who provides psychic and sexual services to Fronsac.
JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; JÉRÉMIE RÉNIER plays the young son of an aristocrat who assists Fronsac and Mani with their task.
ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; ERIC PRAT plays the local Captain who's been unsuccessful at stopping or killing the deadly beast.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.; JEAN-FRANÇOIS STÉVENIN plays a local, corrupt priest.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated horror/action flick. Violence is listed as extreme due to the various beastly attacks on people (with bloody/gory results) and all of the people on people violence (where people fight or attack others, resulting in many injuries and deaths). Some of those incidents have bloody results as well, and those violent encounters (particularly with the beast) may be unsettling, suspenseful or downright scary to some viewers (particularly younger kids and those with low tolerance levels for horror, suspense and blood/gore).

Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, including one who has incestuous longings for his sister whom he may rape (off camera). Some of the men visit a brothel and engage in sexual relations with some of the prostitutes (with movement, sounds and nudity), while other nudity (full frontal as well as bare breasts and butts) also occurs.

Meanwhile, various characters drink and some occult/mystical-related behavior is present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific information regarding what's present in it.

For those concerned with flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs during a thunderstorm.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Thomas states that he'll have his usual glass of wine.
Various men drink, with Fronsac commenting that their locale might not be Versailles, but the wine's good.
Various people drink.
Various people have wine with dinner.
Some people in a crowd drink.
Various people, including Fronsac drink. We then see a person who appears to be drunk.
Various people drink.
Fronsac and a hooker have drinks.
Mani gives something to Thomas that he states will help him see things he normally can't. Whatever it is, however, causes Thomas to pass out.
Various characters drink during a celebration.

BLOOD/GORE: A woman pursued by the beast has blood all over her face and one hand. After the beast attacks her, she's even bloodier.
A man's head is bloody after some men beat him.
Some blood squirts out when Mani hits a man trying to attack him.
We see a dead and somewhat discolored body of a woman lying in some water. We then briefly see a large and bloody bite wound in the woman's torso.
We see some blood and guts falling out as some dead wolves are cleaned.
A prostitute licks blood from a knife after slicing Fronsac.
Various people approach an attack scene at night where they see a frozen body with some frozen blood around it (and a very bloody wound on the face).
We see some blood on a table and then even more come out of a dead wolf as Fronsac cuts it open with a blade (while we hear gory sounding sounds). We then see more blood running down the table and see blood on Fronsac's hands.
A person pulls a pitchfork from the beast's metal/fleshy hide.
Thomas' arm is bloody after the beast attacks him, while we see some blood on Mani's tomahawk.
There's some blood on the ground from the wounded creature.
During a fight, Mani cuts a man's arm off.
A body is very bloody, and we then later see someone washing off the wounds and the accompanying water is very bloody.
A person drives a spear through a man's body, with it coming out the other end with some blood.
We see a man's deformed and/or mangled arm that's rather gross looking, with long fingernails, etc.
Some people are bloody during a fight where we see a bloody scalp (after a person has been scalped).
A woman jabs another woman with something and some blood runs out.
A man slices another man's throat (with blood coming from the victim's mouth) and runs a knife through him (with some blood on the victor's face).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Some men who attack an older man and a woman have both (although they say the two owe them money).
Various characters refer to Mani - an Iroquois Indian - as a savage, and one asks if he can reproduce with a woman "of our race." Later, Marianne refers to him as a "redskin."
For those who have objections/concerns with the occult, a prostitute is something of a tarot card reader, while Mani performs some sort of Indian magic.
Beauterne briefly struggles with a chambermaid, trying to pull her into the bathtub with him, but she resists.
Those responsible for guiding and protecting the beast obviously have bad attitudes.
Beauterne forces Fronsac to lie about him having captured the dead beast and have him "dress up" a dead wolf to resemble the beast.
We see some people preparing for a dogfight of sorts.
Some viewers may not like a religious sect being used as villains in the picture.
Jean Francois confesses (to a priest) that he wants Marianne (his sister), and later stops by her place where he tries to kiss her body. It's implied that he eventually rapes her (or attempts to).

