‘Teddy’ Movie Review: The Werewolf Film You’ve Been Waiting For!
I’ve never really been a fan of werewolf movies, although to be fair, I’ve never really SEEN a lot of werewolf movies. Mostly because I was never really that interested in seeing werewolf movies. To be honest, it’s pretty tough to make a werewolf come off as genuinely scary or even realistic-looking on film, especially if you’re going to include a transformation scene. Good luck.
‘An American Werewolf in London’ has, for the most part, set the bar for these particular films, and it has certainly stood the test of time, although there have been a number of other werewolf films since that have left their mark as well. However, it seems as though there are far more misses than hits when it comes to this subgenre. Admittedly for myself, it’s hard to take a werewolf serious, even in a horror film. I just don’t find them that entertaining or scary.
‘Teddy,’ co-written and directed by French twin brothers Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, is an exception. Perhaps because it doesn’t focus on the actual werewolf aspect (to the point where it’s hard to truly classify this film as such) and we rarely see the creature itself, but also because it’s just so well done. It is different than what you’d expect from an American feature, especially if you’re here for the gore factor. There’s some, but nothing gratuitous.
It pays its attention to the characters instead, namely the titular character Teddy, played perfectly by former French child star Anthony Bajon. He delivers a memorable performance of a guy you’re not supposed to like but you end up cheering for anyways. He keeps it real and has a dark, albeit juvenile, sense of humour. However, underneath it all, there’s a young man who truly cares about the people he’s closest to.
Teddy has his problems, for sure, struggling with money issues, working for a toxic boss, and living with some family members who are deemed the “village idiots,” according to Teddy himself. His saving grace is his girlfriend Rebecca (played by Christina Gautier) and his dream of building a home for them one day in the country. It’s what drives him to put up with all the rest.
One day, while on his way to work, Teddy is attacked in the bushes just outside his home, though he never gets a good look at whatever it is that bit him. Slowly, he understands what is happening to him, and it comes at a time when it seems as though his world is crashing down around him. You really feel for Teddy and his circumstances, especially as the film comes to an end.
There are no real special effects in ‘Teddy,’ no big names on the marquee, and no jump scares or cheap shots at comedy. It’s like a gritty, indie take on a genre that desperately needs more films like this one, which I feel would have been ruined with a larger budget or the wrong people at the helm, or if it had been made in America, for that matter. With that said, it is certainly not for everyone, especially if you’re looking for a creature feature.
‘Teddy’ is only the second feature film for the Boukherma brothers and their first foray into the horror realm, although I use the word “horror” loosely here. But I hope it will not be their last, because we need more horror filmmakers like this, willing to take risks, try new things, and breathe fresh air into worn-out ideas.
‘Teddy’ is streaming right now on Shudder.
For the record, I’d give ‘Teddy’ 4 stars out of 5.