Tara Talbot (Victoria Sanchez) draws a crowd wherever she goes in Wolf Girl. Everyone’s jaws naturally slacken whenever she walks into a room. And for her entire life, Tara has been okay with others’ stares and gasps — after all, people pay good money to see the infamous “Wolf Girl” in Harley Dune’s traveling freak-show. Yet, something has changed in Tara. The social alienation that comes with her “werewolf syndrome” has finally gotten to her, and she now wishes to be anything but different.
While promoted as a werewolf-horror movie, this Canadian-Romanian production quickly reveals itself to be a coming-of-age tale with only occasional moments of terror to qualify its genre classification. Lori Lansens’ screenplay comes much closer to being a gothic allegory with heavy psychological overtones. The story puts an emphasis on not only Tara’s longing and loneliness, but also the inner workings of characters on the other side of the cage, so to speak. Thom Fitzgerald’s movie ultimately offers more food for thought than it does chills and thrills.
The title character of Wolf Girl is the object of ogling even before the show begins. As Tara and her fellow freaks set everything up at their latest venue, four local teens gawk from nearby. These young troublemakers (Shawn Ashmore, Shelby Fenner, Nate Dushku, Tony Denman) decide Tara is the next target in their cruel games. Meanwhile, another teen named Ryan (Dov Tiefenbach) has something else entirely in store for Tara.
That first night of business comes to a standstill when Beau (Ashmore) and his lackeys pull a Carrie on Tara. During her performance on stage, Tara is smack dab in the face with fresh dog feces. However, unlike the student body of Bates High School, no one other than the bullies laughs; the audience stares in confusion as Tara gradually recognizes what has happened. The spectators may even feel pity because Tara’s speechless reaction, after having previously been on all fours and howling like a wolf from the inside of a cage, reads entirely as human. No one here wants to pity the freak, much less identify with her humiliation. It’s only when Tara resumes her beastly howling does the audience feel at ease again.
Tara’s craving for ordinariness is now more clear than ever, which is why she accepts Ryan’s risky offer almost immediately — his mother’s cosmetics testing has uncovered a promising cure for excessive hair growth. The allegorical quality of Wolf Girl comes out as the afflicted character senselessly makes a deal to better her life, but she instead invites more (and not to mention worse) problems. The serum is untested, and there’s no telling what side effects it can cause.
As Tara deals with the consequences of her actions, the movie tries to argue her life isn’t all that bad to begin with. From the outset Tara is surrounded by loved ones. Surrogate mother Athena (Darlene Cates) detects the girl’s sadness early on and expresses anger toward anyone who might mean her harm. Grace Jones’ Christoph-Christine was also born into the business and only sees beauty in Tara, hairy or not. The whole freak-show shuts down early to find Tara when they fear she’s gone missing. And when Tara’s biological mother abandoned her, Harley (Tim Curry) raised the baby as his own. Compared to the other young people in Wolf Girl, Tara at least has a supportive family who looks out for her. Beau and his friends go unsupervised, hence the gun they wave around, and Ryan’s mother doesn’t even notice her son’s black eye.
Wolf Girl is not exactly clawless when it comes to violence and kills, but those bloodier instances are few and far between. They aren’t even what makes the movie so discomforting. The story pulls out several shock buttons to keep both the freak-show’s audience and you equally surprised. There is an exploitation factor about Hartley’s entertainers that won’t entirely sit well. It’s doubtful this kind of movie would get made today, given the backdrop. Then there are the revelations about the bullies; Beau and Krystal (Fenner) each come with aha moments explaining why they’re so mean. The uninitiated will without question be startled by parts of this brazen hidden gem.
The story admittedly lacks in character development; no one quite grows from their time in Wolf Girl. They all endure change, to some degree, and they most certainly feel the sting of their misguided choices, but as far as growth goes, Tara and everyone stay the same only because the movie ends too soon. Realizations come late and are never explored hereafter. Beau learns what it feels like to be seen as a freak, Hartley recognizes it was wrong to put business before family, and most of all, Tara discovers she’s lost something more important in her quest to be normal — her humanity.
Wolf Girl is a welcome addition to the wide and uneven world of werewolf horror. It doesn’t necessarily have the fangs of its bloodier peers, nor does it summon any bona fide scares, but this movie does have plenty of guts. The compelling story exposes the main character’s internality so heartbreakingly. While other werewolf tales would prefer to focus on the trials of the beast, Wolf Girl makes the right choice and considers the pain of the person underneath.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
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