When I first looked at the box art for “She Wolf Rising”, I was surprised that it didn’t have either Tiffany Shepis and Debbie Rochon’s name was nowhere on the front or back of the box. You would think their name would be on the front cover or at least in the back. Sadly, their names were nowhere to be found on this. Thankfully, I heard about this film way before its release to be interested enough in seeing it.
The film is about an obsessed fan (Timothy Mandala) who manages to meet his favorite screen queen (Tiffany Shepis) at a convenience store. She draws him into a world of dark underground filmmaking to find her producer’s lost footage. He begins to see her as a beautiful woman, but everything changes when he finds out her dark secret that she can transform into a wolf. Can he find a way to help her control her darkest secret before he become her next victim?
Even though the film sometimes moved slowly in the first half, I had a good time overall with “She Wolf Rising”. One of the reason why I had a good time with this film, was the good directing by writer/director Marc Leland. He does a good job making sure the film have some gruesome moments to go along with his screenplay. Whether it was the way that uses the gore to making the scenes come off as horrifying, everything had a crazy feel that kept me interested. The other thing that I liked about the direction was the way that he directs the performances. Leland does a very good job making sure the cast had good chemistry with each other as it made the characters and the story interesting. It helps the film get past its typical b-movie feel.
The film also has some very good performances from Shepis, Mandala and J. Edmund Ford as the director/producer who’s going crazy. The performances helped made me interested with the characters that they played and made this entertaining to watch.
The screenplay also written by Leland was also good given the type of film that he was going for. I liked how he makes sure the characters are interesting enough through various quirks that helps make some of the characters have. It made some of the slow parts of the screenplay entertaining when it had no right to be. The other thing that I liked about it was the fact that the film does a 180 and goes into a different direction. I won’t go into details but it helps with making the final act the best part of the film.
Should you try and seek this film out? Yes, if you’re a fan a b-movies with gore or like Tiffany Shepis’ films like I do. “She Wolf Rising” is a howling of a film with entertaining performances and good solid direction.
Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
