MovieChat Forums > Frozen (2010) Discussion > The Wolves

The Wolves

posted 7 years ago by Ohio9
5 replies | jump to latest

I'm not a wolf expert, so I don't know how realistic wolves act, but the wolves in this movie seemed really over the top and contrived.

First of all, are wolves really this aggressive? Do they really always attack the first human they see immediately (except when busy eating a corpse)?

And what was with the wolves hanging around the one spot where the characters were stuck? It's like they were vultures buzzing around their prey in the desert. In this case it seems really silly. How would they even know to look up and see humans above them, then assume the humans would eventually come down? That seems like it would require intelligence beyond animal instinct.

I liked this movie, but the wolves took away from the quality somewhat. The main appeal of the movie was supposed to be humans surviving elemental conditions, but they kind of turned it into a more traditional horror movie involving a killer stalking people. Seemed like a very lazy plot device.

[–] lvis-18548 7 years ago

I'm no wolf expert either, but I do know that in real life, the wolves would've eventually just given up and left.

[–] ExTechOp (2750) 6 years ago

"traditional horror movie involving a killer stalking people"

Good point - that's exactly what I was feeling but couldn't put my finger on

If they'd somehow made it JUST about the ski-lift & snow, it would've felt less "cheap" to me, somehow.

Maybe the first guy just dies from blood loss and shock, THEN gets eaten, THEN the wolves become a threat. I dunno. But adding them in made it feel like an Open Water ripoff

[–] MelH (31) 6 years ago

I kinda assumed the blood smell would attract them. But in reality that's probably not realistic. When the second guy was cutting his hands on the wire, the wolves come, and he glances at his bloody hands, and sighs. So again, I do get impression they were trying to imply the smell of blood attracts wolves, but I don't think they can smell so far away.

[–] MIchiganJFrogg (-35) 6 years ago

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[–] rootvegetables (1343) 6 years ago

I don't know that it's realistic, but I do know it's cinematic.
I saw this movie with a full audience at a midnight screening at the Sundance Film Festival.
The reactions from the viewers during these wolf scenes were, let's just say, highly engaged. People were terrified. A young woman sitting next to me - a total stranger - kept grabbing my arm and looking away from the screen.

The purpose of these sort of movies is to let us vicariously experience horror and engage us by tapping into our primal fears. We are entertained, ultimately, because we experience it and yet we survive.

So, yes, I agree that wolves are not quite that aggressive. The director was present for a Q&A and explained that wolves, although dangerous and carefully controlled during the filming, were exaggerated in their ferocity for dramatic effect. And to that I say: good. It worked.

Having said all of the above, if I were ever to find myself defenseless and weapon-less and face to face with a pack of wolves (or even a lone wolf) out in the wild... I would probably be as scared as I've ever been in my life. This animal may not be the jack-the-ripper of the woods (I'd rather encounter a wolf than a grizzly bear), but they are still very dangerous and can tear a person apart. Especially if they feel hungry... or threatened.

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