The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989)

i must have seen a different film!!

A Masterpiece!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE is based on a story by the great and spooky children's author Joan Aiken. In it, a pair of children are holed up in a remote mansion in a snowy locale surrounded by the titular wolves. They're in the care of scheming governess Stephanie Beacham and unscrupulous lawyer Mel Smith, and the story becomes a battle of wits between child and adult as each attempts to dispose of the other.The film's visual style is what makes this so distinctive and indeed I remember loving it as a children. Carriage rides through the snowy landscapes with wolf accompaniment bring to mind the delights of the BBC's THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, while the cast of seasoned performers add plenty to the entertainment value. Richard O'Brien is unrecognisable as the butler and Geraldine James is delightfully ghoulish as the owner of a laundry which utilises child labour.Inevitably it's Beacham who dominates proceedings as the villain of the piece, although I found her pantomime acting to be far too over the top; she's much more believable when she plays it straight as in the likes of ...AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS! The child actors give efficient turns here and the screenplay has a delightfully macabre streak with some gruesome deaths for some of the characters. Certainly for fans of vintage children's drama who don't mind overlooking the shortcomings of the production (such as the dogs in costume), THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE is a good-natured and atmospheric story.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is one of my favorite books. I read it as a child, have read it to my children, and plan to read it to my grandchildren. I was excited to see that there was a film adaptation. After watching it, I am terribly disappointed. With such a great story to work from, it is difficult to understand how this movie happened. The movie showed some promise in the beginning, but it slowly deteriorated as in continued. The book has a very detailed plot, great character development, and is very believable. All of these are missing in the movie. What a shame. Skip the movie and go straight to the book. Joan Aiken continues the story with "Black Hearts in Battersea" and "Nightbirds on Nantucket". The series is called "The Wolves Chronicles" and Ms. Aiken expands the stories even further, but the first three are my favorite.

Alright, we'll be honest - the film isn't perfect. BUT it does have more redeeming features than a lot of modern crap that's hyped and huge (naming no names Mission Impossible 2 and 3!). Amongst these redeeming features is the stunning scenery. The luscious snow that we know was created by good ol' mother nature and not CGI - *cough*LotR**cough*. The beautiful house in which the girls live give the film a definite sense of period realism and creates the claustrophobia that makes the film scarier. Then there's the quite frankly marvellous Stephanie Beaucham. Whether her character is gorgeous or grotesque Beaucham always manages to camp it up wonderfully and seems to be having a truly good time chewing up all of the scenery. Her subtle nuances and facial ticks create so much humour for an older audience and she has all of the best lines. We also need to bare in mind that this film was made some seventeen years ago, meaning that yes, it probably has dated a little, but that doesn't mean that it can't be entertainment along the lines of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' for a new generation. Deaths aside.

WOWC is actually among the darkest tales I have ever seen that is intended for children. The story itself takes us through a typical Victorian era, the class system and the at times, incorrect politics. Bonnie is a classy young lady, even if it times she appears to be a boy in a nice frock. Viewers will love her pushed friendship with cousin Sylvia, and even more her relationship with Richard O'Briens James. But at times this film is a little too mature for children. The theory that a greedy woman simply comes along posing as a governess to look after some children and they end up starving in a work house will scare parents senseless, but the disturbing death of little Joey and even evil Rupert can be hard to watch. What sets this apart from a lot of children's films is its use of duel baddies. Not only are the children escaping Slighcarp, but also a pack of hungry and menacing wolves. Not to be missed!