Line #60 Film/TheCompanyOfWolves


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CompanyOfWolves_1233.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle."'']]
3	->''"And if there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too."''
4	-->-- '''Mother'''
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6	A 1984 horror/fantasy film directed by Creator/NeilJordan and written by Creator/AngelaCarter. It's loosely based on a short-story of the same name from the anthology ''Literature/TheBloodyChamber''.[[note]]The film also includes elements from two other stories in the collection, "The Werewolf" and "Wolf-Alice".[[/note]]
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8	Rosaleen, a young girl ("[[MissingTrailerScene I'm twelve and three-quarters old!]]"), falls asleep in her parents' mansion and dreams of living in a quaint 18th-century village. After her sister is killed in the forest by a pack of wolves, Rosaleen's grandmother shares several stories with her, which warn of the dangers of deceptive wolves who roam the forest at night, looking for young girls to devour... She is informed to never trust a [[BigOlUnibrow man whose eyebrows meet in the middle]] and that the most dangerous wolves are "The ones with fur on the inside".
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10	Think of it as resembling "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood", if written by UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud and directed by Creator/DavidLynch.
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12	----
13	!! ''The Company of Wolves'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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15	* AdaptationExpansion: The movie goes into much more detail than the short story made by Angela Carter.
16	* AdultsAreUseless: Played with. Ultimately Rosaleen ends up having to take care of business herself because [[spoiler: everything her grandmother told her was wrong.]]
17	* AliceAllusion: Rosaleen's older sister is called Alice, and the dream starts off following her through a passage of oversized toys that references going down the rabbit hole. She is also color-coded with white, and Rosaleen with red (the White Queen and Red Queen). Later when Rosaleen strays from the beaten path, she follows a white rabbit.
18	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Rosaleen finds the older, dangerous huntsman much more attractive than the village boys.
19	* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:Averted. She gets attacked by a wolf shortly after waking up.]]
20	* AllMenArePerverts: A major theme in the movie. Granny warns of it constantly, and to be fair, every man Rosaleen meets is trying to bang her.
21	* AlwaysNight: Most of the film takes place in the dark and has a hypnotic surreal nightmarish atmosphere about it.
22	* AnachronismStew: Justified in that everything but the Framing Device is AllJustADream. The second story told about how the Devil arrives in the woods in a Rolls Royce to give a Georgian boy a potion. The third story shows the modern mansion from the Framing Device in the background, standing in for an 18th Century Georgian manor-house.
23	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Rosaleen herself, according to Alice, but then, Rosaleen did steal her lipstick.
24	* AssholeVictim: Alice. She has very little time on screen, in which she manages to be utterly repulsive. The viewer gets almost instant satisfaction from her violent death early in the movie. Even little sister Rosaleen seems barely affected.
25	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Alice looks quite good for someone who got savaged by a pack of wolves, although it's likely part of the ambiguity of Rosaleen's dream.
26	* TheBigBadWolf: [[spoiler:The Huntsman is truly a wolf in diguise!]]
27	* BigOlUnibrow: A big sign that a man is really a werewolf...
28	--> '''Granny:''' Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet.
29	* BitchAlert: Rosaleen's sister Alice. It's no wonder she gets eaten by wolves at the very start of the dream!
30	* BittersweetEnding: The same as most coming of age stories -- Rosaleen learns about being an adult, at the cost of childhood innocence.
31	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The three female protagonists of each of the stories (the protagonist of the second is a boy). The Young Bride is blonde, the Wolfgirl is brunette and the Witch Woman is redhead.
32	* BodyHorror: The [[PainfulTransformation werewolf transformation]] scenes are very [[spoiler: bloody...]]
33	* BodyInABreadbox: When the Werewolf in the first story is decapitated, his head falls in a tub of milk.
34	* BrokenBird: Granny's rants against men, love, and sexuality hint at this.
35	* TheCameo: Creator/TerenceStamp as the Devil.