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may also be tense or unsettling for some viewers.
A bloody woman flees through the countryside, pursued by the beast that we don't see, eventually falling. She eventually finds herself at the edge of a cliff, hears something approaching her, and tries to climb away from it. The beast (that we don't see), then grabs and yanks her down, throttling her around and repeatedly slams her into the rocks, killing her (resulting in more blood).
Scenes where various men try to shoot ordinary wolves might be unsettling for those sensitive to violence against animals, as might one where dogs are pitted against the beast that attacks them in a staged dog fight of sorts.
Fronsac, Mani and Marianne hear various wolf noises around them in the woods at night.
Various people approach an attack scene at night where they see a frozen body with some frozen blood around it.
Fronsac sees the reflection of an evil-looking woman behind him rising above him with a large knife. She then stabs down into him, but it was just a nightmare.
We see a flashback to the beast attacking a young girl's brother. It's a large, spiked creature that's on top of the boy and it then chases after the girl who climbs up into a small cave with the creature right behind her that tries to get at her in the hole.
A woman goes down into a steep and muddy ravine (with a pond at the bottom) to retrieve a lost goat. She ends up in the pond (not realizing it was there) and she then hears sounds of the beast and tries to get out of the water, but can't. As her dog barks, she tries to make her way up a muddy embankment, but can't and falls back into the water. We then see reflection of the creature's opening jaws in her eye, and then we see a long shot of the creature attacking her in the water.
We see the creature behind Fronsac as he walks along, unaware of it being behind him.
As a man goes down to get some water, the beast follows him and we then hear all sorts of sounds of violence as we then see the man being slammed around everywhere, breaking things. The creature then comes up through the floor with Fronsac then trying to hit it with a pitchfork. As the beast knocks things around, Fronsac stabs into it with the pitchfork, but it knocks him aside as the house they're in falls apart. Marianne tries to get out, but is trapped and the creature - that's partially covered in metal -- nearly gets her, but is called off before doing so.
Fronsac, Mani and Thomas have a perilous encounter with the creature as they try to trap it. We hear the creature coming as Mani goes out as "bait" to lure it in. Mani then throws something that hits the beast, causing it to come at him. Fronsac then fires at it and they drop a cage onto it. It then breaks free, grabs Thomas by his arm and drags him away (he's let go but his arm is bloody) until Fronsac shoots it. The creature then comes at the others, with a large, spiked log swinging down and crashing into it. The beast then breaks through a fence and escapes.
Marianne holds a knife on Jean Francois (as he makes incestuous advances toward her), but he grabs her and tells her to do it. He then grabs her by the hair and throws her to the floor. It's then implied that he might rape her.
Fronsac sees all sorts of weird things, like skeletons in jars, while we hear all sorts of scream-like sounds on the soundtrack. As suspenseful music plays, he then goes down into a dark corridor, and the beast hits what he's walking on.
A pack of wolves chases after a man through the woods (and we then hear sounds of him being attacked).

GUNS/WEAPONS: Muskets/Poles/Knives/Tomahawks/Burning Arrows/Ax/Spear: Carried, used in practice, and/or used to wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details.
Knife: Used by a character to stab another in a nightmare and to kill a person in a real fight.
Crossbow: Used by Thomas while practicing (on pumpkins).

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases (in French with English subtitles): "Damned witch," "Bastards," "Whores" and "I'm damned."
All of the martial arts style fighting and other action may be enticing for some kids to imitate.
During a celebration of sorts, a woman dances and then ducks from various knives that are thrown at her.

JUMP SCENES: A few of the attack scenes may have moments that could startle some viewers.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 1 damn and 1 use of "Oh God" as exclamations (in French with English subtitles).

SEX/NUDITY: A woman shows some cleavage, as does Marianne.
We see a dead woman's bare breasts.
Two men grab a woman and she passionately kisses one of them.
A white man asks if Mani can reproduce with a woman "of our race," prompting the reply that all women are the same color when the candles are blown out.
We see women's bare breasts and butts in a brothel where a woman sits on the Marquis' lap and kisses him. Other women show cleavage, and one caresses the top of her breasts. Fronsac then spots Sylvia who shows cleavage and states that she's expensive.
We then see several women in bed with Fronsac, having sex with him. We see a woman on top of him with movement, sounds and views of her bare butt and pleasured facial expressions. She then pulls out a knife, stating he hasn't seen anything yet (we see the side of her bare butt as she's on top of him). She then holds a knife to his lips in a sexual manner before slicing him and stating that it's something for him to remember her by. We then briefly see her full frontal nudity.
We also see Mani in the brothel, waiting in bed.
We see a woman's bare butt and then her breasts.
Fronsac asks a hooker if she slept with some man.
We see a woman's bare breasts and much of her bare body.
Fronsac and Marianne kiss.
Mani wears something akin to a loincloth that shows a great deal of skin.
Jean Francois confesses (to a priest) that he wants Marianne, and later stops by her place where he tries to kiss her body. She then holds a knife on him (as he makes incestuous advances toward her), but he grabs her and tells her to do it. He then runs his body down along hers.
Sylvia suggestively asks Fronsac, "Shall we celebrate properly?"

