The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves is a 1984 British gothic fantasy horror film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese and Sarah Patterson in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Jordan and Angela Carter, and adapted by Carter from her short story of the same name (featured in her 1979 short story collection The Bloody Chamber) and its 1980 radio adaptation. Carter's first draft of the screenplay, which contains some differences from the finished film, has been published in her anthology The Curious Room (1996). Plot The film begins in the present day, within a country house. A young girl named Rosaleen dreams that she lives in a fairytale forest during the late 18th century with her parents and sister Alice. But one night Alice is chased down and killed by wolves. While her parents are mourning, Rosaleen goes to stay with her grandmother, who knits a bright red shawl for her granddaughter to wear. The superstitious old woman gives Rosaleen an ominous warning, "Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet." Rosaleen returns to her village, but finds that she must deal with the advances of an amorous boy. Rosaleen and the boy take a walk through the forest, but the boy discovers that the village's cattle have come under attack from a wolf. The villagers set out to hunt the wolf; but once caught and killed, the wolf's corpse transforms into that of a human being. Rosaleen later takes a basket of goods through the woods to her grandmother's cottage; but on her way, she encounters an attractive huntsman whose eyebrows meet. He challenges her, saying that he can find his way to her grandmother's house before she can, and the pair set off. The hunter arrives at Rosaleen's grandmother's house first, where he reveals his bestial nature and kills her. Rosaleen arrives later and discovers the carnage, but her need to protect herself is complicated by her desire for the hunter. In the ensuing exchange, Rosaleen accidentally injures the huntsman with his own rifle. Upon this blow, the hunter contorts in pain and transforms into his wolf shape. A deeply remorseful Rosaleen apologizes and takes pity on the wounded beast, musing that his pack could leave him behind in his state. She sits down and begins petting the wolf caringly and tenderly, comforting him while telling him a story. Ultimately the villagers arrive at the house sometime later, looking for a werewolf within.