New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

38 12 Rounds
xx Baby on Board
xx Bob Funk
62 Cherry Blossoms
38 Confessions of a Shopaholic
38 Crossing Over
38 Dark Streets
58 Defiance
45 Fanboys
31 Fired Up
37 Forever Strong
34 Friday the 13th
72 Gran Torino
47 He's Just Not That Into You
47 Inkheart
52 International, The
45 Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
50 Madea Goes to Jail
51 Morning Light
51 My Bloody Valentine 3-D
29 New in Town
28 Nobel Son
40 Outlander
39 Paul Blart: Mall Cop
56 Phoebe in Wonderland
36 Pink Panther 2
xx Powder Blue
69 Revolutionary Road
20 Spinning Into Butter
17 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
64 Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63 Tokyo!
74 Two Lovers
56 Valkyrie
91 Waltz with Bashir
22 What Goes Up

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Universal Focus


6.6

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

Silent Hill

MPAA RATING: R for strong violence and gore, and sexuality/nudity

Starring Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier, Mark Dacascos, Jean Yanne, and Jean-François Stévenin

Inspired by actual events taking place during the reign of King Louis XV, Brotherhood of the Wolf revisits one of the rare French myths, that of the "Beast of Gevaudan" which killed a number of persons before being vanquished under mysterious circumstances. (Universal Focus)

GENRE(S):	Horror
WRITTEN BY:	Stéphane Cabel Christophe Gans
DIRECTED BY:	Christophe Gans
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 1, 2002 Video: October 1, 2002 Theatrical: January 11, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	142 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France
LANGUAGE(S):	French (with English subtitles)

Original French title "Le Pacte des Loups"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The picture shatters all genre conventions.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

It's easily the most disarming and inventive movie made for genre geeks in years.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The picture has a daring attention-span deficit and an epic silliness that can be awesomely entertaining.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

One of the five most popular films of the year in France, "Wolf" is a cross-cultural hoot that no one should take too seriously.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

It's impossible not to admire what, apart from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," may be the most ambitious action film since "The Matrix."

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Provides glorious escapism without asking you to turn your brain off.

Film Threat Evan Erwin

The film has a wonderful style and a sense of movement that barely slows down for its two and a half hours.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

May be the most purely entertaining foreign-language crossover since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Never pretends to be something that it isn't. Oh, there are costumes, to be sure, but that's just to facilitate the setting of the 18th century. Anyone who mistakes this for a costume drama is not aware of what kind of film they have ventured into.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

An eye-pleasing French action-slasher film that is cheerfully unencumbered by the usual conventions of stuffy costume drama.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I would be lying if I did not admit that this is all, in its absurd and overheated way, entertaining.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A zestful genre outing, and then some, right up its final overkill.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Utterly preposterous but so full of enthusiasm and flashy style that it's entertaining anyway, The Brotherhood of the Wolf is like the platypus of genre films.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Avoid it if you object to seeing people devoured by wolves, but see it if you want to howl at the moon.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Brotherhood has its goofy side -- it's a sleek, creepily atmospheric popcorn entertainment.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

All manner of superstitions, religious conspiracies and insurrections are aired, resulting less in awe than bewilderment. However, taken as an exciting and expansive cultural bridge, the film is a roaring success.

Variety Lisa Nesselson

A little Sergio Leone here, a little "Sleepy Hollow" there, a grand helping of late royal-era Gaul with its wigs and finery, and, uh, martial arts-style confrontations galore are all deftly melded in Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Despite an overlong running time and a punishing amount of violence and gore, it's a deeply ambitious picture, one of the most expensive and original to come out of France in many years.

Entertainment Weekly Ty Burr

This is one of those follies that go beyond pesky, bourgeois notions of ''good'' and ''bad.''

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

The perfect film for anyone who likes their headbutting and kickboxing dressed up in gold brocade, frilly collars, and tri-cornered caps. And isn't that all of us?

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

At 140 minutes, the film becomes a humorless, long-winded spectacle.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

It's mindless, which is rarely true of French cinema, dull, which is rarely true of Hong Kong films, and portentous, which shouldn't be true of any film about a man-eating dog.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Lacks the one element that the filmmakers were most desperately aiming for: A genuine sense of fun.

Slate David Edelstein

You have to admire a movie that endeavors to moosh together every successful cross-cultural action picture ever made.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Much of the historical horrorfest is more frenetic than fascinating. Look out for bursts of over-the-top violence.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Must we import the rubbish we export?

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

This new take on horror is more of the bloody same.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Whatever it is, it's simultaneously on speed and Quaaludes; I don't know if any movie this profoundly insane has been seen in general release since Antonia Bird's Gold Rush cannibal comedy "Ravenous."

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

If only Brotherhood of the Wolf had the wit and grace to match its exceptional physical beauty.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

An exuberantly garish French movie.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Has its moments. In fact, it has too many of them. At 2 hours and 20 minutes and with enough characters to take up a few floors at a big hotel, it feels about an act too long.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Too ludicrous to be taken seriously, but not entertaining enough to rate as camp.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

This one's a turkey as big as the Eiffel Tower but it's bad in a particularly American way: It's wildly overdone, it throws in everything in an attempt to appeal to everyone, it's gargantuan and anti-logical, pointlessly ornate and pointlessly violent.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Calmels P. gave it a2:
Maybe one of the worse movie produced in France that year. Trust a French cinephile. I advise you three excellent movie : Pas sur la bouche by Resnais a wonderful drama (genre : comdéie musicale), Mensonges et Trahison, a funny and very smart satire of Paris' bourgeoisie (genre : comedy) or La Haine if you want to understand our recent suburbs violence. I send my friendship to the American film addicts and vive l'amitié franco-américaine.

William G. gave it an8:
BOTW is an exciting and unpredictable blend of action, horror, and mystery. As hodge-podge as the mix is (both of the hunters know martial arts; a brothel figures prominently into the investigation), the film is fantastic entertainment. The performances are satisfactory, especially the key supporting roles of Monica Bellucci (the MATRIX sequels) and Vincent Cassel (OCEAN'S TWELVE). Viewers looking for a refreshing change of pace in either action films or foreign cinema will be rewarded by BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF.

Michael R. gave it a 10:
I enjoyed it a lot. I really don't see where some of the complaints came from.

Mario B. gave it a 3:
As a huge fan of multi-genre films, particualrly action/horror, I can say without hesitation that this was pure, utter crap. Some much potential was ruined by sloppiness on every level of the production. There's not one interesting moment.

John R. gave it a 7:
It was a bit long, but I really enjoyed it. It's just a fun movie; there isn't a whole lot of substance there, but it's undeniably cool.

Carl h. gave it an 8:
The scenery was great, I liked the jumpiness from one thing to the next. The little dog at the end needed to be eaten by the monster. Well done brothel scenes and peasant blouses were a plus.

Myles K. gave it a 0:
Man o man, nobody could finish this movie, it was waaaay too long and the flow of the movie was ruined every 5 mintues. The script was awful, it jumps from someones friends being dead, to inviting someone to dinner two words later. It was a waste of my money, guess that's why it didn't last long in the theaters.....

Brotherhood of the Wolf Universal Focus

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Universal Focus