36	* ChekhovsGun:
37	** [[spoiler: The moment the wolf/huntsman knocks off Granny's head seems to be out of left field, unless you remember that while other major characters were featured in the real world sequences -- Rosaleen's parents and sister -- Granny was never a person at all. She was one of the dolls in Rosaleen's room.]]
38	** Alice wears a cross around her neck that is given to Rosaleen after she dies. [[spoiler: Rosaleen's mother seeing the cross around a wolf's neck tells her that the wolf is really her daughter]].
39	* ColorMotif: White objects turning red happens more than once, usually through bloodshed -- and red on white is usually a metaphor for menstruation.
40	* CoversAlwaysLie: The girl on the DVD cover dressed in Rosaleen's clothing is clearly not Rosaleen (played by Sarah Patterson). It's a random woman not even appearing in the movie.
41	* DevilInPlainSight: The sinister looking guy who pulls up in a ''Rolls Royce'' in the middle of the forest, [[AnachronismStew in times way before automobiles]], is clearly bad news.
42	* DisproportionateRetribution:
43	** The Werewolf in the first story, who attacks his ex-wife for having remarried under the assumption that he was dead.
44	** The pregnant witch in the third story, who not only [[KarmicTransformation turns her baby-daddy into a wolf for having dumped her]], but also extends this retaliation to his newly-wed bride (who, judging by her lack of enthusiasm when he kisses her, likely didn't want to marry him in the first place) and ''all'' their wedding guests.
45	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The entire movie has scenes reminiscent of Freudian ideas about sexuality.
46	* DomesticAbuse: "The Story of the Bride and Groom" ends with the woman being slapped by her second husband. Granny's assessment of men hints that this will be the woman's fate after the end.
47	* DontGoInTheWoods: Or, "don't stray from the path" as it is said in the film. Granny warns young Rosaleen in this way, lest she fall victim to wolves (men and their wiles).
48	* DoubleStandard: There is alot of preaching against men until one of the men happens to be attractive. Rosaleen throws her anti-male avoidance training right out the window when she meets the sexy huntsman.
49	* DownTheRabbitHole: A dream leads to a medieval village with shapeshifting wolves.
50	* EtherealWhiteDress: Alice in white at her funeral looks interestingly more like a young bride, than someone who was savaged by wolves.
51	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: In the first story, the TimeSkip is conveyed by the Young Bride's hair being worn up and the Young Groom's having grown out long.
52	* FaceHeelTurn: Rosaleen spends most of the movie being indoctrinated against men; that is, until the huntsman enters the equation. Cue Rosaleen quickly changing her mind about everything she's learned, willingly turning into a wolf and running off with him.
53	* FeministFantasy: Angela Carter was a diehard feminist, and her collection of short stories were based on feminist reworkings of classic fairy tales. The film takes "Little Red Riding Hood" variants which taught girls to be afraid of their own sexuality, and turns it around so that Rosaleen is empowered by it instead.
54	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Rosaleen's mother says "if there's a beast in man, it meets its match in woman". Later when the village men are fighting over whether Rosaleen has been captured, mother throws water on them to cool them off. [[spoiler: And at the end, Rosaleen turns into a wolf to join the Huntsman]].
55	* FramingDevice: The real world scenes where we firmly establish that the majority of the movie is a dream. There is also evidence of the 18th century scenes being in a dreamscape, such as Alice encountering giant children's toys in the woods shortly before her attack by wolves, the giant mushrooms seen in the forest multiple times, Rosaleen finding baby figurines in a stork's nest, and some examples of AnachronismStew.
56	* FullyEmbracedFiend: [[spoiler: In the end, Rosaleen runs off with the huntsman/wolf.]]
57	* GainaxEnding: Where did all those "wolves" come from? And is Rosaleen [[DreamWithinADream still dreaming at that point]]? Neil Jordan's original ending would have had her jumping to the floor -- where she would disappear as if into water.
