DVD
REVIEW: SKINWALKERS

11/25/07

Skinwalkers is a
Horror/Action/Western movie released in the United States on
August 10 2007, its released date was delayed for almost 8
months since it was supposed to be released on December 1
2006. It was the first collaboration between Lions Gate
entertainment with Constantine Films (producers of movies
such as Resident Evil). I would have thought that for being
released in the summer the movie would have been exiting or
fun. The idea of having two packs of werewolves fighting
each other sounds interesting and worth watching,
Unfortunately the movie raises more expectation than the one
it meets. For the way it was presented it seems to be very
similar of Underworld. Skinwalkers will be released to DVD
on November 27 2007.
The story is about two packs of Skin walkers (werewolves).
One that is obsessed with their freedom and powers they
possess, which need to feed on humans to survive. The other
pack is the kind that seems their powers as a cursed and
want to get rid of them. They want to join society as human.
When the moon signal both packs about an ancient prophesy, a
13 year old boy that might finished with their kind, each of
them take sides and confront each other. The story turns out
to be a race against time between the good guys against the
bad ones.
The plot seems interesting enough for fans of this genre,
but it is not that original, it seems that it follows the
same plot as Underworld but instead of vampire against
werewolf, it is werewolf against werewolf, with its savoir
being a crossbreed. The movie begins with a great couple of
scenes that will raise the audience expectations but as it
develops the intensity fades away. Do not get me wrong, it
is not a bad movie, any person might enjoy it, but its
delivery is slow and will not keep you asking for more. The
sound and the photography are above level, but the special
effects, make up, and action Sequences are nothing special.
You might think that with today technology, a better visual
effects in the fights and the transformations could make
this movie better, the werewolves look like they were from
the Tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The characters are
appealing to the audience at the beginning, each one has a
unique characteristic that describe them, but as the movie
develops people start loosing interest on them. some of
them, specially Sonja, Rachael, and Timothy turn out to be
clichés.
The DVD is nicely presented, for people who do not know
about the movie, the cover would catch their attention with
out a doubt. The main menu of the DVD is also great it put
the audience in a great mood to watch the movie. The special
features is packed with 8 deleted scenes and with almost 40
minutes of commentaries
Skinwalkers is not the best Werewolf movie I ever seen, what
makes it unique is that the conflict only involves
werewolves, nonetheless the hybrid savior is been played out
in many movies that plot wise, it doesn’t surprise. The
first scenes and the ending, which have an unexpected twist,
are the rising point of this movie. It is a shame that the
director focused more in the western part of the movie than
in the horror part of the movie (FX), since the werewolves
are more barking than biting. the movie was shot in 40 days,
and it is clearly not based on stunts, however it is worth
to give it a try if you have some time to spare.
VIDEO:
Widescreen (1.78:1) Enhance for 16x9 TVs
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround EX - 6.1 DTF Audio English
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
BONUS FEATURES:
Making Skinwalkers: It
describes the approach of the director and describes some of
the characters (8:30).
Pre visualization and digital FX
Comparisons: It shows the most exciting scene of the
movie, “Hugenot Shootout,” in 2 different ways. One how the
director picture it, using drawings and 3D animation (Large
Screen Animation” and the other one how it came out “Large
Screen Sequence“. this two visualizations are about (8:50)
each
Isolated Animation
Commentary: The director explains the use of this
technique in the same scene “Hugenot Shootout.” (3:20)
Digital Fx Composition: Describe how the special FX
were made in this movie (1:18)
Deleted Scenes:
8 different deleted scenes that are not relevant to the move
(about 5:16)
Theatrical Trailer:
Trailer of the Movie (2:10).
RATING BREAK DOWN:
FILM REVIEW |
 |
VIDEO |
 |
AUDIO |
 |
BONUS
FEATURES |
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Review
By Milo
milo@smartcine.com
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