Not only did I really miss out on Women in Horror Month this year, but one could say I failed completely. That brings me to today, International Women’s Day, and my almost unintentional attempt at rectifying that particular failure. Quite fittingly, today’s film of choice was the 2013 Argentinian film featuring a female lead — Tamae Garateguy’s She Wolf.
The Plot
A serial killer uses the art of seduction to lure her male victims to their deaths. Unfortunately for her, one of her suitors is an undercover police officer who has been investigating her for quite some time. The game of cat and mouse intensifies as her three personalities fight not only for their own survival, but for the survival of her newly budding romance with a man who aided in her escape from officer Garcia.
My Thoughts
I have mentioned many times in the past how I am a “surface viewer,” for lack of a better term. I was never one to really delve deeply into the layers of a film or its possibly hidden meaning; I watch films for what they are and my brain doesn’t allow me to go much further than that.
While I never really saw a problem with this “handicap” of mine, it does leave me to wonder if I truly am missing something much larger, from time to time. The reason I bring this up now, once again, is because She Wolf has left me more confused than I can ever recall being after a film has ended.
This black and white film features three actresses playing the same woman (Mónica Lairana, Guadalupe Docampo, and Luján Ariza). They are meant to represent the three personalities of one serial killer. The personalities are all quite different from one another — the seductive buxom blonde, the more reserved but equally as fierce raven-haired temptress, and the downright bashful and prude brunette.
After watching She Wolf in its 92 minute entirety, I am left scratching my head as to what exactly this serial killer was. Was she actually some sort of wolf-woman? Did she really have the ability to seemingly shape-shift before the eyes of anyone she pleased?
Other than a one-off remark of “when you do that, it freaks me out,” by her new lover, no one seemed to care that three distinctively different women were standing before them in a matter of mere seconds.
Perhaps the goal of director, Tamae Garateguy, and her co-writer, Diego Fleischer, was to make their audience feel as though they, too, were on the drugs that this killer had slipped her insatiable male victims.
If that were indeed the desired effect, they did their job quite well!
The Verdict
While I won’t sit here and say that She Wolf, also known as Mujer lobo in its native Spanish, is a bad film, I will stand my opinion that it is indeed a perplexing one.
It does feature talented actors and the choice of filming [almost] entirely in black and white will please some of you more artsy genre fans. It is also a very sexy film, which will succeed in arousing a lot of you fine folks out there, as well. Hey, there’s no shame in that!
She Wolf will be available on DVD from Omnibus Entertainment and Film Movement on Tuesday, March 19. I urge you all to give this one a watch, as I hope you can shed some light on the parts that may have been launched way over my head.
Please share your thoughts on the film, as I would love to hear some other perspectives on this female-lead psycho-sexual thriller!
I, personally, give She Wolf 1.5 personalities out of 5.
