Brotherhood of the Wolf Movie Review!

Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups) encompasses everything that I love in a movie in one convenient little package. It is a period based drama, mystery/thriller, action and horror film all rolled into one. This remarkable French film was released in the United States through Universal Pictures in 2001. The Director’s Cut is available (and recommended by me) and the dubbed version is well done for those who do not like to watch subtitled movies.

Loosely based on the legend of the Beast of Gévaudan that terrorized the province of Gévaudan from 1764 to 1767, Brotherhood of the Wolf follows the Chevalier de Fronsac and his friend Mani as they investigate the killings and attempt to track down the beast. From the moment this movie begins it grabs you and does not let go until the climatic ending. What makes this film even better, is that it is also good for multiple viewings (i.e. even though you may know the eventual outcome of the film the movie is so well filmed that you will want to see it over and over again).

Samuel Le Bihan stars as Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and royal taxidermist to King Louis XV of France and Mark Dacascos costars as Fronsac’s friend Mani, an Iroquois Indian. Together the two investigate the brutal attacks by the beast and uncover something more sinister is at work within the province.

For this review I do not want to go too far into the events of the film because for any good mystery it is best not to know too much before watching it. I don’t want to inadvertently give away any spoilers. I will say that if you like martial arts action sequences, you will like this film. If you like period based dramas, you will like this film. If you like romance with your mysteries…you will like this movie. And if you like a little horror to mix it all around then you will like this movie. Many people I have recommended this film to have never heard of it. I hope that if you haven’t seen this movie yet that you will track down a copy to watch. I don’t think you will be disappointed.