Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf – January DVD Release 2012 (NZ)

Dec 22, 2011
Hari Navarro

Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf – Andrew Cymek - © MADMAN NZ

Anchor Bay, via Madman New Zealand, is set to release this fairy tale inspired horror from Dark Risings Andrew Cymek and Brigitte Kingsley.

The Little Red Riding Hood references that smother Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf are dished out with all the subtle nuance of a grown man dressed in a cast iron wolf suit. From beginning to end we are treated, or in this case tormented, by at times cringe worthy reference to the hapless red robed girl and her pointy fanged nemesis.

On paper it must have seemed an interesting narrative structure for director/ writer/ actor Andrew Cymek to build this independent little horror. But, here imagined on film, it collapses into a loosely strung together horror-less horror that often threatens to become good – but never really does.

Life is Not a Fairy Tale

The film centers around Johnny (Andrew Cymek), who we first met as a young boy. It is here that he witnesses the abduction of his younger sister by the story’s signature villain, The Wolf. This forms the catalyst for the entire forward thrust of the piece as Johnny duly grows up, becomes a police officer, marries a psychiatrist (who will just happen to work in the exact same asylum into which the wolf will eventually be ensnared) and dedicates his life to avenging the serial abduction of his sibling.

To say that the storyline is contrived is a gross understatement. It hangs heavy with not only its Red Riding references but also annoyingly predictable set-pieces and sub-par dialog that proves funny for all the wrong reasons. The blame here falls almost entirely on the shoulders of the aforementioned multitasking director/writer/ actor, the much maligned Andrew Cymek.

Visually he actually excels, giving his frames a chilly desolation that fits nicely with the premise. He does overcook things though, as his exterior winter shots start to take on the look of a freshly shaken snow globe and all sense of balance and plausibility pack up and leave the building. The interiors also work well, surprisingly well considering the films limited funding, and set a wonderfully dark and time-worn stage upon which the story can be spun. Problem being of course that there

really is no story, just a heavy handed and somewhat derivative plod toward inevitability and eventual disappointment.

The script itself is, like it's premise, again forced and pedestrian. Watching the excellent William B. Davis chewing out shades of his “All the better to eat you with…” line being perhaps the most painful element of the entire film. Finally, and it’s never nice to kick a guy when he’s down, but Andrew Cymek’s acting was… well, like I said it’s never nice to kick a guy when he’s down.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf is not without its moments and is probably worth a look see purely because of them. It’s a strange meld of high potential and dire failure, but there are morsels of dark humor that are sure to entertain. Watch out for the insanely (pun intended) over the top ‘cooking show’ scene, replete with a sublimely creepy Sandi Ross as your cannibalistic hostess. There's also the now prerequisite wrestler playing a man mountain psychopath (the late Andrew "Test" Martin) and the evocative (strangely so as he never says a word for the entire film) Greg Dunham as Harold Grierson aka the Wolf.

William B. Davis as the abominable Dr. Robert Parker, forever etched into our minds as the gravel toned Cigarette Smoking Man (The X Files), is again pitch perfect and could make even a sermon from the telephone directory sound cool.

Brigitte Kingsley not only takes on the lead role of Johnny’s psychiatrist ex-wife Jamie but she also runs the show as Medium Raw’s producer. Add to the mix that she is in real life married to Andrew Cymek and is instigator of the films production companies Black Walk Productions and Defiant Empire and it is hard not to appreciate the work that must have gone into bringing this project to fruition.

Despite its flaws, and with this in mind, there is a nagging feeling that there is a level of skill and a sense of style here with the ability to produce something very special and deliciously bleak indeed. Perhaps best though if next time the director conserves his energy and stays behind the camera. I'm just saying.