Big Bad Wolves, 2013
Directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado
Starring Guy Adler, Lior Ashlenazi, Dvir Benedek, Gur Bentwich, Doval’e Glickman, Tazhi Grad, Rotem Keinan
SYNOPSIS:
A series of brutal murders puts the lives of three men on a collision course: The father of the latest victim now out for revenge, a vigilante police detective operating outside the boundaries of law, and the main suspect in the killings – a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder.
Many would argue that the only just punishment for pedophiles and child murderers is to lock them in a room with the victim’s parents and let them deal with it. While this of course is a ridiculous point of view, it’s a theme that is prevalent in Israeli horror Big Bad Wolves, a movie that subverts the idea of fairy tale villains in a brutal, violent and frighteningly realistic manner.
A school teacher is accused of beheading local girls after drugging and sexually abusing them, but because the police were violent during their interrogation, he is released and considered innocent. However, one of the victims fathers believes in guilty until proven innocent and kidnaps the man to put him through the same torture he supposedly put girls through. He is aided in part by the leading police officer on the case who was thrown off due to his actions during questioning as he is adamant the teacher is guilty as well as his own father who is also out for revenge against the man he believes killed his granddaughter.
Directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado said in the promotion of the movie that we tell our children fairy tales as cautionary stories about the dangers of strangers etc. However, as they both claim, all villains in fairy tales are essentially pedophiles, making real life ones the proverbial big bad wolves. But what makes Big Bad Wolves such an interesting movie is that it often toys with its audience over who the “Wolf” really is. Dror spends the entire running time of the movie claiming his innocence while the others around him torture him, without any hard evidence to support their actions – but there is always an underlying tone that Dror is in fact guilty and these men are justified. Keshales and Papushado handle this plot thread brilliantly and it will constantly make you question over who you should be rooting for.
However the strongest aspect of the movie is the three central performances, particularly Tzahi Grad as the disgruntled father. His hatred for Dror is incredibly powerful and he balances his hate with a quiet cool exterior to anyone else around him. When he finally captures Dror and starts to torture him, he becomes one of the most sinister and crazy movie psychopaths in recent memory, with long monologues about the victims and theories as to why Dror is the way he is. These scenes are captivating viewing and it’s clear why Keshales and Papushadof have made such an impression on the horror community.
When going into a movie such as Big Bad Wolves, you can expect a certain level of violence and brutality, but nothing can compare you for the uncomfortable nature of this movie’s torture scenes. It’s never glorified like the Saw or Hostel franchises, but Keshales and Papushado direct the camera to capture the horror while never focusing its full attention on it. It will make you cringe and it will make you flinch, but for the most part it’s all about the power of suggestion, which is a brilliant move by Keshales and Papushado and masterfully handled.
Big Bad Wolves is a powerful movie that raises some very interesting questions about what we know of people as well as our natural instinct to judge our fellow man based on, sometimes, unsubstantiated rumours. The ambiguous tone of who the villain really is makes for a fascinating watch and the performances from all involved are genius. Keshales and Papushado have not only spearheaded the Israeli horror movie movement, but they are quickly becoming a tough act to follow.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published September 1, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
