Wendigo 2002

Filmaker, The Magazine of Independent Film, vol 10, issue 2, has an interview with Larry Fessenden about "Wendigo". Larry keeps mentioning how he thought the woman character was strong. I'll have to try to keep the male/female thing in mind when I go see it in LA in a couple weeks because my initial impression of the wife was that she sucked. She 'thought' she was a big know it all, she's a shrink after all, but I felt that Jake's character was more grounded. Yes, he took some work with him up to the house but so what? Hell, I work from home many a time, doesn't mean I'm a slave to the grind. Too bad none of those thoughts arose in my mind after the LAIFF screening last year so Fessenden and I could have gotten into a rousing conversation.

Link to NY Times article that will be free until 2-22-02 and then can be purchased for $2.50 through Q Pass

Link to Newsday review

Link to Village Voice review - have to scroll down to mid page

Rex Reed had a small review on Wendigo that is to appear in the 2-18-02 edition of NY Observer. He found Jake and the actress who played his wife, Patricia Clarkson, 'two fine actors'. He considered Wendigo an 'arty thriller'.

"Jake Weber delivers a spot-on turn as George, so mellow and low-key he scarcely seems to be acting. His style harmonizes perfectly with the film's mission of finding horror in the mundane." From Erica Abeel of Film Journal International

Collection of reviews at Rotten Tomatoes - the title notwithstanding, Wendigo has a 92% 'fresh' rating. :-)

2-24-02: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times saw "Wendigo" before his surgery and liked everything except the end. Have noticed that many reviewers are a bit put out by the end. Maybe they wanted the Wendigo to be more of a mystery, more - does it really exist or not.

Ray Pride at NewCity Chicago liked the movie. To read the review, you need to go to newcitychicago.com and click on film & video.

Some find George ineffective or insecure. What did they expect him to do, play Arnold Schwarzeneger? It has also occurred to me that the mother, who is a psychoanalyst, didn't bother to use her skills with Otis. She should have recognized that he was a nut case.

Good article on 'Wendigo' in Fangoria, issue 210 - March 2002. If you can find it, get it.

3-1-02 Link to great LA Times review by Kenneth Turan - may have to pay past a certain date.

3-5-02: Link to good review by Popcorn Junkie

3-7-02: Link to another great review at Twilight Showcase

3-17-02: Well, I have now seen "Wendigo" 3 2/3 times. Without getting into the ending of the film, I will say that I have noticed different things when watching it. I don't know how much of it has to do with how close one sits to the screen or not. :-) The mom, Kim, is still annoying to me. Although I have noticed that she and George have their little differences although their love wins through. Even when George is fussy because he doesn't wish to be psychoanalyzed, he softens and 'makes up'. I still think he handled the death of the deer with Miles better then she did. Neither of them seem to realize the impact that witnessing a death has on a child. There were overt hints throughout Miles' drawings but neither parent bothered to look at them. The one thing that doesn't change is that Jake still looks good no matter how many times I watch the movie. Was able to notice his underlying disturbance as well. Even when he is attentive to Miles, as soon as Miles leaves, his [George] brow clouds. He's disturbed by Otis [and why Kim wasn't more disturbed will remain a real mystery] and he's concerned about his job. What's sad, is that had he been a slave to the job, well, . . . never mind. You'll have to see the movie for yourselves.

3-31-02: For those who may find the way the Wendigo looks not so scary, I think I've semi-figured it out. I've only seen parts of Fessenden's "Habit" but that movie goes in and out between the protaganist's POV and the 'real world' POV. I think one has to keep in mind that in the last part of "Wendigo", we are actually pinging between Miles' POV and the real world POV. A kid isn't necessarily going to know how to visualize a really 'spooky' thing. It would also explain why we get the parting shot that we get. Keeping that in mind, don't think the end is weak at all. Well, never thought it was but some reviewers have.

5-27-02: Link to good review from Pittsburgh Post Gazette

8-16-02: The soundtrack isn't bad. It's very elemental, with the use of voices and instruments that simulate the wind. One can envision the stark, beautiful landscapes that were part of the film. I think of Jake as well but that's only natural.

12-15-02: Link to good interview with Fessenden at Fearsmag.