58	* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Rosaleen and Alice are implied to be locked in one of these. Alice is older and more glamorous, with lipstick that Rosaleen keeps borrowing, so she is probably the pretty sister. Rosaleen meanwhile is intuitive and imaginative, making her the smart sister.
59	* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: The Young Bride remarries and has children because she assumed her first husband was killed by wolves. Turns out he ''was'' a wolf and is not pleased when he returns to discover this.
60	* GoodParents: Rosaleen's parents are very supportive and loving, even if they have trouble understanding her sometimes.
61	* GoodShepherd: The old priest in Rosaleen's last story, who tends to the wolf-girl's wound.
62	* {{Grimmification}}: Features graphic werewolf transformations and other characters getting killed by the titular wolves. [[spoiler: Rosaleen also becomes a wolf in the end]].
63	* TheHecateSisters: Rosaleen fills the Maiden role, Mother is the Matron and Granny is the Crone.
64	* JerkassHasAPoint:
65	** The Young Bride's second husband slapping her is a dick move, but he does have a good reason to be annoyed that she let a werewolf into the house and endangered all their children. He had no reason to know she didn't know he was a wolf.
66	** It really is not a good idea to eat a windfall apple, at least one that didn't ''just'' fall.
67	* KarmicTransformation: The third story has a pregnant witch turn her baby-daddy, his bride, and the wedding guests into wolves after he dumps her.
68	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Granny is full of 'wisdom' that turns out to be nothing but old wives' tales. Best illustrated by the scene where she tells Rosaleen that the priest is "deaf as a post", and gets an entire branch dropped on her.
69	-->'''Priest:''' I heard ''everything'', you irreverent old woman.
70	* LadyInRed: Rosaleen herself, which is disturbing considering she's not even thirteen yet. However, once she receives the red cloak from her grandmother, her sexuality begins to bud.
71	* LittleDeadRidingHood: This is set up all through the movie, particularly towards the last trip to Granny's house when Rosaleen finds red blood by the gate...
72	* LittleRedFightingHood: Rather than be threatened, Rosaleen [[spoiler: grabs the huntsman's gun and shoots him.]]
73	* MagicPants: Averted. The traveler husband in the first story strips off to transform and the [[spoiler: Huntsman's clothes rip off as he transforms]].
74	* AManIsAlwaysEager: Granny's opinion about male sexuality. The mother challenges this. [[spoiler: Turns out that the mother is right.]]
75	* MoodWhiplash: A man goes through the TransformationTrauma mentioned below, the music is suitably grim, the visuals horrifying... then he's a perfectly friendly wolf that's happy to sit next to the girl.
76	* MyBelovedSmother: Granny comes off as this more so than the Mother, who tries to discourage Rosaleen from taking everything Granny says as the Gospel truth.
77	* NestedStory: Gran, and later Rosaleen, tell stories about wolves, what they do, and what they want. This being a WorldOfSymbolism about working out how adult sexuality actually works.
78	* NeverMessWithGranny: Granny gets aggressive to the village boy that keeps flirting with Rosaleen, and when she thinks the Huntsman has eaten her, she comes at him with a red hot poker.
79	* NoNameGiven: Any of the cast other than Rosaleen and Alice (and her only once), in particular The Huntsman, Granny, and her parents.
80	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Outside the dream, Rosaleen is implied to be suffering from menstrual cramps. Later she finds an object that more than likely indicates her fertility.
81	* OffWithHisHead:
82	** In "The Story of the Bride and Groom", the werewolf is decapitated just after the transformation with [[ShovelStrike a shovel]], and the head flies into a bucket of milk.
83	** When [[spoiler:the Huntsman]] confronts [[spoiler:Granny]], it ends with him decapitating her, with her head stylistically shattering like porcelain on impact with a shelf.
84	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Deliberately done between Granny and the Huntsman. [[spoiler: On first viewing, and from Granny's point of view it sounds very like the huntsman is just a smooth talker, snidely telling Granny that [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming Rosaleen was asking for it]]. From the huntman's point of view "Nothing she didn't want" literally means he didn't do anything Rosaleen didn't consent to.]]
