----LE PACTE DES LOUPS--- or-- --The Brotherhood of the Wolf--- or -------El Pacto de los Lobos---- ---title in French, English and Spanish, respectively)....IS (IMO) ONE OF THE MOST ORIGINAL MOVIES IN MODERN CINEMA!!!!!!!LE PACTE DES LOUPS is a very entertaining movie at the beginning and a film that invites a lot to reflection and afterthought in its middle and final parts. It also has very nice scenarios, both natural and man-made. It keeps us most of the time wondering about the outcome of the three parts that (IMO) constitute the central plot: the story of the characters, the story of the hunting of "The Beast of Gévaudan" and the history of La France and Europe as a whole during those years, corrupt monarchies and controlling church included.Scenography is very good and really makes us dream about the "époque" the film talks about, with all its good and bad (and sometimes very very bad) things. We also had some very decent scenes of action and an overall feeling of being experiencing things very close to they way they should have been in France during the seventeen hundred and something. An eclectic mix of drama, terror, eroticism, martial arts and both historical and detective novels that I found completely enjoyable, thrilling and satisfying!!!!!!!One of the most interesting things, I guess, is reading in the IMBb Trivia Facts about the real existence of a "Beast of Gévaudan" during the XVIII Century, same as most of the main characters depicted by the movie, even when we know that a lot of it'd have been novelized, knowing that virtually all the elements in the movie have at least some historical background is impressive, to say the least.Thanks for readingIMDb Review written by David del Real. México City. México. November 2017.

This modern French epic is a strange, definitely unique amalgamation of a number of different genres: set during the French Revolution, the storyline starts off as a classic horror yarn, with peasant girls being hunted down by an unseen beast (presumably a werewolf); then things move into a mystery-thriller with plenty of conspiracy and dark shadows; finally the film reveals itself to be an action-adventure, incorporating some very visceral and exciting elements of the classic revenge story into its design. There are also plenty of moments of drama and not a little romance thrown into the mixture. The result? Well, sometimes its muddled, sometimes it doesn't feel right and sometimes the whole thing gets a little bit silly, but for the most part this is an enthralling, thrilling film with a fresh feel and an unpredictable narrative. It's also one of the most surprising and entertaining films I've seen in a long time, lacking the predictability of most modern movies, sequels or otherwise.Director Christopher Gans is obviously an accomplished technician, taking care to deliver a film with a distinctive visual style. The colour palette is exaggerated yet beautiful in equal parts; for the best example, check the splendid red costumes of the French aristocracy in comparison to the subdued, dull gloom of the haunted woodlands. Atmosphere and suspense are strong throughout, and definite care is taken with the sound editing, whether it be the ceaseless patter of the driving rainfall or the heaving atmosphere of a noisy brothel. The horror or 'attack' sequences are artfully played out, coyly refusing to reveal the identity of the creature; but when at last it is shown, the special effects do not disappoint. Gans uses some graphic violence and bloodshed sparingly, adding to the impact, so although this is not a bloodbath, it is sometimes a fairly strong film in that respect.Unfortunately by necessity I watched the dubbed version of this film. It has to be said that the dubbing (by one or two English actors, seemingly) is fairly awful, reducing the effect, so the subtitled version is the one to go for if possible. The acting, as far as can be told, is strong, especially with Samuel Le Bihan's charismatic lead. A whole host of familiar French actors fill out the supporting parts, from Vincent Cassel's almost caricaturish turn as the one-armed de Morangais to Monica Bellucci as an alluring French prostitute. The only non-European actor is B-movie martial arts specialist Mark Dacascos, who undoubtedly gives us his best performance yet as the honourable Native American companion, Mani. Dacascos also takes centre place in the numerous martial arts sequences in this film, delivering a wide array of powerful kicks and bone-breaking punches. Gans goes a little overboard with the slow-motion in the fight sequences, but they can be genuinely electrifying, and get better and better as the film progresses until some moments literally drip with death-dealing power.BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF: a strange film, yes, with a myriad mixing of genres which can be a little confusing, or unrealistic in places. Yet the overall impression is one of a powerful, ambitious production, created with infinite care and technical skill; I recommend it to one and all, just to see the kind of cinema the French are capable of when they feel like it.

Really, where are the aliens? Aliens are the only ones missing from the movie. Almost everything else is present.This is a failure to copy the Hollywood action movie style. But from a french director. Why not stick to the original story and let out all the commercial crap while focusing on making something original? Because it had everything needed for this including a more than decent budget. More than this, I think the director wanted to make like 3 movies and in the end decided to put them together and voila: Le Pacte des Loups, a 2 hours and a half movie full of ... everything, martial arts, sex, ninja, wolves, history, fiction, mystery, drama tragedy and aliens. Ah, sorry, no aliens. As a conclusion, the movie is not that bad, I am just intrigued about how they destroyed the movie adding so much stupid and unnecessary things in it when they had the means to create something good or at least worth to watch for an adult.

To explain fully what goes on and why in Brotherhood of the Wolf I'd need 2,000 words, even then I'd just end up confusing things, suffice to say it's pretty intricate.The basics of the story though, are that a French "problem solver" and his Native American (ish) assistant venture to a region of France beset by an unknown but very vicious and hungry beastie who is killing the locals in gruesome fashion.The Frenchman is Mr Fronsac who is cool in quite a poncy way, and his Indian companion is Manny. Once they arrive and speak to the locals they find that this is far more than a wild beast with a tendency for human flesh, but something that may in fact be directed by an unknown organization hellbent on terrorizing the town.Even though it is set in the 17 or 18 hundreds here is a film that tries to defy genres, therefore we get hyped up fight scenes, horror elements and even a part animal part beast, all set with a sumptuous backdrop of French nobility and heaving cleavages. One of the more notable cleavages belongs to Monica Belucci, who in a genius moment of casting works in a local brothel and early on "shares her wares" with Fronsac.As mentioned the plot is labyrinthine as the filmmakers obviously want to continually throw the viewer off the trail, so we have many red herrings and characters brought in to confuse the issue and muddy the waters.Many characters are introduced during the first hour and a half, special mention must go to Vincent Cassell as the one armed Jean-Francios, who is ugly, creepy and compelling all at once for some reason.After some unsuccessful hunts with little success, Fronsac and co are told to step aside and let someone else handle it, he hangs around in any case determined to see the situation through, (and to keep plowing Belucci I'd wager).When the "beast" finally arrives it is reasonably impressive, though the quality of the CGI fluctuates at times, shortly afterwards the truth is exposed, and we learn the origins of the beats, who is behind it and why.The Brotherhood of the Wolf is heavily stylized and at times pretentious filmmaking, I daresay if the movie was made in English (and not French) with a similarly important tone it wouldn't be as well known.It is an interesting film, and amid the confusion and long-winded scenes there are some memorable moments, more than anything I give credit for at least attempting to make a period epic with so many influences and a blending of genres, even if they did ultimately overreach.Paring down some of the elements and cutting perhaps up to 40 minutes of running time would do a lot of favours for the film.Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. If subtitled, 2 ½ hour, genre-crossing French period pieces about half mechanical animals terrorizing a small town is your thing look no further! If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com