Skinwalkers (2007)

Tuesday, 19 February 2008 00:00

DVDs - Reviews

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Horror
Released: August 10th, 2007
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language

Director: Jim Isaac
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DVD Features
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16x9 widescreen version; 6.1 DTS-ES audio

5.1 Dolby Digital surround EX audio

English and Spanish subtitles; English closed captions

Making of Skinwalkers featurette

Huguenot Shootout Pre-Visualization Sequence

Large Screen Animatic
Large Screen Film Sequence
Isolated Animatic With Commentary by Producer Dennis Berardi
Digital FX Comparisons

Audio commentary with director Jim Isaac

Deleted scenes

Arriving
Cutting It Close
Nightmares Are Getting Worse
Worse Before It Gets Better
The Gun
Keep the Change Baby
Outdoor Meal
You Smell the Same

Theatrical trailer

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Prophecies Will Be Fulfilled Under the Red Full Moon

Picture this, an Americana small town with just one teensy problem: the citizens are all werewolves. Believe it or not, the 'good' kind--if such thing is possible--inhabit the town, and all of them are overly protective of a 12 year old boy named Tim, (Matthew Knight) and his slightly perplexed mother, Rachel (Rhona Mitra). Tim is days away from his 13th birthday and something is happening to him...something that frightens his mother.

Turns out little Tim is a half-breed: his mother human, his deceased father a werewolf supposedly killed by the 'bad' werewolves before Tim was born. An ancient prophecy says that 'a half-breed will break the curse of the werewolves on his 13th birthday,' thus, the 'good' were-clan wishes to protect Tim, to lift their curse.

Now in contrast to our good werewolves in this small town, who tend to their crops and work at the general store, the bad werewolves sport Harley Davidson's, the latest leathers and nasty attitudes. The biggest differences between the packs, outside of their fashion sense, is that one clan only wish to co-exist with humans, while the other would rather eat them, including sweet little Tim before he turns 13. They learn where he is, and are coming for him, Harley's rumbling.

So, three bad guys in black, roar into town on their Hogs, looking for the little guy, and in what is possibly the best part of the movie, enter into an OK Corral-style shootout on Main Street with Tim's .44-packing Grandmother (Barbara Gordon). Along with some more gun-toting friends, they manage to escape in a war-ready step-van; but the eve of Tim's birthday is coming up fast, and in an abandoned factory their final battle decides the fate of werewolves everywhere.

Skinwalkers reflects the age-old story of good vs. bad; White hats vs. Black, so to speak. The movie has some of the same elements of movies like Underworld--mythical creatures doing one another in with firearms. The Creature effects were handled by the legendary Stan Winston Studios, (known for their work on movie critters like "Terminator", the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park", and my personal favorite, the beastie in "Aliens"). The makeup effects are well done with some CG work thrown-in.

I only had a couple of questions about Skinwalkers; I've seen a lot of Werewolf-type movies in my day, which is many moons long, but aren't werewolves a tad allergic to silver? That's what I thought, too. And yet the bad werewolves are sportin' some pretty cool silver jewelry in the film. And, unlike other flicks of its kind, they never do quite explain how the werewolves came to be. Their condition does not appear to be contagious, yet no new ones are created except through birth...

All in all, I found Skinwalkers to be pretty darn entertaining; fast-paced with some good special effects, and a worth-while rental.

So dim the lights and enjoy.

Overall Rating: 2 1/2

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