Big Bad Wolves starts out as its own dark fairy tale, but soon, reality sets in and murder and revenge take over with brute force. Israeli directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado present a terrifying story about a child serial killer, a disturbing subject matter that you do not want to hear about, much less watch. Yet surprisingly, no matter how morbid the film gets, they find the perfect moments to lighten the mood with scolding humor. You practically feel guilty for laughing. With the help of strong performances, Keshales and Papushado not only balance humor with horror, but they keep things unpredictable. Big Bad Wolves sinks its teeth into you and does not let go, causing you to never forget.
This twisted tale begins with a young girl disappearing and we immediately know she is not the first. A tenacious and determined cop named Miki (Lior Ashkenazi) believes he has the suspected pedophile Dror (Rotem Keinan) at his mercy, but due to lack of proof and Miki’s rather rough interrogation techniques, Dror is released and Miki is suspended. It does not help matters when their entire encounter makes it on the internet for the whole world to see and leaves the rest of the police force pissed and embarrassed. But lying low is not Miki’s style.
Instead, he goes rogue with the intent of capturing the suspect and making him talk. He’s going to finish what he started. But his plans completely fall apart because the missing girl’s father, Gidi (Tzahi Grad), beats him to the punch. What follows is pure torture and punishment in order to get a confession and find out the truth. And this is where Big Bad Wolves gets really interesting because it has not even been considered that Dror may actually have nothing to do with any of this. Miki and Gidi seem absolutely certain about having the right guy, but what if they do not? What if they are slowly killing not only the wrong man, but an innocent one?
Big Bad Wolves is gutsy and disturbing with amazing tone and clever twists. Vengeance, mystery, and shock lives and breathes in this film, and it captivates to the fullest. It makes the audience question what they see and who to believe. There’s this blurred line separating the guilty from the innocent, and no one realizes how close it is or when they have crossed it. However, once it is crossed, there is no turning back. On the outside, this film is a gruesome revenge thriller about murder and truth, but know it cuts deeper than that. It’s about us and humanity as a whole. Therefore, providing no easy answers to the film’s unsettling moral questions. Big Bad Wolves is a tough look in the mirror about the monsters we can allow ourselves to become.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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