Some films haunt us for being too scary or for delivering some message that we carry. Unfortunately, some films hurt us by shattering our expectations as a viewer. Director David Lipper’s film Wolf Mountain is one such film. The film had a story with potential, but the development and execution utterly failed to create any impact. It fell flat on its face and left the audience shocked by its sheer mediocrity. The actors delivered very poor performances, and the story seemed rushed, with multiple characters and not-so-funny characteristics. The film begins with trauma and ends with healing from it. However, there was no actual healing. So, in a nutshell, the film failed to deliver on anything that it promised. The film had a murderer whose motive seemed unreasonable, and his killing spree was depicted in the most unimpressive way. Before wasting more time, here is a quick sneak peek into the film.
Spoilers Ahead
Seeking The Truth
AJ had a hard time getting over the deaths of his parents. They went hiking on Wolf Mountain, and his parents fell off the cliff, losing their lives. However, AJ was rescued and was too little to remember anything. But a shadowy figure would appear in his nightmares. The figure had the head of a wolf and the body of a man, and AJ began believing that there was someone else with them while his parents died. His nightmares caused him serious mental distress, and he had to visit a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist used hypnosis to take him back to the place, but there was nothing much he could recall. So, the doctor asked him to visit the place physically again to revisit the place of severe trauma and bring back memories that the mind protects.
AJ told his wife, Emma, about his plan to visit Wolf Mountain, and she said that she would accompany him. Also, AJ finds out that they are going to be parents and is excited to take the trip before the child comes along. So far into the film, there has been no mention of a brother in AJ’s life. However, soon we see a pool party in AJ’s backyard of their new house, where AJ’s brother (Max), his wife (Lexi), the wife’s sister (Samantha), and the sister’s boyfriend (James) join them. That night, AJ tells his brother about his plan to visit Wolf Mountain. Max volunteered to join him.
Now, this is where the audience is sure that Max had something to do with the deaths of the parents. There was something sketchy about the character. Firstly, Max was not in the family picture that Emma and AJ were going through, which seems unnatural. Secondly, in the picture, AJ seemed to be over five years old, which is why it is hard to believe that he does not remember not having his brother beside him while his parents died. Finally, AJ seemed to just have his wife for the family before Max came along.
The Journey
AJ was accompanied by Emma, Max, Lexi, Samantha, and James. We also met AJ’s cousin Ric, who took in AJ and Emma’s dog. The six people traveled in a car and went to the ranger station. The ranger had two other young members who were supposed to be the comic relief in the film. However, they failed to create an impact. However, they told them that the area had bears, the territory was marked, and under no circumstances should they cross it. Also, one of the young rangers told the group not to light a campfire, have sex, or drink liquor, and they would be safe. The ranger also mentioned that they would pick them up from the point where he dropped the group after three days.
In the meantime, three people who had allegedly robbed a bank were on the wolf mountain as well. One man among them was shot and wounded. Eddie, the leader of the trio, said that they should leave the man behind and move ahead. Joe, the second guy, said that would be wrong. However, the third man got scared and began running, but slipped, hit his head on a rock, and died. These two groups met each other for a brief moment. They met near the place where AJ’s group set up their tent. Eddie and Joe were busy hiding the body of the third member of the group. Soon, they disperse from the place, and the three couples enter their respective camps. Except for AJ and Emma, the other couples were busy fornicating loudly.
Toil And Trouble Begin
The next morning, Emma and AJ saw the couples still busy with each other, so they decided to give them privacy and walk up to the place where AJ’s parents had died. AJ still could not remember anything except the pain of losing his parents. However, when they came back to the camps, they could not find the others. Panicked and worried, AJ and Emma set out to find them. James told them that Max had taken them to hike down the river, but they got lost. Suddenly, James sprung up to them out of the blue, and soon they found Samantha. Samantha and Jesse began making out as soon as they met, without even thinking about where her sister could probably be.
They came back into the camp, where the duo, Samantha and James, began fornicating and making loud noises. However, at a point, it seemed that Samantha screamed too loudly, and it was a cry of distress. AJ went out to check on them but found no one. Emma came out too, and it seemed that they disappeared into thin air. However, we are shocked at how both Emma and AJ missed the blood on their things. Before Samantha screamed, we saw a silhouette figure stabbing James and splashes of blood on Samantha.
As they set out, they found Lexi’s body. In the meantime, we see a wolf man hunting people. He kills the leader of the robbery gang as well. AJ finally saw in person the wolf man who was attacking them. Joe discovered AJ and Emma and thought that they had killed his partner. But they finally saw the masked killer. Soon, everyone was running away from the murderer. The murderer had multiple weapons and seemed to know the place very well. The ranger and the two young people came in to find out if something was wrong. They were killed. Emma and AJ called Ric to help them. Ric came into the forest, and even when he could not find the rangers, he went inside without calling emergency services or the police.
After too many fake action scenes, fake blood, and running around, we saw the wolf man finally getting ahead of AJ and Emma. The wolfman stabs Emma, but she survives. The wound on her was too small, but she was bleeding too much. But still, she could take down the masked man and tie him up. Somehow, Roc escaped and called for emergency services. Meanwhile, Emma and AJ find out that the killer is their brother Max. Voila! If you suspected him at the beginning, your disappointment steps up here.
‘Wolf Mountain’ Ending
Max is the adopted son of AJ’s parents. Max was tortured in the former houses he had lived in. But he found happiness with AJ’s parents. But when AJ came along, he was jealous and knew things might go back to how they were for him. So he killed the parents, but he took care of AJ. He had no intention of killing others, but he was helpless. He wanted to kill AJ just because he was sure to find out the truth. You might want to bang your head against the device you are watching in the film; there were multiple ways for Max to stop AJ, and there was also no guarantee that he would find the truth. The sheer thoughtlessness of the plotline is enough to make you cry. But we insist that you wait. Even after this, the film runs for a good twenty minutes.
We see murderous Max freeing himself as soon as he finishes discussing his motive, hitting AJ and dragging him near the cliff. The duo fights and Max falls off the cliff (the iconic last scene of “Lion King” cries at a corner). AJ, Ric, and Emma return to their normal lives. Surprisingly, all of AJ’s mental distress evaporated, and he was doing better after such a trauma (however, we don’t have any answer for that). Emma also delivered a beautiful daughter, and they were happy. In the end, we see AJ leaving town for a meeting, and Ric is driving him toward the airport. But soon AJ thought he saw Max driving towards his house. He forced Ric to turn the car around. As they came back, AJ saw that he was right. Max was indeed there. Max told his audience (Ric, AJ, and Emma) how AJ could not kill him. Soon, he was heading toward Emma to hurt her. AJ pulled out a weapon, like a long sword, and killed him. The weapon was Max’s housewarming party gift to AJ and Emma.
Well, the movie ends, and so does the audience’s patience. The film is an utter waste of time, and there is nothing about it that is flawless. Beginning with the direction to edits to props, sets, and dialogue, everything about the film is a mammoth disappointment.