Hinging on the distasteful in its melding of child murder horror with humour, Big Bad Wolves is an Israeli serial killer comedy that skilfully manipulates genre traits with mixed results. A disgruntled cop (Lior Ashkenazi) happens upon the father of a murdered schoolgirl (Guy Adler) who is hungry for revenge against the man who killed his daughter. The father joins forces with the cop and the pair kidnap the key suspect in attempt to extract information without knowing for sure if he is guilty of the crimes.
While nailing an appropriate tone, Big Bad Wolves substitutes an interesting second half for shock tactic suspense scenes which, despite being well executed, are no substitute for a great plot. Tension is built effectively via smart editing and an understanding of audience expectations while the violence is gut-wrenching but not in abundance. Because the protagonists are unaware as to whether or not the man they are so gleefully torturing is guilty, it is difficult to empathise with any of them.
Regardless of the smart direction from Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, Big Bad Wolves is let down due to its lack of real narrative expansion as the story focuses primarily on the torturing in the second act. Key characters remain undeveloped despite a couple of minor arcs and even though the comedy is amusing there are fewer twists where some would have been welcome. On the whole Big Bad Wolves is a surprisingly fun but fleeting film and a treat for horror fans despite its flaws.
Showing on 14 November at Odeon, Swiss Cottage http://ukjewishfilm.org/film/
Daniel has awarded Big Bad Wolves three Torches of Truth