SMOKING: Jean Francois smokes once.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Jean Francois has incestuous longings for Marianne and it's implied that he might rape her.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The historical accuracy of the story, setting and characters.
Whether such a beast did or could exist.
The French Revolution.

VIOLENCE: Several scenes show the bloody/gory results of some violent encounters that aren't seen.
A bloody woman flees through the countryside, pursued by the beast that we don't see, eventually falling. She eventually finds herself at the edge of a cliff, hears something approaching her, and tries to climb away from it. The beast (that we don't see), then grabs and yanks her down, throttling her around and repeatedly slams her into the rocks, killing her (resulting in more blood).
Some men confront a man and woman, hitting the man with a long pole. The men then repeatedly hit and kick this man (resulting in his head being bloody), and punch the woman. They stop, however, when Fronsac and Mani ride up. One man then comes at Mani with a pole who defends himself by kicking the man several times. The other men then surround and attack him, but he takes care of them via kicking and punching them, and hitting them with the pole (with some bloody results). As the man and woman leave, she kicks one of the assailants.
Two men pick a fight with Mani, resulting in lots of severe kicking and hitting (via martial arts moves). After he takes care of them, Mani then confronts two women who also know martial arts. More punching and kicking ensues, and some men then pull out large claw-like objects to attack Mani. He then takes care of them as well, except for one who Jean François shoots with a musket before he kills Mani.
A man rides along on horseback, shooting at wolves.
Jean Francois then shoots one, and we later see a large pile of dead wolves.
A prostitute licks blood from a knife after slicing Fronsac.
Fronsac sees the reflection of an evil-looking woman behind him rising above him with a large knife. She then stabs down into him, but it was just a nightmare.
Beauterne briefly struggles with a chambermaid, trying to pull her into the bathtub with him, but she resists.
We see a flashback to the beast attacking a young girl's brother. It's a large, spiked creature that's on top of the boy and it then chases after the girl who climbs up into a small cave with the creature right behind her that tries to get at her in the hole.
We see a long shot of the beast attacking a woman.
As a man goes down to get some water, the beast follows him and we then hear all sorts of sounds of violence as we then see the man being slammed around everywhere, breaking things. The creature then comes up through the floor with Fronsac then trying to hit it with a pitchfork. As the beast knocks things around, Fronsac stabs into it with the pitchfork, but it knocks him aside as the house they're in falls apart. Marianne tries to get out, but is trapped and the creature - that's partially covered in metal -- nearly gets her, but is called off before doing so.
We see some people preparing for a dogfight of sorts, pitting dogs vs. the beast that attacks them (we don't see the impact).
Mani throws something that hits the beast, causing it to come at him. Fronsac then fires at it and they drop a cage onto it. It then breaks free, grabs Thomas by his arm and drags him away (he's let go but his arm is bloody) until Fronsac shoots it. The creature then comes at the others, with a large, spiked log swinging down and crashing into it. The beast then breaks through a fence and escapes.
All sorts of people surround Mani, with some of them sporting claw-like blades. They then try to attack him, but are struck with his tomahawk or kicks from his feet. While not particularly bloody at first, the fighting is very brutal. Mani then hacks a man's arm off, a person is stabbed and Mani is scratched on the back.
A person nearly hits someone, but is shot in the back. We then see various people toss his bloody body aside.
Fronsac fires burning arrows to catch a barn on fire. He then fires one into a man's forehead, and another into another man's chest.
Fronsac kicks open a door, kicks someone, throws another person over some stairs and then slits one's throat. He then fights another man that he slams down onto the floor and bangs another between walls before kicking him quite hard. He then fights others, including stabbing some people, and throws a knife that goes into the back of another person's head. He then strikes a woman.
A person tries to hit Fronsac with an ax, but he throws a spear of sorts into his gut and drives him back.
A person hits Fronsac on the head, knocking him out.
A man apparently dies from eating bad or poisoned food, but we later learn that's not exactly the case.
Marianne holds a knife on Jean Francois (as he makes incestuous advances toward her), but he grabs her and tells her to do it. He then grabs her by the hair and throws her to the floor. It's then implied that he might rape her.
A person shoots at another person.
Fronsac fights various people with swords, hitting, kicking and stabbing them (wounding and/or killing many). He also slits one person's throat and scalps another. Various men then open fire on the scene, with many people being hit.
A woman jabs another woman with something and some blood runs out.
Two men battle, sword vs. pole and sword vs. sword with punching and kicking also thrown into the mix.
A man slices another man's throat (with blood coming from the victim's mouth) and runs a knife through him (with some blood on the victor's face). A woman then jabs something down into the victim to make sure he's dead.
A sick animal is shot to death.

Reviewed November 15, 2001 / Posted January 11, 2002

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