![]() | This article possibly contains original research .(September 2007) |
Skinwalkers | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | James Isaac |
Written by | James DeMonaco Todd Harthan James Roday |
Produced by | Dennis Berardi Don Carmody |
Starring | Jason Behr Elias Koteas Rhona Mitra Kim Coates Natassia Malthe Sarah Carter Lyriq Bent |
Cinematography | David A. Armstrong Adam Kane |
Edited by | Allan Lee |
Music by | Andrew Lockington |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Countries | United States Canada Germany [1] |
Language | English |
Box office | $3,269,736 [3] |
Skinwalkers is a 2006 action horror film. It was released in the United States by Lions Gate Entertainment and After Dark Films, and focuses on werewolves. Directed by James Isaac, it stars Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, and Tom Jackson. The film was originally announced for theatrical release on December 1, 2006, but was delayed until August 10, 2007.
Skinwalkers marks Lions Gate Entertainment's first collaboration with Constantin Film, which produced such other science fiction/horror films as Resident Evil and Wrong Turn . The visual effects are by effects house Mr. X, and the creature effects by Stan Winston Studio.
The film was shot at Century Manor in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To achieve a PG-13 rating, the production team cut several scenes containing graphic violence — the home media release is the uncut version of the film.
Two packs of werewolves, divided by principles, are signaled by the moon of the coming of an ancient prophecy. A young boy named Timothy approaches his 13th birthday, unaware this marks the time of his transformation. Timothy has been raised by his grandmother Nana, his mother Rachel, his uncle Jonas, his cousin Katherine and Katherine's boyfriend, Adam. His father is said to be dead.
Rachel and Timothy have been unaware that the rest of the family are "good" werewolves who have guarded Timothy and his secret since birth. They know that Timothy is a "half-blood" who is prophesied to end the curse. But they also know that Timothy's power will put him in danger, for there are other werewolves that revel and embrace their blood-lust and are bent on finding and killing the boy. Four of these werewolves are a motorcycle pack—leader Varek, and cohorts Zo, Sonya, and Grenier, who use a hawk as an airborne spy—who track down Timothy in the small town of Huguenot, precipitating the movie's extended chase.
Varek discovers the location of Timothy via a video tape which is shown to various "good" werewolves that he is alive and well. Reaching Huguenot, Varek saw Nana and Timothy and proceeds with a gunfight between his pack against the "good" werewolves and various townspeople. Adam's father is killed in the gunfight and Nana sacrifices herself to let Timothy and the others escape. Jonas explains the whole situation to both Rachel and Timothy and they are convinced after Jonas and others turn into werewolves at night.
The next day, Timothy faints and is sent to a nearby hospital. Varek's gang infiltrate the hospital and attack Timothy. Grenier is killed by Adam while Katherine is being held hostage by Varek. It is subsequently revealed that Varek was Caleb, Rachel's husband and Timothy's father, who was abducted and forcibly turned into Varek during an attack when Timothy was baby.
After escaping to a safe place, Adam goes off on his own and finds Katherine and brings her back. At sundown, Katherine was discovered to have been forced to feed on humans and kills Adam with his own gun. Just as Katherine is about to attack Timothy, Jonas manages to kill her with a gunshot in the back.
They manage to find their next safe place, with Rachel and Timothy hiding in a steel cage while Jonas sets out to ambush Varek, Zo & Sonya. Zo is killed after being trapped and being dropped down from a height. Sonya tries to attack Rachel and Timothy but is shot by Timothy. Rachel then proceeds to finish Sonya off. Varek then tries to kill Timothy but is stopped by Jonas. They get into a struggle and in a bid to win, Jonas feeds on Varek's arm and knocks Varek unconscious. Taken over by the blood frenzy, Jonas attempts to attack Timothy, but is shot to death by Rachel. Varek wakes up and bites Timothy but the clock chimes midnight. He is then struck by Rachel and knocked to the ground. As Rachel and Timothy approach him, they witness him transform back into Caleb, revealing that Timothy's blood is the cure. Shocked at first, Timothy and Rachel rushed to Caleb's side and the three share an emotional reunion.
Later three are shown traveling around administering the cure to those who want it, while using bullets filled with Timothy's blood on those who attack them. The film leaves off with Timothy saying, "For some I am salvation, for the others their destruction".
Lionsgate purchased the American distribution rights and international sales rights to Skinwalkers in 2005 and was selling international rights to the film at the Cannes Film Festival in all territories except Germany. [4] The film was scheduled for release in 2006. [4] The film premiered in Los Angeles and New York on 10 August 2007. [1]
The film was not widely released, appearing at its peak on 745 screens during the course of its 21⁄2 week run. The film grossed $553,520 on its opening weekend in the US and a total of slightly more than $1 million domestically. The film grossed $2.5 million worldwide.[ citation needed ]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 13% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Skinwalkers is an atrociously-acted project whose unoriginal and ineptly-staged action sequences remind viewers of far better werewolf and action movies." [5] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 33 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [6]
Skinwalkers had no advance screenings for critics, though Lionsgate did provide DVD screeners to those who asked. Maitland McDonagh of TVGuide.com noted that "the emphasis is more on conventional action than on man-to-wolf metamorphosis effects and the subsequent beastly mayhem," and said the movie was "briskly paced and features a couple of clever twists on genre conventions before getting bogged down". [7] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said that, "Before flagging toward the end to become a second-rate Terminator 2 , this Canadian-made action drama sparks an old-fashioned B-movie charge—it's welcome-to-the-grindhouse all over again with such delicious conceits as a town of werewolf-citizens and a pistol-packing grandma going it gangsta-style". [8] Despite the praise given to the creature effects by Stan Winston, the film received mostly negative reviews.
