A series of brutal murders puts the lives of three men on a collision course: The father of the latest victim now out for revenge, a vigilante police detective operating outside the boundaries of law, and the main suspect in the killings - a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder.
Ambivalence to some of the weightier philosophical and political themes is the only thing holding it back from being great; while one can understand the filmmakers’ desire to debate rather than dictate, one also wishes these wolves had gone for the jugular.
Even if you think you’ve seen this story too often, Big Bad Wolves will surprise and enthral. A thriller which bites deep, it has a light touch which finds humanity even in the worst horrors.
Style and wit to burn, but it's all a bit too glib to leave a lasting impression.
This brutal, unrelenting Israeli chiller treads a delicate line between nail-biting tension and the blackest of comedy.
One senses the sniggering film-makers playing variably funny games with our phobia of paedophiles, rather than having anything lasting to say about it.
Brutally simple and brilliantly told, channeling everything from the Coens to Korean masters to create a blood-curdling black comedy.
The hacksaw-sharp result, which mixes winces with inappropriate laughter, is witheringly bleak, bitterly acerbic, and pointedly cruel.
Well acted, gruesomely violent and properly discomfiting.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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