Sep 4, 2013

In Bocca Al Lupo – 2004 – In the Mouth of the Wolf



Director: Christos Mouroukis
Short/Horror

According to IMdB, this short horror flick was co-produced in Greece and Spain. The dialog, even if there’s not much of it, is in Spanish. I don’t mind. The most important thing about a movie isn’t which language it’s in but since I like to understand what’s going on I needed the English subtitles, thanks!

The title translated into something like In the Mouth of the Wolf, which is an expression very similar to the way of wishing for good luck by the phrase – break a leg. Having got that clear to me I understand the context of the flick much better. It makes total sense that the title wishes the lead female good luck, with an ironical tone, as she’s really beyond all hope. She’s lying on the floor, bloody, and there’s this guy ready to beat her up some more. At the same time we see her smoking a cigarette and talking about what’s happening to her. I interpret that as her visualized thoughts really. It’s done in a very clever way!

It’s a very intense little thing even if it's just a few minutes long. As usual these short movies are more or less one scene, a small fragment of something that could’ve been a story on a much larger scale. I wish this was a longer movie actually! I think that the director, who also plays the part on the killer by the way, could keep it interesting for an hour and a half. This short story has such a promise!

As always when it comes to these short flicks, it’s hard to fit them into a grading system. It’s not really fair to compare them with longer more complex movies. But you have to take them for what they are and compare them with their own peers so to speak. This is a quite suspenseful and thrilling little piece that I’m glad I was able to see!


8/10