Brit filmed in Hertfordshire, Wolf Garden is writer-director Wayne David‘s first feature-length effort. William (Wayne David, himself) and his partner Chantelle (Sian Altman) appear to be a more or less happy couple. On a break to get away from it all, they awaken in bed with the morning sunshine streaming in on them. The only niggle is the wolflike howling William’s heard from the surrounding forest during the night. This not being a common occurrence in modern-day Britain he’s puzzled, but not unduly bothered at first.

As the film continues, events become  muddled and disjointed. It seems there’s more troubling William than whatever’s in the woods. Scenes begin to flit between the then and now, and it’s clear from the now that something terrible has happened. Inexplicably alone in a large, poorly-lit house in the middle of nowhere, life for William’s become a nightmare of solitude, forced upon him by persons unknown, for reasons unknown to.. well, all but those persons.

A series of increasingly urgent-sounding phone calls from John (Jake Wood, who fans of Red Dwarf may recognise as Kill Crazy from series 8 just by his voice) and a figure known only as ‘The Visitor’ (Grant Masters, who appears wreathed in half-darkness during William’s deepest moments of introspection, insisting he’s not a figment of his imagination) are the only ones who seem to know what’s going on. John seems like he wants to help, The Visitor less so. Both seem to think William should know what’s going on, but he doesn’t, and nor do we.

I’d like to be able to say there’s a point at which the plot thickens or gains momentum, but unfortunately that’s not the case. The tension and mystery rather jump into the deep end feet first as opposed to creeping up before pouncing, and where that time could’ve been used to build the story along with the suspense, the whole thing ends up feeling rushed, with important plot details skated over. What brought William to where he is now is hinted at, but we’re only offered glimpses of a number of tempting avenues down which more insight and depth could’ve  been achieved. As a result the overall impression is one of anticlimactic confusion; there’s no beginning, middle and end; everything seems to happen at once.

This isn’t to say Wolf Garden is a badly-made film. The cinematography is no amateur effort; as the scenes switch between the past and the present there’s a true sense of the swift turn for the worse William’s circumstances have taken; love, light, and laughter eclipsed by the brooding well of shadows in which he now sits, alone in his bewilderment.

The countenance of The Visitor is perfect; as he himself points out, he’s more than a figment of the imagination, and we know it. I couldn’t help thinking of V for Vendetta whenever he appeared, and wishing the plot concerning him, ‘John’ and their roles in the whole setup were given more attention. There’s nothing wrong with the casting, and the music (particularly the beautiful opening theme) is spot on. Even the special effects had me nodding in approval, no mean feat for a film on a budget. There are definitely the seeds of a gripper in Wolf Garden, but it needed a rethink on the focus and pacing.