85	* OnlyOneName: Rosaleen and Alice.
86	* OpposedMentors: Granny and Rosaleen's mother have contrasting beliefs about adult sexuality and what men are thinking of in regards to women.
87	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The wolves in the woods, as well as those who transform into wolves all symbolize the idea of men and their impure, doglike nature and their intentions toward women.
88	* OverlyLongTongue: Rosaleen's love interest in the end is a werewolf, and he has a long, canine-like creepy tongue...
89	* PainfulTransformation: The infamous werewolf transformation scene where a man peels off his own skin, to reveal a NightmareFace, only to have a werewolf snout burst out from within his mouth, transforming him entirely into a wild bloodthirsty wolf. Then his head is chopped off by someone!
90	* PetTheDog: Granny is mean and crotchety but she gives Rosaleen bits of genuine affection throughout the film.
91	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: [[GoodShepherd The priest]], who doesn't take as harsh a view towards wolves or sexuality as Granny.
92	* {{Satan}}: The man in the car is implied to be Satan, since Granny prefaces the story with, "One day he'll meet the devil in the wood."
93	* SavageWolves: The major theme of the film is that wolves are predators that want to eat up girls (both literally and metaphorically).
94	* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Granny is rude to pretty much everyone.
95	* SexuallyTransmittedSuperpowers: [[spoiler: Rosaleen didn't turn into a wolf by herself, y'know.]]
96	* ShirtlessScene: A very creepy example with The Huntsman. Whether it's FanService or FanDisservice depends on [[spoiler: how hairy you like your men]].
97	* ShoutOut: The fairy tale forest was inspired by Creator/GustaveDore's illustrations for Creator/CharlesPerrault's ''Fairy Tales of Mother Goose'', especially ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood''.
98	* ShowWithinAShow: The bulk of the story is a dream, in which Rosaleen hears stories from the people around her about the wolves. [[spoiler: The fact a Rolls-Royce appears indicates that the story actually takes place within a woman living in modern times.]]
99	* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/ThePath'' explores the same theme, except with Red Riding Hoods of different ages.
100	* StayOnThePath: [[spoiler: Played With]] Granny instructs Rosaleen never to stray from the path when walking through the woods. [[spoiler: This is ultimately challenged because whenever Rosaleen strays from the path, she learns important lessons.]]
101	* TheCavalierYears: Aside from the modern setting of the Framing Device (and some AnachronismStew moments), most of the fashion and aesthetics in the film date to the Georgian era of the early/mid-18th Century.
102	* ThisWasHisTrueForm: After the werewolf is decapited at the end of "The Story of the Bride and Groom", its head turns back into human form.
103	* TitleDrop: Done by the Huntsman, [[spoiler:who "loves the company of wolves."]]
104	* TheTragicRose: The white rose that turns red in the Wolfgirl story. The story is a metaphor for a child maturing to an adult, and how they can't return to their childhood innocence again.
105	* TransformationSequence: There are a couple of intense, brutal scenes of men changing into wolves. They're rather amazing for being done quite some time before CGI started dominating movies.
106	* UnnamedParent: Rosaleen's Mother, Rosaleen's Father, and Granny.
107	* UnresolvedSexualTension: Squickily between Rosaleen and the Huntsman, in particular the scene where he takes off her red cape and throws it in the fire. [[spoiler: Rosaleen turning into a wolf implies they ultimately resolved it.]]
108	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[spoiler: Rosaleen becomes a wolf at the end and runs off with the Huntsman]].
109	* WasOnceAMan: Rosaleen's father takes a paw from a wolf for a trophy. It turns into a ''human hand!''
110	* WomanScorned: The witch in the third story, who was dumped by her upper-class boyfriend for a similarly upper-class bride. She retaliates by turning them both, and their wedding guests, into wolves.
111	* WorldOfSymbolism: There's very little in this film that isn't either overtly or covertly about puberty, sexuality or impending adulthood.
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Context Film / TheCompanyOfWolves