Out Come the Wolves, 2024.

Directed by Adam MacDonald.
Starring Damon Runyan, Joris Jarsky, and Missy Peregrym.

SYNOPSIS:

At a cabin deep in the wilderness, a weekend of hunting turns to mayhem and a fight for survival.

Shortly after reuniting at a cabin in the woods for a weekend vacation and hunting in Adam MacDonald’s Out Come the Wolves, childhood friends Kyle (Joris Jarsky) and Sophie (Missy Peregrym) play a card game while getting reacquainted. Kyle is sure Sophie is bluffing about not having a convincing winning hand. A playful back-and-forth emerges, the kind best friends typically have, but Kyle is wrong. It’s a clever way of expressing that he also doesn’t know who she is anymore. For starters, she is vegan now and not particularly interested in hunting, but has arranged the get-together so he could teach her fiance Nolan (Damon Runyan) how to hunt for food as part of a journalistic piece in the making.

Initially, Kyle was going to bring his new partner along for the vacation, meaning that they would have had the chance to get to know who they are currently romantically intertwined with, but it is quickly revealed that those plans fell through. This also leaves Nolan suspecting that Kyle has ulterior motives for his chatty delight in being back around Sophie. Unsurprisingly, the silver-spooned Nolan has his insecurities. However, the subdued performances clarify that Kyle still pines for Sophie and imagines a past where things have gone beyond friendship.

It also probably won’t surprise anyone that the screenplay (courtesy of Enuka Okuma, with Adam MacDonald and Joris Jarsky receiving story credits) makes some not-so-subtle points that out here in the wild, the rules of civilization go out the window. The true nature of man comes out, leaving viewers questioning who the real wolves are. Speaking of wolves, their presence is a complete surprise to Kyle, who initially intended to train Nolan in tracking and shooting harmless deer.

However, the first half of this swift and absorbing 87-minute thriller wisely centers the characterization, with room for uncertainty about Kyle’s true motives and whether or not Nolan is even a healthy partner for Sophie. Each of the three relatively unknown actors brings a strong sense of inner conflict to the roles, with real complicated humanity under the surface that accentuates the tension and suspense when this shifts from relationship quarreling into full-blown survival horror more fitting of the Shudder label.

Daringly, the filmmakers have also opted to use real animals here (with several notices in the ending credits that it was safe for the actors and creatures involved), elevating that white-knuckle adrenaline. Due to circumstances that won’t be revealed, the drama between Kyle and Nolan also forces Sophie to shift gears into once again becoming the woman she was before, allowing her to showcase how resourceful and independent she is amid this peril. By no means does that mean there is no urgency or danger here; this is an unflinchingly violent feature with such vicious and grisly wounds and broken bones that it unquestionably crosses the line into body horror.

Admittedly, despite how tense the will to survive is depicted here, it is also a step down from the strong character dynamics in the first half, disappointingly never circling back to that aspect. Instead, Out Come the Wolves transitions into a survivalist thrill ride, implying that Sophie can only count on herself and, depending on how much production one wants to do, that the wolves represent something else. Going beyond that, women must be wary of the petty games men play in the name of asserting predator dominance and that survival is as much emotional as it is physical.

Out Come the Wolves is essentially two halves that moviegoers will find more satisfying for different reasons. Fortunately, Adam MacDonald has enough killer instinct to make both sides work.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

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Some of the greatest thrillers of all time have managed to mix a homicidal maniac out for blood with a hardened police force who will stop at nothing to catch the killer. Such is the case in Torture The Flesh, the newest indie whodunit from Cheevies Films. Torture The Flesh is part murder mystery and part procedural thriller, as the clock ticks and bodies begin to pile up.

Torture The Flesh is written by Derek Braasch (Slay Ride 2021) and Anthony Cooney (Leaf Blower Massacre 2 2017) and directed by Braasch. It stars Joe DeBartolo (A Hard Place 2024) as Detective Stevens and Darin Bowman (Doomsday Stories 2023) as Daniel. Stevens is a cop known for his hard-nosed attitude and sleazy dealings, and Bowman is a family man who faces a life-changing tragedy. These two men are constantly at odds while tumbling toward the same goal, to figure out who’s committing grisly mayhem.

Let’s dive in and see what makes it special.

Torture The Flesh lives up to its titular billing in the torture department, as the kills delve into places that we don’t normally see. The arsenal feels like something out of The Toolbox Murders. This film had fun reveling in an 80s style that includes a lot of babes, boobs, and blood.

Some of the turns in the story could have probably benefitted from more buildup to aid the reveal, but the writers did a nice job of implicating multiple potential killers to throw audiences off of the scent.

Torture The Flesh is now available on Blu-Ray, and you can order directly from Derek Braasch.

Hallmark Channel is leaning into its Kansas City roots — and the world-famous romance between music star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce — to score during its lucrative Christmas TV movie season.

For more than a decade, viewers have embraced the cable channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” themed programming — dozens of low-cost movies that begin rolling out in mid-October and play virtually around the clock. On Saturday, Hallmark boosts its lineup with “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” — one of two cable TV movies debuting this season that were inspired by Swift and Kelce’s relationship.

In the Hallmark Channel movie, Hunter King plays a young woman who is trying to help her family win a Kansas City Chiefs’ “Fan of the Year” contest. She encounters a team official, played by Tyler Hynes, who is responsible for evaluating the contestants. Hewing to the Hallmark script, the two soon experience warm-and-fuzzy feelings.

“Holiday Touchdown” is a partnership between Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs, so the movie also mines the real-life phenomenon of multi-generational relationships bound by a shared love of the Chiefs.

The movie was filmed last summer in the Kansas City area, including at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Hallmark, the card company, has long called Kansas City home.

“We are extremely grateful for the entire Hallmark team and the unique hometown partnership that’s been created around our two brands and this movie,” Mark Donovan, president of the Kansas City Chiefs, said in a September statement that announced the partnership.

Hallmark Media, which operates its television portfolio, is based in Studio City.

The movie is draped in red and gold and includes cameos by Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid. There’s also a small role for Donna Kelce, the football player’s mother, who has has become a celebrity herself. On Friday, she was photographed alongside Swift as the pair headed inside Arrowhead Stadium to watch the NFL’s dominant team beat the Las Vegas Raiders.

The movie also features Jenna Bush Hager, Diedrich Bader, Megyn Price, Richard Riehle, Christine Ebersole and Richard Christy.

Made-for-TV holiday movies have become one of the industry’s most reliable — and profitable — staples.

Several networks, including Hallmark and Lifetime, crank out dozens of holiday-themed films each year to join such beloved evergreens as “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Home Alone” and “A Christmas Story” that play in syndication.

Hallmark’s other holiday-themed movies include “A ’90s Christmas,” “Sugarplummed,” “Following Yonder Star” and “Happy Howlidays.”

Last week, competitor Lifetime debuted its holiday offering loosely based on the Swift-Kelce romance. “Christmas in the Spotlight” stars Jessica Lord as a pop star who falls in love with a football player played by Laith Wallschleger after they meet backstage at one of her concerts.