The Review (Spoiler Free)
“Wildling” is a film that delves into the dark corners of fairy tales and emerges with a modern twist on the coming-of-age story. Directed by Fritz Böhm, the movie introduces us to Anna (played by Bel Powley), a young girl who has spent her entire childhood in captivity under the care of a man she knows only as “Daddy” (Brad Dourif). She is taught to fear the outside world, especially the Wildling, a monstrous creature of her caretaker’s tales.
The narrative begins with a sense of claustrophobic dread but soon unfolds into a broader exploration of freedom, identity, and the painful throes of growing up. When Anna is freed by the local sheriff, Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler), she must navigate the complexities of a world she has never known. As she grapples with her newfound liberty, her body begins to change, and her childhood nightmares creep into reality, hinting at a deeper, more primal truth about her existence.
Powley delivers a ferocious performance, embodying both the innocence of a sheltered child and the burgeoning power of a creature not quite human. The supporting cast, including Tyler and Dourif, provide solid performances that anchor the film’s fantastical elements in emotional reality.
The film’s feminist themes are woven throughout, presenting a narrative where a young woman’s awakening is not just metaphorical but literal. The transformation of Anna’s character is both a blessing and a curse, a source of strength and a cause for fear. This duality is captured beautifully in the cinematography and the subtle use of special effects, which never overshadow the story’s human core.
While “Wildling” has its narrative flaws, with some critics pointing out plot holes and uneven pacing, it remains a compelling watch. The movie doesn’t rely on cheap thrills or shock tactics; instead, it builds a slow-burning tension that pays off with emotional and narrative depth. It’s a story about discovering one’s true nature and the often painful process of coming into one’s own.
Ending Explained (Spoiler Alert!)
Wildling is interesting new take on werewolf story.
It’s not surprising to figure out that Anna is the Wildling werewolf. The movie starts out as we see little Anna trapped in a room with a strange man. We starts to feel sympathized with Anna early on, and starts to question the mysterious man. But few minuets into the movie, we see the twist coming miles away.
What so different about this Wildling werewolf is that, it looks just like a human when it is young. But as it grows, it slowly starts to turn into werewolf. We can clearly see this transformation from Anna.
It turned out Anna is the last of its werewolf species. Other Wildling werewolf were all exterminated by the werewolf hunters. Anna’s, so called daddy” is one of the werewolf hunter. When he saw baby Anna, he couldn’t go through with it. So he decided to keep her and raise her in secret. But as Anna starts to grow, she starts to slowly turn into werewolf. Now he has to decide what to do with her as she slowly turns into werewolf. He was trying to suppress her growth by giving hormone injections. But it wasn’t working. It was killing her slowly. At the end, he decided to just kill himself. At least he tried.
Teenage Anna ended up living with local sheriff played by Liv Taylor. There she fell in love with Sheriff’s son and ended up getting pregnant.
At the end, when Anna turned into werewolf, the local werewolf hunters were trying to kill her again. But Anna survived. With her baby, she is able to continue carry on Wildling species. We know that Anna’s baby is half human, so it will continue to generate new species of Wildling.
In the Nutshell
“Wildling” is a thought-provoking film that combines elements of drama, fantasy, horror, and thriller genres. It may not be perfect, but it offers a fresh perspective on familiar tropes and leaves the audience with something to ponder long after the credits roll. For those who appreciate a movie that challenges as much as it entertains, “Wildling” is a wild ride worth taking. [4 out of 5 stars]
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First & foremost…….I LOVE horror movies…..what I mean is….I LOVE THEM!!!!
As long as…..they are……shall we state……as in Myth Busters…..Plausible……
Now…..I just happened to stumble across this movies(came after I was watching something
really good!!!)…..so….I fell into this one…..anyway….
wasn’t sure what it is/was about…..so…..I played along……I typically….do my homework….
and try to figure everything out before it happens…..kinda like a……whodoneit!!!
Anyway….I was sure what was going on…..at first….I thought it was a sadistic “held”
young girl kinda flick…..but…..OH!!! NO!!!! What a twist……that’s the good news!!!
Unfortunately……I did not like the ending so much…..I thought they could have done
so much more with it……as other people have stated as well…..
Overall…..or….in summation….I would rate this a solid “4”…….I do not like
a movie whereas a person or people in it…..do NOT communicate……ie….like to no
talking…..except…..maybe….Clint Eastwood…..of course….he is the BEST at non
communication…….
There’s an error in this where it says Anna falls in love with the Sheriff’s (Liv Tyler) son. They were brother and sister, not mother and son.. Wish the writers would have included a scene where the Sheriff’s brother finds out that he conceived a child with Anna. Loved this movie though and hope there will be a sequel!
I think they made that mistake because Liv Tyler seemed too old to be the sister. I found myself constantly reminding myself that she was the SISTER, not his mother. Casting problem that could have been solved by just making her his mom.
Yes they need to come out with a second one. The end of the movie left you hanging. I thought it was a good movie. I too stumbled upon it watching Netflix movies. I give it a 4 stars.
I just watched this movie on Netflix. I really liked it but I wish it was longer, with a more detailed ending… I hope there is a second one in the future
I just watched it, I’m not really into history or made up creature type movies, but it was in the Horror category & I’m IN LOVE with Horror movies so I thought I should give it a try, it was boring at first but then got so so sooo interesting, so many shocks in the movie, I freaking loved it!! There definitely needs to be a second one! I give it 5 stars!😌❤️
An engaging movie, with great acting from the main character, Anna. Her difficulties, when trying to adapt to normal life, are well portrayed.
She has no experience at all or interacting with people, Plus she’s only partly human. Quite a tall order!
She has enough maternal instinct to protect her unborn baby. We see at the end that her race will carry on!
I dont really like how they have not carried on to a second movie of this but I hope they do I thought Anna was the last until the end when she was holding her baby and you can hear the howl of another wildling… made no since, since she was the so called last of her kind… they need to make another.
I didn’t think this film was predictable at all. I thought that it was a child abduction story at first, where the male figure was brain washing the child to believe that there was some evil child eating wildiling creature lurking outside to kill murder at the first opportunity, if she tried to escape. I was shocked when it turned out to be her that the monster. I love the story line, but was very disappointed that it wasn’t developed more. This could have been an A+ movie but lacked details and more substance.
The movie is a metaphor for female puberty and I thought it was pretty well done.