1. Plot

2. Cast

3. Production
     Casting    Photography    Post-production  

4. Release
    Rating  Soundtrack 

5. Reception

6. References

7. External links

Plot

Anna spends her childhood in the care of Gabriel Hanson, whom she believes to be her father. He keeps her confined in her attic bedroom, warning her of a child-eating monster called the Wildling that roams the woods. When Anna reaches puberty, Gabriel begins giving her leuprolide to suppress estrogen production, under the guise of treating her "illness".

By the time she reaches 16, she begins to suffer near fatal side effects from the luperolide. Gabriel attempts to give her a mercy kill at her request but instead turns the gun on himself. Anna wakes up in a hospital after being found by Sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler). She helps Anna start her new life as a normal teenager, taking her home where Anna befriends Ellen's younger brother Ray. Anna's body starts to develop, having been stunted by the leuprolide. While chasing a deer in the forest, she is prevented from getting caught in a trap by a half blind man in a wolf skin.

Ellen reveals to Anna that the hospital ran a DNA test and Gabriel is not her biological father. He remains in a coma in the hospital and has been slightly disfigured from his self inflicted gunshot wound.

In the school library, Anna finds pictures of the Northern Lights and feels a strong pull. The Northern lights come alive on the pages and she realizes her senses are particularly acute, allowing her to hear other girls making fun of her. Ray takes her to a friend's party where they share a brief romantic moment. Anna's mouth begins to spontaneously bleed and loses some of her teeth. When Lawrence Fuller, a local bully, attempts to rape her, she mistakes him for a Wildling and kills him. Confused and frightened, she stumbles across her childhood home and wonders whether she might be turning into a Wildling herself.

The next day, Anna returns to town, having realized that her bleeding mouth was caused by her human teeth being pushed out for sharper teeth, and observing that her nails turning into claws. She refuses to talk to Ellen, and runs into the woods, where she encounters The Wolf Man. He tells her that the Wildlings were killed in the last 'purge' sixteen years ago, and directs her to an underground cavern, where he says she will find her mother. Discovering her mother's sharp-toothed skull, Anna has a vision that reveals that her mother was killed by Gabriel before he took her away as a baby. Shaken, she sees him at the hospital, who has awoken from his coma. She is arrested upon returning home after Ellen discovered Lawrence's body.

That night, Anna is visited by Gabriel in jail. He tells her that she was a mistake and gives her a syringe that he implies contains a lethal dose of her medication. Anna refuses to take it and escapes. Ray agrees to drive Anna north into the forest where she hopes to find the Northern Lights. The two have sex that night, Ray assuring her that he is not concerned about her changes as her nails grow longer and fine hair is found on her back. The next day, Anna finds that claws have grown on her feet. Ray is injured by a group of hunters led by Gabriel, prompting Anna to leave him.

Months later, the hunters corner Anna in the forest. A now dark-skinned and animalistic Anna kills Ellen's deputy Roger, after he threatens to shoot her. Ellen lowers her gun and allows her to escape when she learns that Anna is pregnant.

The hunters start a forest fire that forces Anna to dig into the underground cavern. She is shot by Gabriel with a tranquilizer dart. He attempts to perform a cesarean on her but she attacks and kills him, subsequently tearing his throat out by unhinging her lower jaw. She collapses and regains consciousness when the Wolf Man finds her and stitches up her wound from the attempted cesarean.

The next morning, Ellen and Ray are part of the group exploring the burned forest. Although they see Anna on the other side of a lake, they allow her to escape into the wilderness. Weeks later, Anna witnesses the Northern Lights somewhere far north as she holds her newborn child. She is now fully transformed into a Wildling with black skin, black fur, and messy hair. In the distance, she hears the call of another Wildling.

Cast

• Bel Powley as Anna, a teenager who is secretly a Wildling.
  • Aviva Winick as Little Anna
  • Arlo Mertz as toddler Anna
• Brad Dourif as "Daddy," a man who took in a younger Anna.
• Liv Tyler as Sheriff Ellen Cooper, a sheriff who rescues Anna from Daddy.
• Collin Kelly-Sordelet as Ray Cooper, the brother of Ellen.
• James LeGros as Wolf Man, a mysterious person who tells Anna of her Wildling origins.
• Mike Faist as Lawrence, a local bully that runs afoul of Anna.
• Troy Ruptash as Roger Fowler, a deputy who works for Ellen.
• Trevor E. Dickerson as Wildling
• Alina Cho as the voice of the newscaster
• Patrick M. Walsh, Brian Donahue, and Don Hewitt as Hunters

Production

Wildling is the directorial feature debut of Fritz Böhm, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Florian Eder. The film was produced by Maven Pictures (US) in co-production with Arri Media (German), Film i Väst and Filmgate Films (both Swedish) and in association with IM Global and Night Fox Entertainment.

