Written by Dino Buzzati and Cédric Peyster and directed by Cédric Peyster, 2023’s ‘Wolfpack‘ is a feature-length science fiction thriller that stars Damas Roy, Romain Leon and David Lancelin Guerrero. In the near future, the world has gone to the dogs. Blaming the older generations for everything that has gone bad, the youth start chasing and killing old people at night. A 50-year-old man, Matthieu, unfortunately, finds his way to the killer gangs. A desperate cat-and-mouse chase begins with Matthieu forced to use every trick in his book to save his own life.
First, let’s talk about the concept behind the film. Today’s youth blame the previous generations for everything from climate crises to the bad economy, which is a very real thing, and filmmakers have taken this very real-world phenomenon and turned it into something sinister. Cedric Peyster’s direction is impressive as he puts the characters front and centre. This makes the action scenes that much more impactful. The editing is razor-sharp, ensuring narrative cohesion. The pacing is also on point, and thus, there is not a single dull moment in the entire film.
In the acting department, the cast does a fantastic job. Damas Roy plays the main character, Victor, the reluctant leader of a gang who hunts down old folk with the ferocity and poise required of his character. Victor has issues of his own, but with his resolve of steel, he will let nothing get in his way. On the other end of the spectrum is David Lancelin Guerrero as Matthieu, who plays an old man caught in the crossfire to perfection. Each character has their reasons for doing what they do, and when they collide, conflict ensues. The rest of the cast is also impressive, and they manage to do their parts justice.
Visually, the film is quite striking. Since most of it takes place at night, the lighting needs to be perfect to make sense of the action. Not only do the creatives do well in this regard, but the tension in the chase scenes is palpable. Making fantastic use of music, the pulse-pounding chase scenes become even better. Thus, ‘Wolfpack’ is a solid film that goes into unexpected places to deliver a tale that is brutal and original. Cedric Peyster has made a fascinating film, one that manages to impress in more ways than one, a story that hits too close to home in our ever-crisis-prone real world.
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