In Canada and worldwide, the film was released in its uncut form in the theaters and on DVD. In the USA however, the film was edited from an R-rating down to a PG-13 for its theatrical and DVD release.
The DVD was released on November 27, 2007. It includes a director's commentary, digital effects comparisons, a previsualization featurette, deleted scenes, the original theatrical trailer, a making of featurette, and additional Lionsgate film trailers to The Monster Squad, Fido, Fangs, and The Descent. There is no "unrated" or director's cut of the film available in the United States.
Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British action horror film written, directed and edited by Neil Marshall in his feature directorial debut. Starring Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby and Liam Cunningham, the film follows a squad of soldiers fighting to survive an attack by a pack of werewolves during a military training exercise in the Scottish Highlands.
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood is a 1996 American horror comedy film directed by Gilbert Adler, from a screenplay by Adler and A.L. Katz, and a story by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Dennis Miller stars as Rafe Guttman, a private investigator hired by Katherine Verdoux to investigate the disappearance of her brother Caleb which leads him to a bordello run by Lilith.
Blood and Chocolate is a 1997 paranormal romance novel for young adult readers by Annette Curtis Klause. It is set in the contemporary United States.
Bitten is a fantasy novel by Canadian writer Kelley Armstrong, published in 2001. It is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series, and her first novel.
The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed and edited by Joe Dante. Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the film follows a news anchor who, following a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, visits a resort secretly inhabited by werewolves. The cast includes Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and Elisabeth Brooks.
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning is a 2004 Canadian horror film and a prequel to Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. The third and final installment in the Ginger Snaps series takes place in 19th century Canada, following the ancestors of the Fitzgerald sisters of the two previous films: Ginger and Brigitte, who are identical in all respects to their modern-day counterparts.
Werewolf is an American horror series, and one of the original shows in the Fox network's broadcast line-up during its inaugural season of 1987–1988.
Howling III is a 1987 Australian comedy-horror film and the sequel to The Howling, directed by Philippe Mora and filmed on location in and around Sydney, Australia. Starring Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley and Max Fairchild, Howling III is the only PG-13 rated entry in the Howling film series and also the last film in the series to be released theatrically. In this sequel, werewolves have evolved, with females having marsupial-like pouches to nurse their young. Scientists attempt to study them, while soldiers try to track and kill them in the Australian Outback.
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire fiction series of novels created by American author L. J. Smith. The story centers on Stefan Salvatore, a vampire, and his life.
Blood & Chocolate is a 2007 fantasy-horror film directed by Katja von Garnier. It was written by Ehren Kruger and Christopher B. Landon and is loosely inspired by Annette Curtis Klause's 1997 young adult novel of the same name.
Kitty Norville is the main character of a series of novels by Carrie Vaughn. She is a werewolf who hosts a popular syndicated radio phone-in show based in Denver called "The Midnight Hour". The program focuses on supernatural issues, beings and creatures she encounters.
Mercedes "Mercy" Athena Thompson is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mercy Thompson series, written by Patricia Briggs. The main series, which consists of several stories including Moon Called, the short story "Hollow", and the most recent, thirteen novel Soul Taken, is narrated primarily from Mercy's point of view. The character also has a comic series by Dynamite which includes the prequel Homecoming, a comic adaptation of Moon Called, and an original story, Hopcross Jilly.
Werewolves of London is a video game released in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and the Amstrad CPC. It was released on a cassette with the Amstrad version on one side and the Spectrum version on the other, this scheme being referred to as "Flippy". The game used the same engine as Viz Design's other game Frankenstein Junior which was released by Codemasters in the same year. The game was released two years late and was as a budget title, as intended. Publisher Ariolasoft ceased trading and the game was subsequently released by Mastertronic. It was also released in Spain by Dro Soft.
Dead to the World is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2004. In Dead to the World, Sookie aids vampires Eric and Pam in their struggle against a coven of witches seeking to take over control of their area, and takes care of Eric after the witches erase his memory.
The Howling: Reborn is a 2011 teen horror film directed by Joe Nimziki and starring Lindsey Shaw, Landon Liboiron and Ivana Miličević. It is the eighth film and a reboot of The Howling film series. The film was released on DVD on October 18, 2011.
Werewolf: The Beast Among Us is a 2012 action fantasy horror film directed by Louis Morneau. The film stars Ed Quinn, Stephen Rea, Guy Wilson and Steven Bauer.
Wolves is a 2014 Canadian action horror werewolf film written and directed by David Hayter, and starring Lucas Till, Stephen McHattie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Merritt Patterson and Jason Momoa. The film received a negative critical response.
Howl is a 2015 British horror film directed by Paul Hyett and starring Ed Speleers, Sean Pertwee, Holly Weston, Shauna Macdonald, Elliot Cowan, Rosie Day, Calvin Dean, Duncan Preston and Ross Mullan.
Zombies 2 is a 2020 American musical and dance Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2020. A sequel to the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie Zombies, the film stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly, and features Trevor Tordjman, Kylee Russell, and Carla Jeffery reprising their roles from the first movie, with Chandler Kinney, Pearce Joza, and Baby Ariel joining the cast. The film shows the zombies and cheerleaders, who have mostly since reconciled from the events of the first film, attempting to coexist and assimilate werewolves into the town of Seabrook.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is an action role-playing video game developed by Cyanide and published by Nacon. It is based on White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and is part of the larger World of Darkness series. The game was released on February 4, 2021 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.