International sales were handled by IM Global, which first introduced the film to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM) during the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.^[6] On February 18, 2016 Screen International announced that UK rights were acquired by Warner Bros.^[7] On February 19, 2016 Deadline Hollywood reported the closing of distribution deals for Latin America, South Africa, Switzerland, Portugal, Middle East, Turkey, Thailand, Israel, Ex-Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Baltic States and Vietnam.^[8] On February 7, 2018, Variety reported acquisition of the film's release rights in the United States by IFC Films.^[9]

Casting

On October 5, 2015, Deadline Hollywood announced the casting of Bel Powley and Liv Tyler for the lead roles.^[10]

In an interview with Film Inquiry, Bel Powley talked about what originally drew her to the film, saying, "I've always wanted projects that kind of subvert tradition and the norm, and I think that's something that Wildling really did from the first draft I read."^[11] With Inverse, Powley described the film as a "story about becoming a woman in our society and the obstacles you're faced with."^[12] In an interview with Vulture she explained, "What Anna goes through in the movie is symbolic of what every girl goes through when they become a woman."^[13]

Brad Dourif said in an interview with Rue Morgue, "When I was first offered the part [of Daddy] I wasn't initially going to do it. But before I actually said no, I wanted to talk to the director [Fritz Böhm] first. I told him about how, as a parent, I was interested in the idea of it, but that I wanted to play the character in a certain way. We worked through it, and after our discussion I wanted to be a part of the film. It was really the theme of fatherhood that compelled me to take it on."^[14]

Photography

Production was first announced on October 5, 2015^[15] and filming took place in late 2015 over 23 shooting days in various locations in the state of New York, including a natural stretch of the Bronx River within the Bronx Zoo, the town of Congers, the Sleepy Hollow police station, Rockland Lake State Park and Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan.^[16] In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Böhm spoke about the challenges of working with child actors, water scenes, animals and special effects makeup on a limited budget and schedule.^[16] During a Q&A in the Arena Cinelounge Hollywood, Böhm revealed that the film's elaborate cave sequences were entirely shot in a warehouse in Brooklyn against blue screen, "since real caves don't exist within the 23 mile radius of Columbus Circle, Manhattan in which the movie had to be shot in order to fulfill the requirements for New York City's film incentive program."^[16]

Production designer Lauren Fitzsimmons told audiences at South by Southwest that the attic of "Daddy's house", which is seen in the first 15 minutes of the film, was a set she "built in the same Brooklyn warehouse in which the cave scenes were shot".{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} In a Q&A at the IFC Center (New York City) moderated by Boaz Yakin, Böhm explained that, during the editing process, he drove to the Redwood National Forest in Northern California to shoot additional nature footage by himself as a "one man second unit".{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

The film was shot utilizing ARRI Alexa Mini and Amira cameras.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

Post-production

Böhm worked with Arri Media in Munich, Germany where the film was mixed in the Dolby Atmos format. The film was color-timed by Florian "Utsi" Martin, and film editor Peter Boyle served as creative consultant in the editing process. The film comprises roughly 350 visual effect shots, for which Böhm utilized his background as a post-production supervisor and visual effects artist in his native Germany.^[17]

Release

IFC Midnight released the film in the United States and Canada on VOD and Digital HD on {{nowrap|April 13}}, 2018, as well as in select theaters starting in New York City and Los Angeles.^[19] DVD and Blu-ray release in the United States is scheduled for August 7, 2018^[20].

In the UK and Ireland, Warner Bros. released the film theatrically on {{nowrap|April 20}}, 2018.^[21] Other theatrical releases included Russia on June 22, 2018 (as САГА О ЧУДОВИЩЕ. СУМЕРКИ) and Turkey on June 22, 2018 (as Yabani)^[22]

Rating

The Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an R rating "for violence including bloody images, language, some sexual content and teen drinking."^[23] The British Board of Film Classification rated the film suitable for 15 years or older for "strong bloody images, threat and language".^[21]

Soundtrack

The original motion picture soundtrack was released digitally on {{nowrap|April 13}}, 2018.^[24] It features the film's score composed by Paul Haslinger, and the main title song "Wildling" written, performed and produced by Linda Perry.^[25]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68%, based on 41 reviews, and an average rating of 6/10.^[26] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[27]

Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times called Wildling a "creature feature" that is "functional but lacks flavor." Kenigsberg noted that Powley "is well suited to her character’s wide-eyed wonderment" but found the movie suffers "when she turns into a special effect".^[32]

Alex Arabian of Film Inquiry called Wildling a "wildly original creature feature that transcends the horror genre" and the third act "visually rewarding". He wrote "Wildling is a film about growing up as an outsider, becoming a woman, being free from oppression, and loving your body as it is." He also pointed out the performances by the main cast, writing "Horror legend, iconic character actor, and Oscar nominee Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, and rising star Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) give a trio of superb performances. As the central and titular character, Powley delivers yet another powerhouse performance, following her The Diary of a Teenage Girl and Carrie Pilby roles." He also noted the work of cinematographer Toby Oliver, writing he did "a phenomenal job lighting and shooting the film".^[38] Paul D'Agostino of Hyperallergic called the film "captivating" and wrote "Fritz Böhm's debut film Wildling is cloaked in mystery, dark and dank, occasionally bloody, sometimes shocking, and fantastically folkloric." D'Agostino compared Wildling to Tomas Alfredson's Let The Right One In and a number of films by Guillermo del Toro and M. Night Shyamalan.^[39]

Looper called Wildling "one of the best movies of 2018"^[40].

References

External links

• {{IMDb title|5085924|Wildling}}
• {{Rottentomatoes|wildling_2018}}
• [https://www.amazon.com/Wildling-Liv-Tyler/dp/B07C91FNP9/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1523728415&sr=1-2&keywords=Wildling Wildling] at Amazon.com
• [https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/wildling/id1358606999 Wildling] at iTunes Store

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