SKINWALKERS

Director: James Isaac
Stars: Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Matthew Knight, Natassia Malthe, Tom Jackson, Sarah Carter, Shawn Roberts
Year: 2006
Rating: PG-13

Okay, normally give me vampire flicks over werewolf flicks ANY day - but damn, this one was cool movie. Low budget and low-key in its marketing when released, Skinwalkers plays like an indie film that could easily slide over your radar and not be seen ... when in fact it, if you like werewolf or horror or even action flicks, this puppy should be seen.

Jason Behr always seems his best when playing a bad guy, and here he's no exception. The premise of the film riffs a bit from the Terminator franchise - here, the lycanthropes (werewolves, for the uninitiated) started off as a sub-culture of the Native American tribes, and were always true creatures of the land. Some see it as a gift, others a curse ... and it's those who see their lycanthropy as a curse who eagerly believe in the legend that foretells of the first half-werewolf/half-human boy who - if he can remain alive until midnight on his thirteenth birthday - can bring an end to werewolves and lycanthropy for good. And it's such a band of lycanthropes, who want to be cured, who've been protecting and hiding just such a boy (and his mother) since the boy's birth, trying to keep him alive until he reaches thirteen.

That day's coming up in just a few days, as the film opens - but a vicious werewolf named Caleb (Behr) - along with his "gang" of three just like him - are closing in on hunting down the boy, and killing everyone in their path who tries to stop them. Matthew Knight (The Grudge 2) is Tim, the boy who doesn't even know he's a half-breed werewolf, and Rhona Mitra plays his mother, Rachel - a woman who has no clue that the father of her son (long dead) was a lycanthrope. Mother and son live with the brother of Tim's father, Jonas (Elias Koteas), and are surrounded by his family and friends, who all treat Rachel and Tim like their own family ... and when Behr and his cronies come to town to find and kill Tim, having tracked him down, it's (needless to say) one hell of a surprise to Rachel and Tim when they learn the boy is not only scheduled to be terminated - but is also half-werewolf, and the only hope for the future for "curing" lycanthropy.

A shootout turns into a small battle, and Jonas and his daughter and friends (all of them werewolves, as well) end up on the run with Rachel and Tim, trying to outrun Caleb and company until midnight on Tim's birthday - only two days away. Jonas and his crew, however, are curable only because they haven't made their first kill; once you've done that, as a werewolf, you can't go back, so each night these lycanthropes have to lock themselves down. Covered in harnesses bolted to the inside walls of the truck they travel in, it's the only way they can keep from killing when the full moon changes them ... and as the blood-red moon gets a deeper and deeper crimson, the closer it gets to Tim's birthday, the more violent and fast-paced the action and the werewolves get in this film - and the closer Caleb and his gang get to accomplishing their goal of killing the boy.

It sounds more complex than it is; this is a nicely-crafted action pic with a strong cast and engaging enough storyline to keep you watching. Behr and Koteas are particularly good as pack leaders on either side of the "gift or curse" issue, and the special effects and makeup for the werewolf transformations are kept simple and effective. There's even a little love story, between Jonas' daughter and her long-term boyfriend, that's thrown in for good measure.

I really liked this movie - more than I thought I would. It's exciting, often fast-paced, sometimes even sensual, and ultimately entertaining. More fun than creepy or scary, but a great ride nonetheless. *** - Reel Cool